Jonathan IRWIN : IoA, University of Cambridge
The Monitor project: searching for transits in young open clusters
We have started a program of intense photometric monitoring of a dozen young (1-200 Myr) open clusters, including the Orion Nebula Cluster (1 myr) and NGC 2362 (5-7 myr). By searching for eclipses and transits in the light curves of low-mass cluster members, we aim to provide direct observational constraints on the age-resolved mass-radius relation for planets and mass-radius-luminosity relation for brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. Any detection of a planet or protoplanet in one of our younger clusters would also provide unprecedented constraints on planet formation and migration timescales. We will present a number of eclipse / transit candidates from the first two seasons of monitoring.Last modified: Sun Jul 9 18:25:31 2006