Probing Lensing Anomalies Network

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PLANET logo depicting the locations of the five telescopes used.

The Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork (PLANET) collaboration coordinates a network of telescopes to rapidly sample photometric measurements of the magnification of stars in the galactic bulge undergoing gravitational microlensing by intervening foreground stars (or other compact massive objects). This network is comprised of five 1m-class optical telescopes distributed in longitude around the southern hemisphere in order to perform quasi-continuous round-the-clock precision monitoring. On a target-of-opportunity basis, less frequent spectroscopic measurements complement the rapid photometry for selected prime targets. Since 2005, PLANET performs a common microlensing campaign with RoboNet-1.0, a network of UK-operated 2.0m robotic telescopes.

[edit] Telescopes

For the 2006 observing season, the telescopes involved were (apart from the RoboNet telescopes):

Danish 1.54m telescope at ESO, La Silla, Chile [1]
1.0 meter telescope at Canopus Observatory of the University of Tasmania, Australia [2]
0.6 meter telescope at the Perth Observatory
SAAO 1.0 meter telescope at Sutherland, South Africa [3]
Rockefeller 1.52 meter telescope at Boyden Observatory (Bloemfontein), South Africa [4]

[edit] Members

As of late 2006, PLANET had 31 members from 11 countries: France, United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and USA.