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| Paper: |
Ultraprecise Photometry from Space: The MOST Microsat Mission |
| Volume: |
203, The Impact of Large-Scale Surveys on Pulsating Star Research, IAU Colloquium 176 |
| Page: |
74 |
| Authors: |
Matthews, J. M.; Kuschnig, R.; Walker, G. A. H.; Pazder, J.; Johnson, R.; Skaret, K.; Shkolnik, E.; Lanting, T.; Morgan, J. P.; Sidhu, S. |
| Abstract: |
MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars / Microvariabilité et Oscillations STellaire) is a Canadian microsatellite mission intended to detect rapid photometric oscillations at the μmag level in stars brighter than V ~ 6. This limit is set primarily by the 15-cm aperture of the MOST telescope. The small size and mass of the MOST bus (similar to a suitcase) sets a limit on the pointing accuracy of about +/- 10 arcsec. To achieve the required photometric precision under these conditions, the MOST focal plane features a set of Fabry microlenses which can spread the target starlight into a pupil image of the telescope onto a CCD. The large size (~1600 pixels) and positional stability (+/- 0.1 pixel) of these images makes MOST insensitive to CCD flat-fielding errors. MOST is currently on schedule to be launched in early 2002. |
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