Catalogue of the sources is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/645/A100 [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 34 (4 ULiège) Development of the SPECULOOS exoplanet search projectSebastian, Daniel ; Pedersen, P. P.; Murray, C. A. et alin Proceedings of SPIE: The International Society for Optical Engineering (2020, December 01), 11445SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) aims to perform a transit search on the nearest (< 40 pc) ultracool (< 3000K) dwarf stars. The project's main motivation is to discover ... [more ▼]SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) aims to perform a transit search on the nearest (< 40 pc) ultracool (< 3000K) dwarf stars. The project's main motivation is to discover potentially habitable planets well-suited for detailed atmospheric characterisation with upcoming giant telescopes, like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and European Large Telescope (ELT). The project is based on a network of 1m robotic telescopes, namely the four ones of the SPECULOOS-Southern Observatory (SSO) in Cerro Paranal, Chile, one telescope of the SPECULOOS-Northern Observatory (SNO) in Tenerife, and the SAINTEx telescope in San Pedro Martir, Mexico. The prototype survey of the SPECULOOS project on the 60 cm TRAPPIST telescope (Chile) discovered the TRAPPIST-1 system, composed of seven temperate Earth-sized planets orbiting a nearby (12 pc) Jupiter-sized star. In this paper, we review the current status of SPECULOOS, its first results, the plans for its development, and its connection to the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and JWST. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 27 (5 ULiège) π Earth: A 3.14 day Earth-sized Planet from K2's Kitchen Served Warm by the SPECULOOS TeamNiraula, Prajwal; de Wit, Julien; Rackham, Benjamin V. et alin Astronomical Journal (2020), 160We report on the discovery of a transiting Earth-sized (0.95R[SUB]⊕[/SUB]) planet around an M3.5 dwarf star at 57 pc, EPIC 249631677. The planet has a period of ∼3.14 days, i.e., ∼π, with an installation ... [more ▼]We report on the discovery of a transiting Earth-sized (0.95R[SUB]⊕[/SUB]) planet around an M3.5 dwarf star at 57 pc, EPIC 249631677. The planet has a period of ∼3.14 days, i.e., ∼π, with an installation of 7.45 S[SUB]⊕[/SUB]. The detection was made using publicly available data from K2's Campaign 15. We observed three additional transits with SPECULOOS Southern and Northern Observatories, and a stellar spectrum from Keck/HIRES, which allowed us to validate the planetary nature of the signal. The confirmed planet is well suited for comparative terrestrial exoplanetology. While exoplanets transiting ultracool dwarfs present the best opportunity for atmospheric studies of terrestrial exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope, those orbiting mid-M dwarfs within 100 pc such as EPIC 249631677b will become increasingly accessible with the next generation of observatories. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 55 (21 ULiège) A Rare Pair of Eclipsing Brown Dwarfs Identified by the SPECULOOS TelescopesTriaud, A. H. M. J.; Burgasser, A. J.; Burdanov, A. et alin The Messenger (2020), 180Brown dwarfs — stellar objects unable to sustain hydrogen fusion in their cores because of their low masses — continuously cool over their lifetimes. Evolution models have been created to reproduce this ... [more ▼]Brown dwarfs — stellar objects unable to sustain hydrogen fusion in their cores because of their low masses — continuously cool over their lifetimes. Evolution models have been created to reproduce this behaviour, and to allow mass and age determination using their luminosity, temperatures, spectral types and other parameters. However, these models have not yet been fully validated or calibrated with observations. During a commissioning run of the SPECULOOS telescopes, we serendipitously discovered a rare double-line eclipsing binary, a member of the 45 Myr-old moving group Argus. This discovery permitted us to determine the masses, radii and ages of the brown dwarfs, and with their luminosities make a comparison to evolution models. The models reproduce these measurements remarkably well, although a measured offset in luminosity could result in systematic underestimation of brown dwarf masses by 20 to 30%. Calibrating these models is necessary as they are also used to infer the masses of young, directly imaged exoplanets such as those found at the VLT. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 44 (2 ULiège) Photometry and performance of SPECULOOS-SouthMurray, C. A.; Delrez, Laetitia ; Pedersen, P. P. et alin Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2020), 495SPECULOOS-South, an observatory composed of four independent 1-m robotic telescopes, located at ESO Paranal, Chile, started scientific operation in 2019 January. This Southern hemisphere facility operates ... [more ▼]SPECULOOS-South, an observatory composed of four independent 1-m robotic telescopes, located at ESO Paranal, Chile, started scientific operation in 2019 January. This Southern hemisphere facility operates as part of the Search for Habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars (SPECULOOS), an international network of 1-m-class telescopes surveying for transiting terrestrial planets around the nearest and brightest ultracool dwarfs (UCDs). To automatically and efficiently process the observations of SPECULOOS-South, and to deal with the specialized photometric requirements of UCD targets, we present our automatic pipeline. This pipeline includes an algorithm for automated differential photometry and an extensive correction technique for the effects of telluric water vapour, using ground measurements of the precipitable water vapour. Observing very red targets in the near-infrared can result in photometric systematics in the differential light curves, related to the temporally-varying, wavelength-dependent opacity of the Earth's atmosphere. These systematics are sufficient to affect the daily quality of the light curves, the longer time-scale variability study of our targets and even mimic transit-like signals. Here we present the implementation and impact of our water vapour correction method. Using the 179 nights and 98 targets observed in the I + z' filter by SPECULOOS-South since 2019 January, we show the impressive photometric performance of the facility (with a median precision of ∼1.5 mmag for 30-min binning of the raw, non-detrended light curves) and assess its detection potential. We compare simultaneous observations with SPECULOOS-South and TESS, to show that we readily achieve high- precision, space-level photometry for bright, UCDs, highlighting SPECULOOS-South as the first facility of its kind. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 38 (4 ULiège) An Eclipsing Substellar Binary in a Young Triple System discovered by SPECULOOSTriaud, Amaury H. M. J.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Burdanov, Artem et alin Nature Astronomy (2020), 4Mass, radius, and age are three of the most fundamental parameters for celestial objects, enabling studies of the evolution and internal physics of stars, brown dwarfs, and planets. Brown dwarfs are ... [more ▼]Mass, radius, and age are three of the most fundamental parameters for celestial objects, enabling studies of the evolution and internal physics of stars, brown dwarfs, and planets. Brown dwarfs are hydrogen- rich objects that are unable to sustain core fusion reactions but are supported from collapse by electron degeneracy pressure. As they age, brown dwarfs cool, reducing their radius and luminosity. Young exoplanets follow a similar behaviour. Brown dwarf evolutionary models are relied upon to infer the masses, radii and ages of these objects. Similar models are used to infer the mass and radius of directly imaged exoplanets. Unfortunately, only sparse empirical mass, radius and age measurements are currently available, and the models remain mostly unvalidated. Double-line eclipsing binaries provide the most direct route for the absolute determination of the masses and radii of stars. Here, we report the SPECULOOS discovery of 2M1510A, a nearby, eclipsing, double-line brown dwarf binary, with a widely-separated tertiary brown dwarf companion. We also find that the system is a member of the $45\pm5$ Myr-old moving group, Argus. The system's age matches those of currently known directly-imaged exoplanets. 2M1510A provides an opportunity to benchmark evolutionary models of brown dwarfs and young planets. We find that widely-used evolutionary models do reproduce the mass, radius and age of the binary components remarkably well, but overestimate the luminosity by up to 0.65 magnitudes, which could result in underestimated photometric masses for directly-imaged exoplanets and young field brown dwarfs by 20 to 35%. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 58 (7 ULiège) Near-resonance in a System of Sub-Neptunes from TESSQuinn, Samuel N.; Becker, Juliette C.; Rodriguez, Joseph E. et alin Astronomical Journal (2019), 158We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite detection of a multi-planet system orbiting the V = 10.9 K0 dwarf TOI-125. We find evidence for up to five planets, with varying confidence. Three ... [more ▼]We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite detection of a multi-planet system orbiting the V = 10.9 K0 dwarf TOI-125. We find evidence for up to five planets, with varying confidence. Three transit signals with high signal-to-noise ratio correspond to sub-Neptune-sized planets (2.76, 2.79, and 2.94 R [SUB]⊕[/SUB]), and we statistically validate the planetary nature of the two inner planets (P [SUB] b [/SUB] = 4.65 days, P [SUB] c [/SUB] = 9.15 days). With only two transits observed, we report the outer object (P [SUB].03[/SUB] = 19.98 days) as a planet candidate with high signal-to-noise ratio. We also detect a candidate transiting super-Earth (1.4 R [SUB]⊕[/SUB]) with an orbital period of only 12.7 hr and a candidate Neptune-sized planet (4.2 R [SUB]⊕[/SUB]) with a period of 13.28 days, both at low signal-to-noise ratio. This system is amenable to mass determination via radial velocities and transit-timing variations, and provides an opportunity to study planets of similar size while controlling for age and environment. The ratio of orbital periods between TOI-125 b and c (P [SUB] c [/SUB]/P [SUB] b [/SUB] = 1.97) is slightly lower than an exact 2:1 commensurability and is atypical of multiple planet systems from Kepler, which show a preference for period ratios just wide of first-order period ratios. A dynamical analysis refines the allowed parameter space through stability arguments and suggests that despite the nearly commensurate periods, the system is unlikely to be in resonance. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 41 (3 ULiège) The L 98-59 System: Three Transiting, Terrestrial-size Planets Orbiting a Nearby M DwarfKostov, Veselin B.; Schlieder, Joshua E.; Barclay, Thomas et alin Astronomical Journal (2019), 158We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovery of three terrestrial-size planets transiting L 98-59 (TOI-175, TIC 307210830)—a bright M dwarf at a distance of 10.6 pc. Using the Gaia ... [more ▼]We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovery of three terrestrial-size planets transiting L 98-59 (TOI-175, TIC 307210830)—a bright M dwarf at a distance of 10.6 pc. Using the Gaia- measured distance and broadband photometry, we find that the host star is an M3 dwarf. Combined with the TESS transits from three sectors, the corresponding stellar parameters yield planet radii ranging from 0.8 R [SUB]⊕[/SUB] to 1.6 R [SUB]⊕[/SUB]. All three planets have short orbital periods, ranging from 2.25 to 7.45 days with the outer pair just wide of a 2:1 period resonance. Diagnostic tests produced by the TESS Data Validation Report and the vetting package DAVE rule out common false- positive sources. These analyses, along with dedicated follow-up and the multiplicity of the system, lend confidence that the observed signals are caused by planets transiting L 98-59 and are not associated with other sources in the field. The L 98-59 system is interesting for a number of reasons: the host star is bright (V = 11.7 mag, K = 7.1 mag) and the planets are prime targets for further follow-up observations including precision radial-velocity mass measurements and future transit spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope; the near-resonant configuration makes the system a laboratory to study planetary system dynamical evolution; and three planets of relatively similar size in the same system present an opportunity to study terrestrial planets where other variables (age, metallicity, etc.) can be held constant. L 98-59 will be observed in four more TESS sectors, which will provide a wealth of information on the three currently known planets and have the potential to reveal additional planets in the system. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 44 (4 ULiège) The SPECULOOS Southern Observatory Begins its Hunt for Rocky PlanetsJehin, Emmanuel ; Gillon, Michaël ; Queloz, D. et alin Messenger (2018), 174The SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO), a new facility of four 1- metre robotic telescopes, began scientific operations at Cerro Paranal on 1 January 2019. The main goal of the SPECULOOS project is to ... [more ▼]The SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO), a new facility of four 1- metre robotic telescopes, began scientific operations at Cerro Paranal on 1 January 2019. The main goal of the SPECULOOS project is to explore approximately 1000 of the smallest (≤ 0.15 R[SUB]⊙[/SUB]), brightest (K[SUB]mag[/SUB] ≤ 12.5), and nearest (d ≤ 40 pc) very low mass stars and brown dwarfs. It aims to discover transiting temperate terrestrial planets well-suited for detailed atmospheric characterisation with future giant telescopes like ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the NASA James Webb Telescope (JWST). The SSO is the core facility of SPECULOOS. The exquisite astronomical conditions at Cerro Paranal will enable SPECULOOS to detect exoplanets as small as Mars. Here, we briefly describe SPECULOOS, and present the features and performance of the SSO facility. [less ▲]Detailed reference viewed: 45 (2 ULiège) 1