A search for transiting exoplanets with the VLT: First Results

R. F. DÍAZ; D. MINNITI; P. J. D. MAUAS

Malargüe, Mendoza, Argentina

Congreso; 50a Reunión Anual de la Asociación Argentina de Astronomía; 2007

Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio

We present the first results of a photometric search for transitingexoplanets using the Very Large Telescope. The faintest stars in thefield for which we obtain precise enough lightcurves (V $\approx20$) are three magnitudes fainter than the typical OpticalGravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) candidates. The obtainedprecision should be enough to detect Neptune-sized planets orbitingSun-like stars or even Super-Earths transiting M-dwarfstars. However, most of the faintest lightcurves are dominated bysystematics which must be filtered before any attempt to detecttransit-like features.