SAINT-EX: Searching for exoplanets from the San Pedro Mártir Observatory

LAURENCE SABIN; YILEN GÓMEZ MAQUEO CHEW; BRICE OLIVIER DEMORY; ROMINA PETRUCCI; SAINT-EX CONSORTIUM

Cambridge

Workshop; The 20th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun; 2018

In this contribution, we present the current status of the SAINT-EX (Searching And characterisINg Transiting EXoplanets) project that arises from the collaboration between the SAINT-EX Consortium and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). This venture has two main science objectives: i) To search for terrestrial planets orbiting ultra-cool stars, similar to the TRAPPIST-1 system, ii) To give ground-based support for the ESA CHEOPS space mission. In order to achieve these goals, a fully robotic facility hosting a 1-m telescope is to be installed at the National Astronomical Observatory of México, in San Pedro Mártir. The facility's first light is foreseen in late 2018 and will be used to perform a photometric follow-up of Northern Hemisphere stars in the search for signals of planetary transits. As a byproduct, it is expected the finding of rotational periods and long-term variability in the ultra-cool dwarfs monitored, that will help to significantly increase our understanding of the intrinsic activity of these fascinating stars.