Title:

Photometric Observations of Exoplanets with Transit Timing Variations

Exoplanet research is a relatively new field of astronomy, making amateur and professional transit observations critical in creating a foundation for this new field of research. Building a large database of exoplanet observations spanning a long period of time is also vital for detecting alterations in mid transit times (transit timing variations) with slow rates of change. Transit data was successfully collected for QATAR-1b (2/7/2024) and WASP-43b (4-1-24) through observation of their host star’s relative magnitude. The target stars were imaged with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera attached UNH’s 14-inch Celestron telescope. Data for these transits was analyzed using AstroImageJ, one of the leading programs within the professional community. Mid transit times for QATAR-1b and WASP-43b were calculated to be, in BJD_TDB, 2460347.914659 and 2460401.578799, respectively. Transit depth and duration, planetary radius and the orbital semi major axis were also calculated to help compare the observed data to the predicted but aren’t vital in detecting transit timing variations.

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