KPS-1b: The first transiting exoplanet discovered using an amateur astronomerʼs wide-field CCD data

Abstract

We report the discovery of the transiting hot Jupiter KPS-1b. This exoplanet orbits a V=13.0 K1-type main-sequence star every 1.7days, has a mass of 1.090+0.086-0.087 MJup and a radius of 1.03+0.13-0.12 RJup. The discovery was made by the prototype Kourovka Planet Search (KPS) project, which used wide-field CCD data gathered by an amateur astronomer using readily available and relatively affordable equipment. Here we describe the equipment and observing technique used for the discovery of KPS-1b, its characterization with spectroscopic observations by the SOPHIE spectrograph and with high-precision photometry obtained with 1 m class telescopes. We also outline the KPS project evolution into the Galactic Plane eXoplanet survey. The discovery of KPS-1b represents a new major step of the contribution of amateur astronomers to the burgeoning field of exoplanetology. © 2018. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.