User:Betapic/Project EDEN (exoplanet survey)

Project EDEN (extrasolar planet survey) (EDEN) is an astronomical research project that surveys nearby stars for extrasolar planets using a network of research telescopes. Project EDEN is a research consortium formed by the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, the Vatican Observatory, and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg. The goal of Project EDEN is to find and characterize Earth-sized planets in the temperate zone (habitable zone) of nearby stars. EDEN uses, including the Kuiper 61" at Catalina Station, the Bok 90" telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope at Mount Graham International Observatory, the 1.23m telescope at Calar Alto Observatory, and the Cassini 1.5 m telescope. Project EDEN's telescopes provide extensive coverage of the northern celestial hemisphere. The institutional partners in Project EDEN committed over 1,000 telescope nights to the project.

In its first stage, EDEN uses the exoplanet transit method to search for extrasolar planets. It is foreseen that (high-contrast imaging and stellar radial velocity measurements) will also be used in subsequent stages to explore systems in which planets are not transiting.

EDEN first carried out a pilot survey (Summer 2017 - Spring 2018). Full operations began in Summer 2018.