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Where is SuperWASP? |
Welcome to the WASP website
SuperWASP is the UK's leading extra-solar planet detection programme. It originally comprised a consortium of
eight academic institutions: Cambridge University, the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, the Isaac Newton Group
of telescopes, Keele University, Leicester University, the Open University, Queen's University Belfast and
St. Andrews University. The WASP project is currently funded and operated by Warwick University and Keele University.
SuperWASP consists of two robotic observatories that operate continuously all year around, allowing us to cover both
hemispheres of the sky. The first, SuperWASP-North is located on the island of La Palma amongst the Isaac Newton Group of
telescopes (ING). The second, SuperWASP-South is located
at the site of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), just outside
Sutherland, South Africa (Click on the map for more information). The observatories each consist of
eight wide-angle cameras that simultaneously monitor the sky for planetary transit events. A transit occurs when a planet
passes in front of its parent star temporarily blocking some of the light from it (see the How it works
section). The eight wide-angle cameras allow us to monitor millions of stars simultaneously enabling us to detect the rare
transit events. Details of the planets discovered by the WASP project can be found here.
Please take the time to explore our site and check back regularly for updates. If you have any questions please
feel free to contact us at the address below.
The SuperWASP Public Archive can be found
here (US) or
here (CZ)
A catalogue of the physical properties of transiting planetary systems
TEPCat
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