Journal article
Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment: a dedicated CubeSat mission to study exoplanetary mass loss and magnetic fields
Journal of astronomical telescopes, instruments, and systems, Vol.4(1), p.1
01/01/2018
DOI: 10.1117/1.JATIS.4.1.014004
Abstract
The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is a near-UV (2550 to 3300 angstrom) 6U CubeSat mission designed to monitor transiting hot Jupiters to quantify their atmospheric mass loss and magnetic fields. CUTE will probe both atomic (Mg and Fe) and molecular (OH) lines for evidence of enhanced transit absorption, and to search for evidence of early ingress due to bow shocks ahead of the planet's orbital motion. As a dedicated mission, CUTE will observe greater than or similar to 100 spectroscopic transits of hot Jupiters over a nominal 7-month mission. This represents the equivalent of >700 orbits of the only other instrument capable of these measurements, the Hubble Space Telescope. CUTE efficiently utilizes the available CubeSat volume by means of an innovative optical design to achieve a projected effective area of similar to 28 cm(2), low instrumental background, and a spectral resolving power of R similar to 3000 over the primary science bandpass. These performance characteristics enable CUTE to discern transit depths between 0.1% and 1% in individual spectral absorption lines. We present the CUTE optical and mechanical design, a summary of the science motivation and expected results, and an overview of the projected fabrication, calibration, and launch timeline. (c) 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment: a dedicated CubeSat mission to study exoplanetary mass loss and magnetic fields
- Creators
- Brian T. Fleming - University of Colorado SystemKevin France - Univ Colorado, Lab Atmospher & Space Phys, Boulder, CO 80309 USANicholas Nell - University of Colorado BoulderRichard Kohnert - University of Colorado SystemKelsey Pool - University of Colorado SystemArika Egan - University of Colorado SystemLuca Fossati - Austrian Academy of SciencesTommi Koskinen - University of ArizonaAline A. Vidotto - Trinity College DublinKeri Hoadley - California Institute of TechnologyJean-Michel Desert - University of Colorado SystemMatthew Beasley - Planetary Science InstitutePascal M. Petit - Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of astronomical telescopes, instruments, and systems, Vol.4(1), p.1
- DOI
- 10.1117/1.JATIS.4.1.014004
- ISSN
- 2329-4124
- eISSN
- 2329-4221
- Publisher
- Spie-Soc Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- NNX17AI84G / National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2018
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984428774302771
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