Every time an exoplanet crosses in front of its host star, it creates a subtle dimming signature that lasts just hours - a cosmic eclipse containing secrets about distant worlds. The MuSCAT2 Transit Pipeline transforms these fleeting photometric events into precise planetary parameters, handling the complex multicolor observations from Japan’s MuSCAT2 instrument with surgical precision. This collaborative effort between leading astronomical institutions tackles one of observational astronomy’s most demanding challenges: extracting clean transit signals from noisy ground-based photometry.
The pipeline orchestrates a sophisticated three-stage photometry workflow - organizing raw frames, solving astrometry through astrometry.net integration, and performing aperture photometry across MuSCAT2’s four-band simultaneous observations (g, r, y, z filters). The transit analysis engine employs both linear systematics modeling and Gaussian Process regression to disentangle atmospheric effects from genuine transit signatures, automatically selecting optimal comparison stars and apertures. With executable scripts for streamlined analysis and Python classes for custom investigations, researchers can seamlessly transition from raw CCD frames to publication-ready light curves.
Developed through international collaboration spanning IAC, University of Tokyo, NAOJ, and the Astrobiology Center, this pipeline represents the practical intersection of precision photometry and exoplanet science. Whether you’re confirming TESS candidates or characterizing known transiting worlds, the toolkit handles the computational heavy lifting while preserving the flexibility that cutting-edge exoplanet research demands.
⭐ Stars: 5
💻 Language: Jupyter Notebook
🔗 Repository: hpparvi/MuSCAT2_transit_pipeline