MicroFUN Farm Cove

MicroFUN Farm Cove

Pakuranga, Auckland, New Zealand

Long: E 174º 53' 39" Lat: S 36º 53' 43"

IAU Obs Code E85

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MicroFUN

Farm Cove

Farm Cove Observatory joined the MicroFUN team in 2004 and is known within the collaboration as MicroFUN Farm Cove. MicroFUN and Andy Gould have been generous supporters of the observatory by supplying the new telescope and focuser currently used at FCO.
Just recently the Chungbuk National University in Korea kindly supplied a new observatory dome for FCO.

MicroFUN Links

Data Arhive 2015

Data Arhive 2014

Data Arhive 2013

Data Arhive 2012

Data Archive 2011

World MicroFUN Teams

Interested in Joining?

NZ Microfun team

FCO 2016 Targets

OGLE-2015-2093

Microlensing Follow Up Network (MicroFUN)

MicroFUN

New Zealand

North Island Teams

Farm Cove Observatory

Jennie McCormick

East Auckland

Auckland Observatory

Dr Grant Christie, Tim Natusch & Hayden Ngan.

Central Auckland

Mt Molehill Observatory

Mark Bos

North Auckland

Possum Observatory

John Drummond

Gisborne

Turitea Observatory
Ian Porritt
Palmerston North

...New Discovery...
Terrestrial planet in a ~ 1AU orbit around one member of
a ~ 15AU Binary

NZ astronomers have played an important role in the discovery of an Earth-like planet in a binary star system located 3,000 lys from Earth At just twice the mass of Earth, the planet (now named OGLE-2013-BLG-0341LBb) orbits one of the stars in the binary system at almost exactly the same distance from which Earth orbits the sun. However, because the planet’s host star is much dimmer than the Sun, the planet is much colder than Earth, a little colder in fact, than Saturn's moon Titan.
Farm Cove Observatory, as part of the MicroFun team headed by Andrew Gould professor of astronomy at Ohio State University, contributed data to this exciting discovery.

Downloadable Info

Science Paper
Microfun release
FCO illustrated A3 poster
Stardome press release OB-2013-BLG-0341LBb graphic image

MicroFUN is an informal consortium of observers from 5 continents, both professional and amateur, dedicated to photometric monitoring of interesting microlensing events in the Galactic Bulge. The MicroFUN observing season runs from May through September each year when the Galactic Bulge is visible in the night sky. Because the Bulge is at RA=18h Dec=–30°, most of the sites are in the Southern Hemisphere, or at relatively low northern latitudes (at or just below 30° North latitude). In New Zealand, the Galactic Bulge runs high overhead during the winter months.
The collaboration is led from The Ohio State University Astronomy Department and is headed by Professor Andrew Gould. The primary scientific objective of this group is to observe high-magnification microlensing events that give the best potential for detecting extra-solar planets orbiting distant stars.
Pictures of Interest

A Terrestrial Planet in a ~ 1AU Orbit Around one Member of a ~ 15AU Binary Artist impression of OGLE-2013-BLG-0341LBb by Professor Cheongho Han at Chungbuk National University Korea.

Artist Impression OGLE-2005-BLG-071 Courtesy MicroFUN	Artist Impression OGLE-2006-BLG-109 Courtesy John McCormick
Published Planet Discoveries

OGLE-BLG-2013-341 2x Earth Mass Planet in Binary Star System

OGLE-BLG-2005-071 3x Jupiter Mass Planet	OGLE-BLG-2005-169 Neptune Mass Planet

	NZ Herald - May 26, 2005
OGLE-BLG-2006-109 Jupiter and Saturn Analogue	Editorial Cartoon of the NZ Parliament building following the press release announcing the discovery of OGLE-BLG-2005-071