Methods of Data Processing on TESS Observations

Abstract

Astronomers have confirmed over 4,000 exoplanets, planets that orbit other stars..This research, as part of the TESS Follow-up Observation Program (TFOP), aims to find and confirm new exoplanets by characterizing potential TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs) as either exoplanet detections or false positives generated from nearby blended/eclipsing binary stars. Candidates were found by the NASA TESS mission -- NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Based on the transit method, which consists of looking at dips in brightness in the light curve of a star during an exoplanet transit,.we collected images of multiple TOIs using the 0.8 meter telescope located at the George Mason University Observatory. We processed the data with the python programming language to reduce image and detector noise. Light Curves were generated by the image processing software AstroImageJ. Transits of the target were.modeled through the software package EXOFASTv2, and were finally uploaded to ExoFop TESS, a website developed by NASA Exoplanet Science Institute and NASA Exoplanet Archive to facilitate collaboration between researchers. Findings from this data analysis have contributed to multiple TOI detections and continue to expand the validation of candidates from the TESS mission.