If you are familiar with exoplanet transmission spectroscopy, you might have heard of the Transit Light Source Effect (Rackham et al. 2018, 2019). The idea is that stellar activity features, like starspots, faculae, and flares, alter the star's spectrum and introduce noise into the derived planetary atmosphere spectrum.
The SPACE Program, or the Sub-Neptune Planetary Atmosphere Characterization Experiment, is a multicycle HST program studying eight sub-Neptunes. It is led by PI Laura Kreidberg and co-PI Drake Deming.
To address the potential issue stellar activity might cause in the SPACE Program, I started monitoring the exoplanet hosts in photometry with Wesleyan University's 0.6-m automated telescope, advised by Prof. Seth Redfield. From late 2022 to April 2024, we gathered hundreds of GB of data. I built a photometry and data management pipeline with Shell and Astropy.
Publications
Cyril Gapp, et al. (including Qiushi Chris Tian)
In review, AAS Journals, 2026
The SPACE Program I: The featureless spectrum of HD 86226 c challenges sub-Neptune atmosphere trends
K. Angelique Kahle, Jasmina Blecic, Reza Ashtari, Laura Kreidberg, Yui Kawashima, Patricio E. Cubillos, Drake Deming, James S. Jenkins, Paul Mollière, Seth Redfield, Qiushi Chris Tian, Jose I. Vines, David J. Wilson, Lorena Acuña, Bertram Bitsch, Jonathan Brande, Kevin France, Kevin B. Stevenson, Ian J.M. Crossfield, Tansu Daylan, Ian Dobbs-Dixon, Thomas M. Evans-Soma, Cyril Gapp, Antonio García Muñoz, Kevin Heng, Renyu Hu, Keivan G. Stassun, Johanna Teske
Astronomy & Astrophysics, vol. 701, 2025 Sep 15, pp. A184