Kepler & K2

New Kepler/K2 High Level Science Products available

2019-03-27T10:00:00-07:00

Over the past six months, the Kepler/K2 data archive at MAST has added or updated the following five High Level Science Products:

KG-RADII (Berger et al) is a new product which provides revised stellar and exoplanet properties from the original Kepler mission based on parallaxes from Gaia DR2.
KEPSEISMIC (Mathur et al) is a new product which provides light curves optimized for asteroseismology. The first release contains 28,000 Kepler targets.
K2SUPERSTAMP (Cody et al) has been updated to include mosaics of the K2 Campaign 9 microlensing area.
K2SFF (Vanderburg et al) has been updated to include systematics-corrected light curves from K2 Campaign 18.
EVEREST (Luger et al) is being updated to include systematics-corrected light curves from K2 Campaigns 14 through 18.

In meanwhile, the NASA Exoplanet Archive has made updates to the K2 candidates list. There are now more than 1,000 unique K2 candidates (available here). The ExoFOP-K2 site continues to be utilized by the community with more than 2700 recorded imaging observations, 1700 recorded spectroscopic observations, and nearly 600,000 uploaded files. All of these data are publicly available to the community at https://exofop.ipac.caltech.edu/k2/.

Teams interested in hosting their High Level Science Products or follow-up data are encouraged to get in touch with the Kepler/K2 archives at MAST and NExSci.

Talks from Kepler & K2 SciCon V now available online

2019-03-19T10:00:00-07:00

The Kepler & K2 Science Conference V was held on March 4–8, 2019. Slide decks from the talks have now been uploaded in PDF format and are linked from the conference agenda.

In addition to the talks, we expect to upload posters in the near future. Presenters wishing to have their poster made available in this way are requested to send a PDF copy of their poster (<10 MB) to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Photos and impressions of the conference can also be accessed via the #KeplerSciCon hashtag on Twitter.

K2 Campaign 5 reprocessed

2019-03-18T09:00:00-07:00

Earlier this year we announced that we were undertaking an effort to reprocess campaigns 0–14 using the same version of the Kepler/K2 pipeline used for C15 and subsequent campaigns. This version introduced several new features and improvements, such as more sophisticated pixel calibration, better identification of spacecraft pointing, improved cosmic ray correction, and production of short-cadence lightcurves, along with several other minor improvements. Please see the associated news post for details on each feature.

Reprocessed data and release notes from campaign 5 are now available — 0, 2, 3, and 13 were made available over the past several months. The newest data are available via the usual K2 data download interfaces at the MAST archive; the older data has been kept available via the MAST browser interface (e.g., here for tarballs of the old target pixel files (TPFs) and here for tarballs of the old lightcurve files, if previously produced). The data release notes have been updated for each reprocessed campaign, available at the nominal K2 Data Release Notes page; links to the old version of the release notes are also provided for posterity.

As always, users are highly encouraged to read the updated C5 Data Release Notes.

The next reprocessed campaign to be delivered will be C11.

Kepler SciCon V registration and late poster deadline approaching

2019-01-30T10:00:00-08:00

The Kepler & K2 Science Conference V will take place March 4-8, 2019, in Glendale, California. The meeting will be a celebration of Kepler's 10 years in space and will serve as a showcase of the bountiful results that continue to come from both the Kepler and K2 missions.

Due to the government shutdown, the late deadline to submit abstracts for posters has been moved to Tuesday, February 5, 2019. Abstracts can be submitted through the abstract submission form. Participants may submit multiple abstracts.

The deadline to register for the meeting and to reserve hotel rooms is Sunday, February 10, 2019.

Additional details, including information about travel and lodging, are available on the conference home page. If you have questions regarding the conference, please send an email to keplerscicon@ipac.caltech.edu.

Slides from the Kepler/K2 Special Session at the Winter AAS now available

2019-01-16T09:00:00-08:00

The 233rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle featured a special session titled "Kepler and K2's 500,000 high-precision lightcurves: prospects for future discoveries".

The session highlighted the future discoveries which are expected to emerge from Kepler's data set over the next years, and discussed some of the new tools, methods, and data sets which may enable those discoveries The slides from the session are now available below:

Prospects for future discoveries with Kepler and K2 (pdf) — Geert Barentsen, Kepler/K2 team
Are there more planets left in the Kepler and K2 data set? (pdf) — Christina Hedges, Kepler/K2 team
What is left to learn about Kepler/K2 planet host stars? (pdf) — Daniel Huber, University of Hawaii
What will Kepler/K2 teach us about our Galaxy? (pdf) — James Davenport, University of Washington
What will Kepler/K2 teach us about other galaxies? (pdf) — Krista Lynne Smith, Stanford University
How can new data analysis methods get more out of Kepler/K2 data (pdf) — Dan Foreman-Mackey, Flatiron Institute
How can machine learning contribute to mining Kepler / K2 data? (pdf) — Megan Ansdell, UC Berkeley
Discovery and vetting of K2 exoplanets - Susan Mullally, STScI
Panel discussion (no slides available)

K2 Campaign 0 reprocessed

2019-01-08T00:30:00-08:00

Reprocessed data and release notes from campaign 0 are now available --- 2, 3, and 13 were made available over the past few months. The newest data are available via the usual K2 data download interfaces at the MAST archive; the older data has been kept available via the MAST browser interface (e.g., here for tarballs of the old target pixel files (TPFs) and here for tarballs of the old lightcurve files, if previously produced). The data release notes have been updated for each reprocessed campaign, available at the nominal K2 Data Release Notes page; links to the old version of the release notes are also provided for posterity.

Given the unique features of C0 compared to most K2 campaigns, and the significant updates made to the K2 pipeline since the last C0 data release, we highly encourage users to read the updated C0 Data Release Notes.

The next reprocessed campaign to be delivered will be C11, followed by C1 — see this post for the expected processing order of additional campaigns. (Note that the reprocessing activity does not impact the regular deliveries of newly obtained data, e.g., C19, currently expected in early February.)

K2 Campaign 18 data release notes available

2018-11-07T12:00:00-08:00

The data release notes for K2 Campaign 18 are now available online. We encourage all users to review the notes.

New white paper: Scientific Opportunities with Kepler & K2 Archive Data

2018-10-29T22:00:00-07:00

The Kepler and K2 missions have provided an unprecedented data set with a precision and duration that will not be rivaled for decades. Even though the data has already contributed to nearly 2,500 scientific publications so far, the scientific community continues to extract new discoveries from the archive data every day.

To help new users understand where there may be important scientific gains left to be made in analyzing Kepler data, and to encourage the continued use of the archives, we have prepared a white paper which discusses a non-exhaustive list of 21 important data analysis projects which can be executed using the public data that are readily available in the archives today. Each project contains a link to an issue on the GitHub repository of the white paper where we invite researchers to discuss their ideas or progress towards resolving the challenge.

The studies discussed in the paper show that many of Kepler's contributions still lie ahead of us, owing to the emergence of complementary new data sets, novel data analysis methods, and advances in computing power.

Click here to access the white paper.

New in Lightkurve: the Periodogram class

2018-10-29T19:00:00-07:00

This month in Lightkurve, we have added a Periodogram class, which provides a quick and easy way to create Lomb-Scargle periodograms from LightCurve objects.

Periodograms can be used to find stellar rotation rates, or the oscillation and pulsation frequencies of stars. They are commonly used in asteroseismology to identify oscillation modes, which can be used to calculate the density of stars.

Below is a quick demonstration of how you can easily obtain the data from the data archive at MAST, create a periodogram, and inspect the oscillation modes of a red giant star in just three lines of Python.

Usage

To download a light curve from MAST and create a Periodogram object named pg, you can use the following syntax:

from lightkurve import search_lightcurvefile
lcf = search_lightcurvefile('201691589').download()
lc = lcf.PDCSAP_FLUX.remove_nans()
pg = lc.to_periodogram()

Periodograms have several useful functions including plotting, smoothing, and binning. You can interact with them much the same way you interact with other Lightkurve objects. For example you can use the following syntax to plot a smoothed Lomb-Scargle periodogram.

pg.smooth().plot()

The full documentation of the periodogram feature is available here. This new feature is the work of Kepler visiting scientist Oliver Hall and summer intern Johnny Zhang.

You will need to upgrade your installation of Lightkurve to the latest version (v1.0b21) for this to work. This can be done via the command line as follows:

$ pip install lightkurve --upgrade

Please consult the Lightkurve documentation for more information. The documentation includes a new tutorial on the Periodogram class.

Abstracts & travel support requests for Kepler SciCon V are due in two weeks

2018-10-29T15:00:00-07:00

Abstracts for presentations, proposals for breakout sessions, and requests for travel support are due by November 15, 2018.

Abstracts can be submitted through the abstract submission form. Participants may submit multiple abstracts.

We have limited funding to support local costs (hotel and per diem) for a limited number of participants who would otherwise be unable to attend the meeting. Please complete this application by the Nov. 15 deadline. Applicants will receive a decision by Dec. 20.

Note that the Wednesday afternoon of the meeting (March 6) is set aside for breakout sessions to enable the community to discuss and work on Kepler/K2 related projects. We envision these sessions will be more hands on, unconference sessions of broad interest to the community. Examples of break out sessions include panel discussions, hack activities, work meetings of large collaborations, or tutorials to use data/software products related to Kepler/K2. To submit a proposal for a breakout session, please select this option on the abstract submission form.

Additional details, including information about travel and lodging, are available on the conference home page.

K2 Campaign 18 processed data available

2018-10-24T14:00:00-07:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 18 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

Campaign 18 saw Kepler's third visit to the K2 Legacy Field in the constellation of Cancer, which contains the benchmark star clusters M44 and M67. This field has now been observed during three Campaigns (5, 16, 18) across a 3-year baseline and 8-month duty cycle.

The target list contained 20,929 standard long cadence and 234 standard short cadence targets, including:

Two open star clusters:
- M44 is one of the most nearby open star clusters and is known to contain at least six confirmed planets (K2-95b, K2-100b, K2-101b, K2-102b, K2-103b, K2-104b). Its members were observed using standard masks.
- M67 is the benchmark star cluster with solar-like age and metallicity. Hundreds of stars in the cluster core were observed using 121 unique 40x40-pixel long cadence aperture masks which created a contiguous 440x440 pixel region. In addition, hundreds of members in the outskirts were observed using standard masks, and more than 40 targets were observed using short cadence masks.
42 confirmed exoplanets from Campaign 5: K2-34b, 95b, 97b, 98b, 100b, 101b, 102b, 103b, 104b, 105b, 108b, 114b, 115b, 117bc, 118b, 119b, 120b, 121b, 122b, 123b, 124b, 146b, 180b, 181b, 182b, 183bcd, 184b, 185b, 187bcde, 188bc, and HIP 41378 bcdef. Most noteworthy, the HIP 41378 system is a bright F-type dwarf (V=9) shown by Campaign 5 to host at least five planets. The majority of these confirmed planet systems are being observed in short cadence.
Dozens of unconfirmed planet candidates from Campaign 5 were re-observed, the majority in long cadence.
60 low-mass flare stars and 59 variable white dwarfs were observed in short cadence.
13 very bright stars were observed using custom circular masks, including ζ Cancri and 25 Cancri in short cadence, and η, γ, X, 21, 29, 49, 50, and 60 Cancri in long cadence.
OJ 287 is a well-studied bright galaxy (V=15) which is thought to show lightcurve variations due to a binary supermassive black hole at its center. It was observed in short cadence.
37 Solar System objects including 22 comets and trojan Asteroids, 9 faint Trans-Neptunian Objects, and the potentially hazardous asteroid 99942 Apophis were observed in long cadence.

The figure below illustrates the location of the field and its notable targets.

Users of the data are strongly encouraged to contact, cite, and collaborate with the teams who proposed the observations, as listed on the Approved Progams & Targets page.

Please keep an eye on our website for the associated data release notes.

Kepler spacecraft update

2018-10-23T18:00:00-07:00

Following a successful return of data from K2 Campaign 19, the Kepler team commanded the spacecraft into position to begin collecting data for Campaign 20.

On Friday October 19, during a regularly scheduled spacecraft contact using NASA’s Deep Space Network, the team learned that the spacecraft had paused Campaign 20 and transitioned to its no-fuel-use sleep mode.

The Kepler team is currently assessing the cause and evaluating possible next steps.

K2 Campaign 19 raw data available

2018-10-16T10:00:00-07:00

The Kepler spacecraft has successfully downloaded Campaign 19 data to Earth. To enable users to make use of the current visibility of the Campaign 19 field from the ground, the raw cadence data files have been made public immediately via the K2 data archive at MAST.

The use of the raw, uncalibrated data files requires an intimate understanding of their format and caveats (see the kadenza tool). For scientific investigations that are not time-critical, we recommend that users wait for the calibrated and quality-controlled data products to become available in approximately 3 months.

Campaign 19 included TRAPPIST-1. Uncalibrated Target Pixel Files for this planet system have been created using kadenza and are available via DOI 10.5281/zenodo.1464259:

Long cadence: k2c19-trappist1-lc-raw-tpf.fits.gz (1 MB)
Short cadence: k2c19-trappist1-sc-raw-tpf.fits.gz (25 MB)

The Campaign 19 data are shorter and somewhat less stable than previous K2 Campaigns. Owing to Kepler's low fuel pressure, the spacecraft's configuration had to be modified at the start of Campaign 19 to compensate for the unusual behavior exhibited by one of the thrusters. The Campaign started collecting data on Aug 30, achieved its nominal pointing on Sep 7, and was ended on Sep 26 in response to a further degradation in the spacecraft's pointing performance.

K2 Campaign 18 data processing complete

2018-10-05T07:00:00-07:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 18 is now complete and the pixel files and lightcurves are in the process of being shipped to the data archive at MAST. We anticipate that the data release will be announced before the end of the month.

Campaign 18 provided Kepler's third visit to the key part of the sky that contains the M44 and M67 star clusters, providing a 3-year baseline for these benchmark clusters. The target list also contained dozens of confirmed and candidate transiting exoplanets, a large number of low-mass flare stars, and the well-known AGN OJ 287.

Please keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

The cartoon below displays a summary of some of the field's most notable targets.

K2 Campaigns 2, 3, and 13 reprocessed

2018-10-03T16:00:00-07:00

A few months ago we announced that we were undertaking an effort to reprocess campaigns 0–14 using the same version of the Kepler/K2 pipeline used for C15 and subsequent campaigns. This version introduced several new features and improvements, such as more sophisticated pixel calibration, better identification of spacecraft pointing, improved cosmic ray correction, and production of short-cadence lightcurves, along with several other minor improvements. Please see the associated news post for details on each feature.

Reprocessed data and release notes from campaigns 2, 3, and 13 have been made available over the past few months. The newest data are available via the usual K2 data download interfaces at the MAST archive; the older data has been kept available via the MAST browser interface (e.g., here for tarballs of the old target pixel files (TPFs) and here for tarballs of the old lightcurve files, if previously produced). The data release notes have been updated for each reprocessed campaign, available at the nominal K2 Data Release Notes page; links to the old version of the release notes are also provided for posterity.

In the two figures below, we show the current status of major and minor new features and improvements as a result of the reprocessing effort. Below those, we highlight a few examples of these improvements and new features from C2, C3, and C13 that are likely to be of interest to users.

The next reprocessed campaign to be delivered will be C0, currently expected in November, followed by C11 and then C1 — see this post for the expected processing order of additional campaigns. (Note that the reprocessing activity does not impact the regular deliveries of newly obtained data, e.g., C18, currently expected in early November.)

The status of major processing features for each campaign as of October 3, 2018. Check marks indicate that the feature is present in the currently available data for that campaign. Blue check marks are features/improvements added a result of the global uniform reprocessing effort.

The status of minor processing features for each campaign as of October 3, 2018. Check marks indicate that the feature is present in the currently available data for that campaign. Blue check marks are features/improvements added a result of the global uniform reprocessing effort.

Notable changes to the data from campaigns 2, 3, and 13:

In the original C2 processing, lightcurves were not produced, and TPFs were "Type-1", which had poor WCS information and other limitations compared to the "Type-2" TPFs that were produced in later campaigns. (For details on the difference between Type-1 and Type-2 TPFs, see section 2.4 of the K2 Handbook.) As a result of reprocessing, Type-2 TPFs, lightcurves (both long- and short-cadence), and cotrending basis vectors (CBVs) are now available for C2.
One of the major improvements from the global reprocessing is the use of an algorithm called "Dynablack", which is essentially a more sophisticated way to perform the CCD pixel-level calibration that accounts for time-varying, instrument-induced artifacts in the pixel data. One benefit of Dynablack is that it is able to correct crosstalk from the fine guidance sensors, resulting in improved background correction for certain channels. As shown below, for channel 41 in the original C2 processing, the old CCD calibration method resulted in varying background level as a function of position on the CCD. In the reprocessing, the use of Dynablack resulted in a significantly better correction and more uniform background levels.

The residuals in the background correction fit as a function of row position on the CCD. Left: The original C2 processing. Right:The same figure from the C2 reprocessing. (Note the different y-axis scale between the two figures.)

As part of the reprocessing, we are now producing short-cadence lightcurves for all objects that were observed in short-cadence mode. We note that the detrending method used to produce the short-cadence PDC lightcurves, which was developed to work on Kepler data, is not optimal for K2 data, and thus they are expected to be of varying quality. However, we are producing them with the expectation that at least some objects will be of high quality, and/or their existence will spurn more detailed investigation. Below we show the short-cadence PDC lightcurve for EPIC 206003187, an RR Lyrae-type variable observed in C3. While there are still residual systematics near thruster-firing events, simply removing those points near thruster firing events results in a well-detrended phased lightcurve with a clearly visible Blazhko effect.

A 10-day segment of the RR Lyrae-type variable EPIC 206003187, observed in C3, with data near thruster firings shown in red. Credit: Dr. Ken Mighell

The phased, short-cadence PDC lightcurve of EPIC 206003187 after removing cadences near thruster firings. Credit: Dr. Ken Mighell

While examining the results of the C3 reprocessing we found that several thousand targets had significantly different optimal photometric apertures compared to the original processing. There appears to have been either a bug or configuration error in the original C3 processing that affected these targets; the reprocessed apertures appear correct, and upon subsequent examination we do not find this bug to have affected any other campaign. We show an example below for EPIC 206393582 where the pixels comprising the optimal aperture are identified via a transparent purple overlay. In the original processing, the optimal aperture was a single pixel to the right of the target, which is clearly wrong — in the reprocessing the optimal aperture is 4 pixels centered on the target. This was an unanticipated benefit of performing the global uniform reprocessing.

A target-pixel file image of EPIC 206393582 from the original processing (left) and reprocessing (right) with the optimal aperture pixels identified via transparent purple overlay. Credit: Dr. Steve Bryson

In the original processing of C13, the presence of the first magnitude star Aldebaran on channel 73 led to a time-varying error in the smear correction for channel 74, which shares the same physical CCD (see the Kepler CCD layout). As a result, every target on channel 74 had time-varying background levels, and the resulting lightcurves showed a "chattering" effect of significant point-to-point changes in flux (see the old C13 data release notes for details). Below we show an example target from channel 74, EPIC 246810163, a hot star with apparent astrophysical variability. As can be seen on the left, the "chattering" effect is visible in both the background flux and resulting lightcurve for this target. When reprocessing, an update to the smear correction routine was able to significantly better account for the flux bleed from Aldebaran — this resulted in a nominal, smoothly time-varying background flux and thus significantly better lightcurve.

Left column: Data for EPIC 246810163 from the original C13 processing. Right column: Data for EPIC 246810163 from the C13 reprocessing. Top row: The background flux level over the entire timespan of C13. Bottom row: The long-cadence PDC lightcurve of EPIC 246810163 over a time-span of ~10 days. Credit: Dr. Ken Mighell

K2 Campaign 19 ended to downlink data

2018-10-01T09:30:00-07:00

Kepler's latest observing campaign, K2 Campaign 19, started on August 29 after the spacecraft's configuration had been modified in order to adapt to a change in thruster performance. Since then, the spacecraft has been collecting data for the Campaign's 33,000 targets, including the well-known planet systems TRAPPIST-1 and GJ 9827.

During a recent Deep Space Network (DSN) contact, the Kepler team received data showing that the spacecraft’s ability to point precisely has degraded. In order to preserve the high-value science data collected so far, the Kepler team has placed the spacecraft in its stable, no-fuel-use "nap mode" on September 26.

During Kepler’s allotted DSN time, scheduled to begin October 10, the Kepler team will transmit the science data home. Due to uncertainties about the remaining available fuel, there is no guarantee that we will be able to download the science data. If successful the Kepler team will attempt to start K2 Campaign 20 with the remaining fuel.

Frequenty Asked Questions

General questions related to Kepler’s low fuel state have previously been answered in the Kepler Fuel Status FAQ. The extra FAQ below answers questions that are specific to the current and future K2 Campaigns.

Will the quality of Campaign 19 data be affected?

Preliminary indications are that the telescope’s pointing performance may be degraded during some portions of Campaign 19.

When will Campaign 19 data become available?

The project currently plans to downlink the data between October 10 and 15, 2018. If we are able to downlink the data successfully, the raw data are expected to become available from the data archive at MAST within a few days thereafter. Since the pointing performance has degraded, it’s unclear whether we’ll be able to provide calibrated data products and what timeline might be required for processing. Our current estimates are no earlier than January 2019.

Will Campaign 20 continue?

NASA anticipates that the spacecraft will soon run out of fuel, but it remains unclear how much remains. NASA’s goal is to collect and downlink as much science data as possible while the spacecraft remains viable. If the Campaign 19 data downlink is successful, the Kepler team will attempt Campaign 20.

Should I continue to use my telescope resources to augment Campaign 19 and 20 data?

Several science programs seek to complement Campaigns 19 and 20 using simultaneous observations carried out using ground-based telescope facilities. The PI's of these programs can phone the Kepler GO office at +1-650-604-2784 to request up-to-date guidance as needed.

Does low fuel mark the end of Kepler’s discoveries?

Not at all! We expect that Kepler’s data set will continue to yield discoveries for years to come, and that many planets are yet to be discovered. NASA will continue to support and fund the analysis of the Kepler and K2 data sets beyond the end of spacecraft operations.

New in Lightkurve: interactively selecting pixel aperture masks

2018-09-28T16:00:00-07:00

Kepler data analyses often begin with establishing which pixels your target of interest occupied, and to what extent artifacts or background signals affect those pixels. The Kepler/K2 in-house toolkit, Lightkurve, offers a new mechanism to witness — in real time — the differential impact of aperture mask pixel selection on the delivered lightcurve.

The new tool extends the functionality of the existing .interact() tool first introduced in May. What's new is the ability to click on individual pixels in the target pixel file window. The lightcurve on the lefthand side of the plot instantaneously re-renders a lightcurve by adding the flux across all the demarcated pixels. A user may hold shift and mouse-click to select many pixels in sequence, or may click and drag a box to select a box of pixels. Pixels may be de-selected by clicking a pixel while holding shift.

The animation below demonstrates how this tool may be used to identify the background Eclipsing Binary near the false positive planet candidate KOI 6.01.

The seemingly mundane choice of aperture photometry pixels embodies a deep phenomenon in statistics, the so-called bias-variance tradeoff. On one hand, we desire to collect all of a target's photons with a large aperture: more signal is good. On the other hand, we wish to limit the penalty of adding detector read noise and background signals: more noise is bad. The balance is struck by selecting a problem-specific optimal aperture mask. The Kepler Pipeline provides a mask optimized for finding planets in the near-motion-free Kepler prime data. It is this ostensibly optimal mask that appears in .interact() by default.

The choice of mask became even more problem-specific in the K2 mission, with its heightened spacecraft-induced image motion. Apertures that were considered optimal in the Kepler prime mission often underperform in K2. The interact tool can profoundly help K2 users diagnose and mitigate instrumental artifacts.

Usage

The .interact() tool can be called from a Jupyter notebook as follows:

from lightkurve import KeplerTargetPixelFile
tpf = KeplerTargetPixelFile.from_archive(target="Trappist-1")
tpf.interact()

You will need to upgrade your installation of lightkurve to the latest version (v1.0b17) for this to work. This can be done via the command line as follows:

$ pip install lightkurve --upgrade

Please consult the Lightkurve documentation for more information. The documentation includes a tutorial on the interact() tool.

Release of Pan-STARRS C16 and C17 time series photometry

2018-09-26T09:00:00-07:00

The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) observed the K2 Campaign 16 and 17 fields contemporaneously from the ground with its wide field imager. All the images from these Pan-STARRS data are available as a new High Level Science Product at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). The Pan-STARRS data include sparse griz time-series photometry of the entire 115 square degree K2 field of view, acquired in 7 square degree mosaics. The number of time samples ranges from about 4 to 35, depending on the band and campaign, spaced over the approximately 80 day campaigns. K2 Project Scientist Jessie Dotson and collaborators have also published a new AAS Research Note describing the motivation for contemporaneous observations, date ranges, per-band photometric cadences, and field center positions.

The observations have already been useful for identifying and characterizing transient phenomena such as supernovae. The C16 field also includes the star clusters M44 and M67, for which polychromatic photometry can assess stellar activity and starspot physical properties for example. The imaging data is available from the HLSP webpage at MAST, which also provides an image cutout tool for extracting user-defined thumbnail images, and an example Jupyter notebook which shows how the data can be accessed programmatically using the Application Programming Interface (API).

K2 Campaign 20 science program now available

2018-09-20T09:00:00-07:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 20 (Oct 15, 2018 - Jan 5, 2019) have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

The target list includes 14,789 standard long cadence and 210 standard short cadence targets located towards the constellation of Taurus. The Campaign partially overlaps with Campaigns 4 and 13, while also surveying 20 deg² of previously unstudied sky.

Campaign 20 will revisit the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region in the forward-facing mode. The region contains a large number of very young stars (<10 Myr) and the Campaign will significantly increase the number of such stars observed by Kepler. The field also includes members of the Pleiades (∼100 Myr) and Hyades (∼600 Myr) star clusters. The observations will improve the estimation of planet occurence rates as a function of stellar age, and will also enable the baseline of variability studies of young stars to be extended by including targets previously observed during Campaign 4 (2015) and Campaign 13 (2017).

The target list also contains a large number of main sequence stars, white dwarfs, flare stars, brown dwarfs, solar analogs, and classical variables which will enable a wide array of investigations.

The figure below illustrates the location of the field and its notable targets. The red dots mark the location of cluster members.

Two Kepler Special Sessions at the Winter AAS

2018-09-17T09:00:00-07:00

The 233rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), which is being held in Seattle in January, will feature two Special Sessions dedicated to Kepler and K2.

The first session, titled "Kepler and K2's 500,000 high-precision lightcurves: prospects for future discoveries" will look forward to the future discoveries expected from Kepler's large and unprecedented data set, discuss new and emerging uses of the data, and discuss new software tools and novel analysis methods. The session will be held on Thursday, January 10th at 10am, and will consist of invited talks, a panel discussion, and contributed posters.

The second session, titled "First Results from the Kepler/K2 Supernova Experiment", will feature new results from the diverse set of extragalactic transients which have recently been observed by Kepler. This session will take place on Tuesday, January 8th at 2pm.

Abstract submission is now open for contributed posters, and we encourage everyone to submit an abstract to present the potential of future discoveries using Kepler and K2 data. Abstracts are due 3 October 2018 via the standard AAS abstract submission system (select the option "Special Sessions Accepting Posters" in Step 3 of your submission). Researchers who prefer to present a talk are encouraged to select the "Contributed Oral session" option instead.

The talk schedules are listed below.

Kepler and K2's 500,000 high-precision lightcurves: prospects for future discoveries
AAS Special Session, Thursday Jan 10, 2019.

10:00am — “Kepler and K2's 500,000 lightcurves” — Jessie Dotson, NASA Ames
10:10am — “Are there more planets left in the Kepler and K2 data?” — Christina Hedges, Kepler/K2 GO Office
10:20am — “What is left to learn about Kepler/K2 planet host stars?” — Daniel Huber, University of Hawaii
10:30am — “What will Kepler/K2 teach us about our Galaxy?” — James Davenport, University of Washington
10:40am — “What will Kepler/K2 teach us about other galaxies?” — Krista Lynne Smith, Stanford University
10:50am — “How can new data analysis methods get more out of Kepler/K2 data” — Dan Foreman-Mackey, Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Astrophysics
11:00am — “How can machine learning contribute to mining Kepler / K2 data?” — Megan Ansdell, UC Berkeley
11:10m — Panel discussion.

First Results from the Kepler/K2 Supernova Experiment
AAS Special Session, Tuesday Jan 8, 2019.

2:00pm — “Overview of the Kepler/K2 Supernova Experiment” — Jessie Dotson, Kepler/K2 Project Scientist
2:10pm — Transients observed by the first Kepler Mission:
- “Type II Plateau Supernovae with K2/Kepler” — Peter Garnavich, Notre Dame
- “A Fast-Evolving, Luminous Transient Discovered by K2/Kepler” — Armin Rest, STScI
2:20pm — “A Tidal Disruption Event in a Seyfert 2 Observed with K2” — Ed Shaya, UMD
2:30pm — “Searching for Binary Companions in Kepler Type Ia SNe” — Ashley Villar, CfA
2:40pm — K2 supernova SN 2018oh:
- “K2 Observations of SN 2018oh Reveal a Two-Component Rising Light Curve for a Type Ia Supernova” — Georgios Dimitriadis, UC Santa Cruz
- "Seeing Double: ASASSN-18bt Exhibits a double-power-law Rise in the Early-Time K2 Light Curve" — Ben Shappee, IfA
- “Constraints on the ejecta parameters of SN 2018oh from photometry” — Wenxiong Li, Tsinghua University
3:00pm — “Learning about SN Ia progenitors with SN 2018agk” — Gautham Narayan, STScI
3:10pm — “The K2 Light curve of SN 2018adg” — Maria Drout, Toronto
3:20pm — "The K2 Background Survey and a new WZ Sge star in K2" — Ryan Ridden-Harper, ANU

K2 Campaign 17 data release notes available

2018-09-11T08:00:00-07:00

The data release notes for K2 Campaign 17 are now available online. We encourage all users to review the notes.

Abstracts for Kepler & K2 Science Conference V are due by November 15, 2018

2018-09-05T08:00:00-07:00

Abstracts for conference presentations can now be submitted through the abstract submission form. Participants may submit multiple abstracts to propose talks, posters, or breakout sessions. The regular abstract deadline is November 15, 2018.

In addition to the abstract submission form, a separate registration form has been opened. There is no registration fee for this conference, however we ask that all attendees register by February 10, 2019.

Additional details, including information about travel and lodging, are available on the conference home page.

K2 Campaign 19 status update

2018-09-05T07:00:00-07:00

The Kepler spacecraft began collecting science data on Aug. 29 for its 19th observation campaign. However, after being roused from sleep mode the spacecraft’s configuration has been modified due to unusual behavior exhibited by one of the thrusters. Preliminary indications are that the telescope’s pointing performance may be somewhat degraded. It remains unclear how much fuel remains; NASA continues to monitor the health and performance of the spacecraft.

Several science programs seek to complement Campaign 19 data using simultaneous observations carried out using other telescope facilities. The PI's of these programs can phone the Kepler GO office at +1-650-604-2784 to request guidance as needed.

Ken Mighell and Nick Saunders join the K2 team

2018-08-28T09:00:00-07:00

The Kepler/K2 team has recently had two new members join us at the Ames Research Center in California: Ken Mighell and Nick Saunders.

Dr Ken Mighell joined us from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. His background is in the analysis of CCD photometry for the study of stellar populations and Local Group galaxies. Ken is currently part of the K2 team responsible for assessing and assuring the quality of the K2 Uniform Global Processing effort which is currently underway.

Nick Saunders joined us from the University of Washington where he recently obtained his Bachelor degrees in both Astrophysics and Literature. During his studies, Nick worked with Prof Rory Barnes and Dr Rodrigo Luger on the removal of instrumental noise from Kepler/K2 photometry for the study of exoplanets. Nick will be continuing this work during his pre-doctoral gap year in support of the Lightkurve data analysis package.

K2 Campaign 17 processed data available

2018-08-16T08:00:00-07:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 17 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

Campaign 17 provided a substantial overlap with Campaign 6, offering a longer baseline for stellar activity, asteroseismology, and AGN studies, as well as enabling dozens of K2 planet candidates to be revisited.

The target list featured more than 34,000 targets, including 3,000+ candidate M dwarf stars, 10,000+ candidate FGK main-sequence stars, and 14,000+ galaxies. Notable short cadence targets included dozens of planet systems, 67 variable white dwarfs, 47 cool flare stars, and 17 bright solar-type stars.

As a reminder: users are strongly encouraged to contact, cite, and collaborate with the teams who proposed the observations, as listed on the Approved Progams & Targets page.

Please keep an eye on our website for the associated data release notes.

Lodging for Kepler & K2 SciCon V available now

2018-08-10T12:00:00-07:00

Lodging can now be reserved. The conference hotel is the Hilton Los Angeles North/Glendale located at 100 West Glenoaks Blvd, Glendale, California, 91202. A block of rooms has been reserved for March 2, 2019 - March 9, 2019. The special room rate will be available until February 10, 2019 or until the group block is sold-out, whichever comes first.

Rooms in the block can be reserved by following this link.

If you are interested in shared housing, please contact the LOC at keplerscicon@ipac.caltech.edu so that we can connect you with others interested as well.

K2 Campaign 18 downlink successful

2018-08-09T07:00:00-07:00

The Kepler spacecraft has successfully downloaded Campaign 18 data to Earth. The raw data are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

We are monitoring the spacecraft very closely and will provide more information when its status has been fully assessed. Scientists who are carrying out simultaneous observations from the ground using other telescope facilities may phone the Kepler GO office at +1-650-604-2784 to request guidance as needed.

K2 Campaign 17 data processing complete

2018-08-06T10:00:00-07:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 17 is now complete and the pixel files and lightcurves are in the process of being shipped to the data archive at MAST. We anticipate that the data release will be announced by next week.

Please keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Intrapixel responsivity measured on a Kepler flight spare detector

2018-07-31T09:00:00-07:00

Researchers have recently characterized the Intra-Pixel Response Function (IPRF) of a Kepler flight spare CCD. Recent Center for Imaging Science PhD recipient Dmitry Vorobiev presented the study at the SPIE meeting on Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation in Austin, Texas in June 2018. The findings are posted on ArXiV and will appear in the upcoming Proceedings of the SPIE.

The Intra-Pixel Response Function is the mapping of detector sensitivity within a pixel boundary. The IPRF imbues significant flux deficits and excesses as spacecraft-induced motion drags celestial photo-centers within a pixel. These conspicuous instrumental flux changes dominate the variance of K2 aperture photometry. Several detrending algorithms account for these sawtooth-like artifacts in the flux time series. The lab-based measurement of the IPRF will enable forward-modeling approaches such as Point Spread Function (PSF) photometry, needed for precision photometry in high stellar density fields. Alternatively, quantifying this sub-pixel flat field can enhance the fidelity of synthetic K2 photometry, which can inform the reliability of data-driven heuristic methods.

Mapping of the IPRF from in-situ K2 observations has been proposed. The new lab-based measurements offer both a clear signal of the characteristic doming structure and its wavelength-dependence.

Figure: Wavelength dependence of the Intra-Pixel Response Function from Vorobiev et al. 2018.

K2 Campaign 16 data release notes available

2018-07-11T08:00:00-07:00

The data release notes for K2 Campaign 16 are now available online. We encourage all users to review the notes.

K2 GO Cycle 7 Phase-1 deadline postponed to August 16, 2018

2018-07-11T00:00:00-07:00

In response to the drop in fuel pressure observed during Campaign 18, the K2 Guest Observer Cycle 7 call (cf. ROSES D.7 on NSPIRES) has been amended to postpone the Phase-1 deadline from July 19 to August 16, 2018. This change enables the submission of target proposals for K2 Campaign 20 to be delayed until after the successful start of Campaign 19 is confirmed near August 9. All other dates remain unchanged.

Phase-1 proposals, including target lists and a scientific rationale, are now requested by August 16, 2018. If the spacecraft health and fuel allow, then Phase-2 proposals will be due January 17, 2019.

Questions regarding this change may be sent to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Kepler fuel status update & FAQ

2018-07-05T09:00:00-07:00

On Monday, July 2nd, prompted by an anomalous drop in fuel pressure, the Kepler team paused the science observations for K2 Campaign 18 and commanded the spacecraft into a no-fuel-use safe mode. It will remain in this mode until August 2nd, when the Kepler team will use the normally scheduled DSN time to downlink the Campaign 18 data. This course of action was taken to preserve the 51 days of high-quality Campaign 18 data that are currently held on the spacecraft’s solid state recorder.

NASA is continuing to prepare for Campaign 19 which is scheduled to begin August 6th.

Will the quality of Campaign 18 data be affected?

No, the first 51 days of Campaign 18 have been flawless. The spacecraft performed nominally until the project commanded it into its no-fuel "nap mode" in response to a drop in fuel pressure.

When will Campaign 18 data become available?

The project currently plans to downlink the data between August 2 and 6, 2018. The raw data are expected to become available from the data archive at MAST within a few days thereafter, and the calibrated data products are expected to be released towards Q4 2018.

Will Campaign 19 continue?

NASA is continuing to prepare for Campaign 19. If the observed drop in fuel pressure is indicative of the spacecraft running out of fuel, then Campaign 19 may not be completed.

Should I continue to use my telescope resources to augment Campaign 19 data?

Should I still propose targets for Campaign 20?

Yes! NASA will continue to plan for future campaigns until the spacecraft can no longer operate nominally. We expect to move the Campaign 20 target proposal deadline to August 16th, 2018, i.e. beyond the start of Campaign 19.

Does low fuel mark the end of Kepler’s discoveries?

Not at all! We expect that Kepler’s data set will continue to yield discoveries for years to come, and that many planets are yet to be discovered (e.g. 27 new planets from Campaign 10 were announced just last week). NASA will continue to support and fund the analysis of the Kepler and K2 data sets beyond the end of spacecraft operations. Extrapolating from the success of Kepler's original mission, we expect that K2's data set will yield more than 1,000 scientific publications over the coming years (cf. figure below).

Figure: extrapolating from the scientific productivity of Kepler's original mission (top panel), we expect that more than 1,000 publications will utilize K2 data over the coming years (bottom panel).

New in lightkurve: identifying time-variable background noise

2018-07-04T10:00:00-07:00

The new lightkurve open source Python package for Kepler and K2 data analysis, which we first announced in March, contains a new data analysis tutorial which demonstrates how custom aperture photometry can be used to check your target for the presence of time-variable background signals.

The background flux level of Kepler pixel data is not static. In particular, certain CCD channels occasionally experience the 'rolling band' effect, where the background has a strong time varying component of a 'band' moving up the detector. You can read more about rolling band in the Kepler Instrument Handbook. An example of the rolling band artifact is shown in the video below. You can see the band move through the superstamp at the 2 second mark, leaving the bottom of the screen at the 6 second mark.

The rolling band artifact is small, up to about 20 counts per pixel. However, this can add up for large apertures containing many pixels or for faint, quiet targets.

Rolling band can often add spurious signals into your data which look like real astrophysical variability. The best way to spot rolling band is to vary your aperture size or make lightcurves of nearby background pixels. If the signal strength increases as you increase the number of background pixels in the aperture, the effect is likely to be an additive background component. Our new data analysis tutorial demonstrates how lightkurve can be used to investigate the presence of the noise in your target of choice.

Animation of the superstamp obtained for the dwarf galaxy IC1613 during K2 Campaign 8. Around the superstamp you can see smaller Target Pixel Files (TPFs) covering single objects of interest. You can see a dark band move from the top of the superstamp to the bottom during the movie. This dark band and surrounding artifacts are the so-called "rolling bands".

K2 Campaign 19 science program now available

2018-07-02T09:00:00-07:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 19 have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

The target list includes 33,863 standard long cadence and 216 standard short cadence targets located towards the constellation of Aquarius. The Campaign partially overlaps with Campaigns 3 and 12, while also surveying ~15 deg² of previously unstudied sky.

Notable targets include the nearby planet systems TRAPPIST-1 and GJ 9827. These systems host some of the most amenable small planets for atmospheric characterization known to date, i.e. TRAPPIST-1 f, GJ 9827 b, and GJ 9827 d. The Hubble Space Telescope is scheduled to observe GJ 9827 b on September 16th and 21st, simultaneously with Kepler, obtaining a transmission spectrum to characterize water abundance in the atmosphere. Kepler will provide a unique photometric context to the Hubble observations for the purpose of constraining astrophysical noise such as star spots and provide precise transit modeling when HST is in Earth occultation.

Other notable targets include:

Dozens of confirmed and candidate exoplanets previously discovered during K2 Campaigns 3 and 12, including K2-138, the resonant system of five planets discovered by citizen scientists, and HD 215152, a system known to contain four short-period RV planets.
A large sample of low-mass flare stars and white dwarfs in short cadence.
11,501 galaxies are being surveyed for supernovae and other transients.
30 Solar System objects are being monitored, including the planet Neptune and its moon Triton in short cadence, and comet 2P/Encke in long cadence.

The figure below illustrates the location of the field and its notable targets.

Save the date for Kepler & K2 Science Conference V: March 4-8, 2019

2018-06-19T09:00:00-07:00

The Kepler & K2 Science Conference V will take place March 4-8, 2019, in Glendale, California. The Kepler spacecraft launched on March 6, 2009 aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This meeting will be a celebration of Kepler's 10 years in space and will serve as a showcase of the bountiful results that have come from both the Kepler and K2 missions.

The abstract deadline is November 15, 2018. For more information, visit the conference website at https://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov/scicon-2019

New in lightkurve: saving a lightcurve as a FITS file

2018-06-13T14:00:00-07:00

The new lightkurve Python package for Kepler and K2 data analysis, which we first announced in March, contains a new feature: to_fits().

The feature solves a common use case for authors of custom lightcurves who wish to share their lightcurves with collaborators or contribute them to MAST as a High Level Science Product (HLSP). Lightkurve now provides a to_fits() method on every LightCurve object which enables a lightcurve to be saved as a FITS file in the standard format adopted by the Kepler and TESS pipelines.

For example, this snippet of code will create a lightcurve file called output.fits:

from lightkurve import LightCurve
llc = LightCurve(time=[1, 2, 3], flux=[1.02, 0.98, 1.01])
lc.to_fits('output.fits')

A more comprehensive tutorial, which also explains how to include the custom header keywords required by MAST, is available in the lightkurve documentation.

Note that you will need to upgrade your installation of lightkurve to the latest version (v1.0b8) to use this feature. This can be done via the command line as follows:

$ pip install lightkurve --upgrade

We invite you to try out to_fits() today and let us know if you have any problems by opening a GitHub issue.

Release of Driftscan Full Frame Images

2018-06-05T10:00:00-07:00

The Kepler spacecraft recently executed a short pilot program to demonstrate the acquisition of unique calibration data using a new, experimental data collection mode that requires no extra fuel. On May 10-11, 2018, during the K2 Campaign 17 (C17) Deep Space Network (DSN) downlink, the spacecraft collected and downlinked five Full Frame Images (FFIs) after all C17 science data had been safely telemetered and spare DSN time remained.

In the data downlink attitude, the spacecraft antenna points towards Earth and the spacecraft rotates around the antenna boresight without using fuel. In this configuration the field of view drifts at ~0.3-0.5 arcseconds per second, i.e. more than during science observations. The resulting images are called Driftscan Full Frame Images (DFFIs). The data are expected to facilitate in-situ focal plane characterization and self-calibration, ultimately useful for scene modeling and Point Spread Function (PSF) photometry in crowded regions like star clusters or in extended objects.

Driftscanning produces long overlapping star-trails on the FFI, rather than conventional sharp point-sources. The star trails extend over ~150 ±20 pixels, corresponding to an average drift rate of ~0.35 arcseconds per second. The direction of pointing of the telescope was not known a-priori, but can in principle be derived from the distinct constellation pattern of star trails.

The driftscan FFIs were acquired with the same combined exposure time as conventional 30-minute Long Cadence FFIs, i.e. 270 onboard-coadded integrations with 6.02s exposure time and 0.52s readout time per integration. The DFFIs were collected within 16 minutes to 5 hours of the previous frame, such that star trails can be seen moving across module boundaries from frame-to-frame.

The star trail line segments possess substructure suggestive of non-constant image motion. A longer-than-average dwell time of a point source causes regions of "burn-in", while shorter-than-average dwell times cause relative dearths in flux. The resulting undulations appear in all the star trail line segments for a given driftscan FFI. The line segment substructures could also arise from the shutterless image array transfer process occurring in phase with constant image motion, yielding a "beating" phenomenon within pixel boundaries.

The driftscan FFIs may enhance flat-field calibration of the Kepler focal plane, since the relative response of adjacent pixels can be derived by identifying local departures from the expected star trail illumination pattern. Other uses for driftscan FFIs may eventually include solar system science and short-timescale (few seconds) variations of bright astrophysical sources.

The raw driftscan FFIs are now available from the MAST archive at https://archive.stsci.edu/pub/k2/ffi/driftscan-ffi. The file format is identical to conventional raw FFIs. These data should be considered experimental and will not be pipeline-calibrated.

The image below shows a portion of one channel of one driftscan FFI. Two presentations available online summarize the motivation for FFI driftscans, and preliminary FFI analysis.

Image: example driftscan image for one CCD channel.

Call for K2 GO Cycle 7 proposals for Campaign 20

2018-06-02T17:00:00-07:00

The solicitation for K2 Guest Observer Cycle 7 proposals has been released and made available via NSPIRES. Owing to the limited amount of spacecraft fuel remaining, Cycle 7 is comprised of Campaign 20 only. This post summarizes the opportunity.

Campaign 20

Campaign 20 will revisit the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region in the forward-facing mode. The region contains a large number of very young stars (<10 Myr) and the Campaign will significantly increase the number of such stars observed by Kepler. The field also includes members of the Pleiades (∼100 Myr) and Hyades (∼600 Myr) star clusters. The observations will improve the estimation of planet occurence rates as a function of stellar age, and will also enable the baseline of variability studies of young stars to be extended by including targets previously observed during Campaign 4 (2015) and Campaign 13 (2017).

Field 20 also contains a large number of main sequence stars, post-main sequence stars, and galaxies to enable a wide array of investigations.

Figure: Footprint of K2 Campaign 20.

Target and funding selection process

Similar to the selection process executed for K2 GO Cycle 6, the solicitation presents a two-phase process:

An optional Phase-1 proposal will enable targets to be selected for Campaign 20. Phase-1 proposals, including target tables and a scientific rationale, are requested by August 16, 2018 and must be submitted via email to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov. The scientific rationale must not exceed 2 pages for small programs (less than 1000 targets) and 4 pages for large programs (1000 targets or more).

If the spacecraft health and fuel allow, then Phase-2 proposals for funding will be due January 17, 2019 via NSPIRES (see Section 7.1.2 of the solicitation). Phase-2 proposals are limited to use observations for targets which have been selected as part of Phase-1. The target list will be published in September 2018. Phase-2 proposals are eligible to receive funding awards between $30K and $150K, depending on the number of targets used.

Information about the proposal process, including the scope, evaluation criteria, availability of funds, eligibility, target selection tools, submission process, and frequently asked questions, is detailed on our proposal preparation page.

K2fov update required

Investigators interested in evaluating the visibility of targets during Campaign 20 must update their version of the K2fov target selection tool to version 8.0, released on 3 June 2018, to take the new field position into account.

K2fov can be updated from the command line using pip:

pip install K2fov --upgrade

The version number of your K2fov installation can be verified using the following command:

python -c "import K2fov; print(K2fov.__version__)"

The above command should return "8.0.0" or higher. If the number is lower, or if you see an error message, then contact us for support.

Questions?

Questions regarding this solicitation may be sent to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Kepler/K2 Extragalactic Data Analysis Meeting in Baltimore, July 16-18, 2018

2018-06-01T17:00:00-07:00

Members of the Kepler Extra-Galactic Survey are hosting an Extragalactic Transient Data Analysis Meeting on July 16-18, 2018, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

This hands-on meeting, inspired by Tess Ninja and the Gaia Sprints, is designed to bring together researchers with a common interest in the analysis of extragalactic transients using data from NASA's Kepler and K2 missions.

To date, Kepler has collected photometric time series for over 65,000 galaxies, most notably during K2's Campaigns 16 and 17. During these recent forward-facing Campaigns, dozens of candidate and confirmed supernovae were recorded with unprecedented cadence and precision. This meeting is intended to build new collaborations, minimize duplication of effort, and facilitate the development of open-source tools for working with this new dataset.

The deadline to apply to register is June 28th, 2018. Researchers from all career stages and backgrounds are encouraged to apply. See the meeting webpage for details.

K2 Campaign 16 processed data available

2018-05-31T08:00:00-07:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 16 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

The target list featured 20,647 stars alongside 9,241 galaxies for the supernova experiment. Highlights included the M44 (Beehive) and M67 clusters, dozens of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates revealed by K2 Campaign 5, and many late-type flare stars observed in short cadence.

Uniquely, the spacecraft was pointing along the forward-facing direction of the spacecraft's velocity vector during this Campaign, which allowed the field to be accessed from Earth. This enabled K2's single-bandpass photometry to be complemented with simultaneous observations from the ground. For example, PanSTARRS monitored the entire field every night in two filters (cycling through g+r and g+i) for the purpose of providing early alerts for transients in the field, which were made public instantly via the Transient Name Server. The PanSTARRS imaging data are currently being transferred to the data archive at MAST and are expected to become available to the public in the course of July.

As a reminder: users are strongly encouraged to contact, cite, and collaborate with the teams who proposed the observations, as listed on the Approved Progams & Targets page.

Please keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Meet Kepler/K2 staff at AAS 232 in Denver

2018-05-29T12:00:00-07:00

Members of the Kepler/K2 team will staff a booth in the exhibit hall at the upcoming Summer AAS meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Between July 4 and 6, 2018, you will be able to find Jessie Dotson (K2 Project Scientist), Geert Barentsen (K2 GO Director), and Knicole Colón (K2 Mission Expert) at Exhibit Booth #309, which we will share with our friends from NASA's Exoplanet Science Institute.

We will be able to update you about the Kepler spacecraft status, answer your questions about the upcoming K2 Cycle 7 funding opportunity, and demonstrate the new lightkurve data analysis package. Come say hello and grab a Kepler sticker!

K2 Campaign 17 completed successfully; Campaign 18 underway

2018-05-14T15:30:00-07:00

Good news! The Kepler spacecraft successfully completed its K2 Campaign 17 last week, on May 8th, and the full data set has now been downlinked to Earth.

To enable users to make use of the current visibility of the Campaign 17 field from the ground, the raw C17 data have been made public immediately via the K2 data archive at MAST. The Campaign was focused, in part, on supernova science, and it is thought that approximately 27 candidate supernova events have been captured in the telemetered pixels.

The use of the raw, uncalibrated data files requires an intimate understanding of their format and caveats. For scientific investigations that are not time-critical, we recommend that users wait for the calibrated and quality-controlled data products to become available in approximately 3 months.

Meanwhile, K2 Campaign 18 successfully started on Sunday morning, May 13th, near midnight UTC. Uniquely, Campaign 18 is the third visit to the K2 legacy field which includes both the M44 (Beehive) and M67 open star clusters. Campaign 18 overlaps entirely with C5, and partially with C16, providing a dataset with a 3-year baseline and 8-month duty cycle towards a Galactic sightline that is located 130 degrees away from the original Kepler field in Cygnus.

K2 Campaign 16 data processing complete

2018-05-14T12:00:00-07:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 16 is now complete and the pixel files and lightcurves are in the process of being shipped to the data archive at MAST. We anticipate that the data release will be announced near May 24th.

The target list featured 20,647 stars alongside 9,241 galaxies for the supernova experiment. Highlights included the M44 (Beehive) and M67 clusters, dozens of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates revealed by K2 Campaign 5, and many late-type flare stars observed in short cadence.

Please keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

New in lightkurve: inspecting pixel data using tpf.interact()

2018-05-11T01:00:00-07:00

The new lightkurve Python package for Kepler and K2 data analysis, which we first announced in March, contains a new feature: interact().

The tool strives to solve a common stumbling block in Kepler data analysis: "I see a blip in my lightcurve. Is it real or instrumental?" interact() alleviates the guesswork by providing users with an easy-to-use Python notebook widget to interactively inspect the pixel data along a lightcurve.

A user can move a slider to rifle through cadences, while seeing the postage stamp images update in real time. A red vertical bar highlights the moment in the lightcurve. Mousing-over individual lightcurve points flashes up a hover-over tool tip with ancillary metadata about that particular cadence (e.g. quality flags). The tool offers many avenues for customization, including zooming, panning, and screen stretch.

The command interact() is a method of the KeplerTargetPixelFile class, meaning that you can simply load in a target pixel file and append .interact() to the file as follows:

from lightkurve import KeplerTargetPixelFile tpf = KeplerTargetPixelFile.from_archive(target="Trappist-1") tpf.interact()

You will need to upgrade your installation of lightkurve to the latest version (v1.0b5) for this to work. This can be done via the command line as follows:

$ pip install lightkurve --upgrade

We invite you to try out interact() today and let us know if you have any problems by opening a GitHub Issue.

A YouTube screencast and a tutorial in the documentation further illustrate the features of the tool.

Call for Kepler/K2 Visiting Scientists

2018-05-08T13:00:00-07:00

The Kepler/K2 mission operates a Visiting Scientist Program which enables users of Kepler or K2 data to visit the mission headquarters at NASA Ames in California for a period of multiple days, weeks, or months.

The program gives both junior or senior researchers the opportunity to interact closely with Kepler/K2 team members and instrument experts for a prolonged period of time. Visitors will also have the opportunity to give a seminar at NASA Ames.

Interested participants should submit a <2-page proposal that includes an outline of the research project, relevant experience, and the desired duration and period of the visit. Researchers of all career stages may apply.

Funds will normally be available to support the travel and lodging expenses of successful applicants, to be agreed upon acceptance. A desk and internet access will also be provided.

Proposals may be submitted at any time via e-mail to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov. Applications will be evaluated on a running basis with respect to several factors, including:

scientific merit of the proposed project;

benefit of having access to Kepler/K2 experts to carry out the project;

contribution of the project to Kepler/K2’s long-term legacy.

K2 uniform global reprocessing underway

2018-04-27T14:00:00-07:00

The K2 mission has begun a global reprocessing of the C0–C14 K2 data with an updated, uniform version of the Kepler/K2 pipeline. C15 and later campaigns will be processed with the same pipeline version. This effort should enhance the scientific return of the K2 mission by providing users with a high quality, uniformly processed and documented K2 dataset. This work will be performed on a best-effort basis as long as mission resources are available to do so — there is no guarantee that the Mission will able to reprocess every old campaign. The campaigns have been prioritized by enhanced scientific return as a result of reprocessing. Note that processing and delivery of new campaigns (e.g., C16, C17, etc.) will always be prioritized over reprocessing of older campaigns.

Current Priority of Older Campaigns: C2, C13, C0, C11, C1, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, C10, C12, C14. (Not guaranteed to be actual order delivered due to processing constraints.)

All data will be delivered to the K2 data archive at MAST as it is reprocessed, where the reprocessed data for a given campaign will replace the older processing when searching for data via MAST's K2 Data Search and Retrieval page and any other interfaces. The older data will remain available to users via a subdirectory in the MAST browser interface.

Changes

The list of pipeline changes have been grouped into two categories: Major and Minor. The Major changes affect the data at a significant level and/or are applicable to the vast majority of campaigns. The minor changes affect the data at a much less significant level and/or are applicable to only a small number of campaigns. At the end of each category a graphic is shown that visually demonstrates which campaigns are affected (or will be affected) by each change.

Major Changes

Dynablack

A feature of the Kepler pipeline that was used during Kepler prime processing, but until now had not been implemented for K2, is the use of Dynamic Black Correction, or "Dynablack", which is essentially a more sophisticated algorithm to perform the CCD pixel-level calibration that accounts for time varying, instrument-induced artifacts in the pixel data.

Dynablack uses the full-frame images and collateral pixels to provide two main benefits compared to traditional pixel calibration:

Correct thermally dependent fine guidance sensor crosstalk pixels.

Identify rolling-band artifacts (see §6.7 of the Instrument Handbook) with flags in the target pixel files.

Users can track rolling-band artifacts using the new RB_LEVEL flags in the FITS files. See §A.1.1 of the Kepler Data Release 25 Notes and §2.3.2 of the Kepler Archive Manual for information on how to interpret and utilize the RB_LEVEL flags. In-particular, users should note that the RB_LEVEL test at the two shortest durations, 3 cadences (1.5 hours) and 6 cadences (3 hours), is overly sensitive to instrument noise and does not offer a reliable indicator of the presence of rolling band pattern noise. Because the binary "Rolling Band Detected" QUALITY and SAP_QUALITY flags (bits 18, 19) in the target pixel files and light curve files are based on a rolling band detection at any of the test durations (indicated by the keyword RBTDURi), they also do not provide a reliable indicator of the presence of rolling band pattern noise. The RB_LEVEL flags at durations greater than 6 cadences (3 hours) provide the best indication of the presence of rolling band artifacts.

As shown in Figure Major-Proc-Status, Dynablack was never implemented for campaigns prior to C15, but will be implemented during the global reprocessing for old campaigns, as well as for new campaigns.

Not in Fine Point Flag

Throughout K2, software on-board the spacecraft would record when it considered itself not in fine point. The pipeline would flag these cadences as "Spacecraft is not in fine point" (QUALITY flag bit #16, decimal=32768) and the data would be gapped in both PA and PDC lightcurves. Starting with C14, a change in the on-board software resulted in additional cadences being flagged as "Spacecraft is not in fine point" (QUALITY flag bit #16, decimal=32768). Especially after this change, but also before, it was noticed that the "Spacecraft is not in fine point" flag was set on cadences that actually contained good data where the spacecraft pointing was acceptable for science observations.

As shown in Figure Major-Proc-Status, the "Spacecraft is not in fine point" flag (QUALITY flag bit #16, decimal=32768) was used for all campaigns prior to C15. Starting with C15 and reprocessed campaigns, it is now ignored in the pipeline. See the next section, "Coarse Pointing Flag", for how cadences with poor pointing are now appropriately handled in the pipeline.

Coarse Pointing Flag

For C15+ and the global reprocessing, the pipeline is now using the "Spacecraft is in coarse point" flag (QUALITY flag bit #3, decimal=4) to identify cadences with significant pointing error. This flag is set by the mission based on the measured pointing error (using high-frequency sub-cadence telemetry) exceeding 1.5 pixels for 4 or more continuous cadences, or exceeding 2.5 pixels for a single cadence. The pipeline will treat these "coarse-point" cadences by gapping them in the PDC lightcurves for the flagged cadences. The mission has found that implementing this flag significantly improves the measured precision of the PDC lightcurves, both as a result of eliminating flux outliers due to poor pointing and PDC being able to focus more of its detrending power on correcting broad systematics and not single outliers. The mission recommends that starting with C15, users look to QUALITY flag bit #3 as an indicator of poor spacecraft pointing.

As shown in Figure Major-Proc-Status, the coarse point flags were implemented starting with C14 and all new campaigns, and will be implemented for all reprocessed past campaigns.

Cosmic-Ray Threshold

The Kepler pipeline employs an algorithm to detect when cosmic rays impact the collateral area of the CCD, used to calibrate the pixel-level data, and correct for the cosmic rays so that the data are properly calibrated. The original Kepler pipeline was not designed to work with significant (> 1 pixel) motion, especially in the presence of very bright objects, which are both common to K2. As a result, it was noticed that the cosmic ray detection algorithm was sometimes falsely triggering, which resulted in an artificial suppression of the collateral smear data, and thus an under-correction of all pixels in an affected column. The net effect is the presence of bright columns in affected cadences (examples can be seen in the C8 data release notes under 'Intermittent Streaks'). This effect was not noticed to be significant until many campaigns had been processed, and varies significantly per campaign and channel.

After investigation, the mission determined the most effective course of action was to raise the threshold of the collateral cosmic ray detector from 4σ to 7σ, which struck a balance between minimizing false detections while still detecting and correcting for significant, real cosmic ray events. This should improve photometric precision by reducing the number of flux outliers in the lightcurves.

As shown in Figure Major-Proc-Status, the cosmic ray threshold was set to 4σ for C0–C10 and 7σ for C11 and all newer campaigns. The threshold will be set to 7σ for all new campaigns and reprocessed past campaigns.

Short-Cadence

The Kepler pipeline corrects short-cadence PA lightcurves by interpolating from the long-cadence cotrending basis vectors (CBVs) that are produced as a result of long-cadence PDC. This method was not designed with the significant motion and resulting systematics that arise in K2 data, and as a result does a poor job of detrending K2 short-cadence data. For this reason, beyond an initial inspection based on C2, the mission did not attempt to produce short-cadence K2 light curves as part of its processing for C0–C14, as shown in Figure Major-Proc-Status.

As part of the global reprocessing effort, the mission revisited the prospect of producing short-cadence light curves by doing so for C15. In consultation with the community, the mission decided that despite the overall poor detrending, there was value in having short-cadence light curves available for at least an initial inspection, especially given that currently short-cadence light curves are not produced for most short cadence targets as part of the community-delivered high-level science products. The hope is that these pipeline short-cadence light curves may be used for initial inspection of the short-cadence data, which might prompt users to perform their own short-cadence detrending, or better adapt the existing long-cadence Cotrending Basis Vector (CBV) files for use in detrending the short-cadence data.

Starting with C15, as well as for all reprocessed data, an attempt to produce and deliver short-cadence light curves will be made — if significant issues arise in producing them for any campaign though, their production for that campaign may be abandoned in order to proceed with processing in a timely manner. Users are again strongly cautioned that no work was done to adapt the Kepler pipeline's detrending module (PDC), developed for Kepler data, to work well on short-cadence K2 data. Thruster firings are especially poorly corrected for most short-cadence targets, and other systematic features may not be corrected well. See Figure C15-SC-Example-1 in the C15 data release notes (under the section 'Short Cadence Light Curves') for an example of remaining systematics in short-cadence data around thruster firings. However, some targets do have adequate detrending in short-cadence, and even in the cases of poor detrending, short-term astrophysical variation can be seen for targets where such astrophysical variation exists. See Figure C15-SC-Example-2 in the C15 data release notes where the ~18 min periodic variations of the AM CVn type binary HP Lip are readily apparent in the C15 short-cadence light curve. It should also be noted that short-cadence lightcurve production will be performed at a low-priority, best-effort basis, such that if any errors occur when processing the short-cadence light curves, the mission will not expend resources to do so if it affects the ability to process long-cadence data for other campaigns.

Figure Major-Proc-Status: The status of major changes planned for the final uniform processing as of April 27, 2018.
Red indicates the final processing setting is *not* yet implemented in currently available data as of April 27, 2018.
Blue indicates the final processing setting has been implemented in currently available data as of April 27, 2018.

Minor Changes

LDE Parity Error flag

An 'LDE Parity Error' flag is set on-board the spacecraft for all targets when a bright object on that channel bleeds into the serial readout register area of the CCD and results in an out of bounds value in the analog-to-digital converter. Since this was an extremely rare event during the Kepler mission, the pipeline was set to discard all cadences flagged as 'LDE Parity Error' in both the target pixel and lightcurve files for all targets. With K2, there are many bright stars, and bright, moving planets that occur in several campaigns. This results in the 'LDE Parity Error' flag being tripped for multiple cadences in several campaigns. Specifically, 1,237 cadences are flagged in C2 most likely due to the Kp~4 star EPIC 205283834, 128 in C6 most likely due to Spica, 148 in C11 most likely due to Saturn, and between 2–11 cadences in all other campaigns. Inspecting the cadences, the actual data was found to not exhibit any defects, and thus these cadences should ideally not be discarded.

As shown in Figure Minor-Proc-Status, the pipeline was set to discard cadences based on the 'LDE Parity Error' flag for C0, C1, C3, C4, C6, and C8. No ill effects were seen in the other campaigns when the pipeline was set to ignore the flag. Thus, for C15 and all future campaigns, as well as all reprocessing, the pipeline will continue to ignore the flag, which will result in more cadences with good data available to users.

Momentum Dump Flag

A 'Momentum Dump' flag is set on-board the spacecraft for all targets when the spacecraft initiates a momentum dump (a.k.a. a 'Re-Sat'). This happens about every 2 days as part of normal K2 operations to maintain spacecraft pointing with two reaction wheels. During this time, the spacecraft can move up to half a degree within a cadence, which will significantly affect the ability to measure accurate photometry during an affected cadence. The Kepler pipeline is nominally set to discard cadences flagged as 'Momentum Dump' in both the target pixel and lightcurve files.

As shown in Figure Minor-Proc-Status, the pipeline utilized the 'Momentum Dump' flag for C0–C5 and C11–C15. For C6–C10, the mission experimented with setting the pipeline to ignore the flag, as there was a possibility that some of these flagged cadences did not have significant motion and might produce accurate photometry. However, upon examination based on the C6–C10 data, the mission found that indeed these flagged cadences should be discarded and accurate photometry was not able to be recovered for them. Thus, for C15 and all future campaigns, as well as all reprocessing, the pipeline will discard cadences flagged as 'Momentum Dump' (QUALITY and SAP_QUALITY bit #6, decimal value = 32) in both the target pixel and lightcurve files. This will result in ~40 less cadences for C6–C10, but likely improved light curves as PDC will be able to better detrend the data without have to spend power on correcting flux outliers as a result of the momentum dumps.

C13 Smear Coefficient

In C13, the 1st magnitude star Aldebaran on channel 73 bleeds heavily into the serial register of the CCD, corrupting the first three rows of the masked smear region. While these rows are not used for the smear correction, at times during C13 the saturation spill covered more rows in the masked smear, extending up to row 15 on channel 74 (see figure Aldebaran in the C13 data release notes under the section 'Smear Correction Error on Channel 74'). Trailing black rows 7-18 are fit with a linear model to estimate the black (bias) level for the masked smear region. At these times, the trailing black estimate for the masked smear signal was corrupted, resulting in corrupted black and smear measurements for the affected cadences. Since the black signal is subtracted from all the pixels in the channel, all targets on channel 74 were affected for these cadences, resulting in light curves that show significant chatter in baseline flux level for affected cadences. The black and smear corruption effects were most prominent in the first 80 cadences of the campaign and again in the period between cadence 1800-3200 (see Figure Channel 74 Trailing Black in the C13 data release notes under the section 'Smear Correction Error on Channel 74'). The net effect is to render the data for targets on channel 74 in C13 nearly unusable for science study (without significant work by users to recalibrate the pixel data).

As shown in Figure Minor-Proc-Status, this effect is unique to C13. When C13 is reprocessed, the black level model coefficients for channel 74 will be manually set to reasonable values for all cadences, thus producing nominal data for all targets on channel 74.

FFI Interpolation Bug

When there are more than one FFIs in a given campaign, the Kepler pipeline interpolates data between those FFIs, and extrapolates before and after each, to account for variations over time when calibrating the pixel-level data. A bug was discovered where FFIs from later campaigns were used to interpolate for calibration of the current campaign. Since there are usually two FFIs per campaign, taken ~1/3 and ~2/3 the way through, this bug affected the pixel-level data (and thus lightcurves and other products as well) for the last ~1/3 of a campaign, where the interpolation was between the last FFI of the current campaign and the first FFI of the next campaign (with a different field-of-view). The latest cadences of the campaign are affected the most. The exact impact of the effect is not known, but is thought to be small given that the FFI data are only used to supplement the undershoot correction in calibration and the interpolation will weight the FFI values towards the correct campaign.

As shown in Figure Minor-Proc-Status, because campaigns were predominately processed in the order they were observed, this bug only affected C1 and C2, which were processed when FFIs for later campaigns were already ingested. The bug has been fixed in the pipeline code and so C1 and C2, as well as any other campaigns, will not suffer from it when reprocessed.

Scrambled Uncertainties

A bug in the Kepler pipeline was discovered that caused the uncertainties on the smear calibration data for each column to be randomly scrambled, i.e., while each column's smear value was correct, it had a random uncertainty from another column, which can vary by ~20% column-to-column. When these uncertainties are propagated into the pixel-level flux value uncertainties, it results in incorrect flux uncertainties on the level of ~0.3%. The biggest impact this has is on the selection of the optimal photometric aperture, the algorithm for which is known to be overly sensitive to the uncertainties. Tests performed by the mission with the bug present versus the bug fixed confirm that while the bug had no significant effect on overall photometric precision, it did cause a significant change in the photometric aperture selected for a small number of targets.

As shown in Figure Minor-Proc-Status, C0–C10 were affected by this bug before it was detected and corrected, and thus will not contain the bug after when they are reprocessed.

Undelivered Targets

During the initial processing for three campaigns there were various reasons that some targets did not have target-pixel and/or light-curve data delivered. For C2, no lightcurves were delivered as the Kepler pipeline had not been fully adapted to work for K2 at the time, and until the code was finalized, it was deemed best to just produce target pixel files. For C2, C11a, C11b, and C14, there were 2–3 targets each that had an error when computing their centroids such that no WCS information was available and a FITS file could not be created for those targets, and thus no target pixel files nor lightcurves were delivered. For C11b, there were 191 targets that did not have delivered target pixel files or lightcurves due to a bug in how the pipeline FITS file creator was configured to run.

As shown in Figure Minor-Proc-Status, only C2, C11, and C14 had undelivered targets. For global reprocessing, all the issues mentioned above have been fixed/addressed and thus the mission expects to be able to successfully deliver the missing files when the affected campaigns are processed.

Figure Minor-Proc-Status: The status of minor changes planned for the final uniform processing as of April 27, 2018.
Red indicates the final processing setting is *not* yet implemented in currently available data as of April 27, 2018.
Blue indicates the final processing setting has been implemented in currently available data as of April 27, 2018.

K2 Campaign 15 data release notes available

2018-04-23T08:00:00-07:00

The data release notes for K2 Campaign 15 are now available online. We encourage all users to review the notes.

We are hiring for a Kepler/K2 Support Scientist!

2018-04-03T12:00:00-07:00

The Kepler/K2 Science Center is seeking to fill a staff position within the Kepler/K2 Science Office (SO) at NASA’s Ames Research Center and with the SETI Institute.

Job ad

Support Scientist, Kepler/K2 Science Center
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California 94035

NASA’s K2 mission delivers high-precision space-borne photometry which enables ground-breaking science in all areas of astrophysics, including exoplanet science, stellar astrophysics, extragalactic physics, and solar system science.

The Kepler/K2 Science Center is seeking to fill a staff position within the Kepler Science Office (SO) at NASA’s Ames Research Center. The primary responsibility of the Science Office is to create high-quality data products and documentation for the astronomical community. The SO oversees processing of mission data via the Kepler pipeline and scrutinizes the data to perform quality assurance of the resulting products. SO staff also collaborate with numerous groups, both internal and external, to produce open-source software tools, enhance data access, and support continued spacecraft operations. See https://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov for information on the mission and our work.

Support Scientists are encouraged to devote 20% of their time to conducting independent astronomical research, ideally in collaboration with Kepler/K2 community scientists and staff and in-line with the scientific goals of the SETI Institute. The development of synergies between Kepler, K2, and other NASA missions, such as TESS and JWST, is particularly encouraged.

Salary/Benefits: The SETI Institute provides competitive salary, excellent benefits including health/dental/vision insurance, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care, vacation, and sick leave. The Institute sponsors a retirement plan option upon fulfillment of eligibility.

Duration of position: September 30, 2019

Responsibilities:

Analyze data from the Kepler pipeline to characterize quality and identify anomalies.
Collaborate with other Kepler/K2 team members to share findings and assist in operational decision-making.
Write documentation in support of disseminating findings to the Astronomical community.

Requirements:

Ph.D. preferred, but pre-doctoral applicants that possess significant experience with Kepler/K2, similar data, or scientific software development are encouraged to apply.
Must have experience writing code in support of data analysis. Experience with Matlab and/or Python are essential.
Experience in the analysis of time-series photometric data is highly desired.
Must possess good communication skills and be able to to work independently towards defined goals.

How to apply: Please visit the job posting at SETI via this link and click "Apply" at the top-right of the page. Please provide:

A CV, which includes a summary of science interests and relevant technical skills (3 pages max).
Contact information for three references.

Applications will be considered until April 19, 2018.

Questions about the position may be directed to jeffrey.l.coughlin@nasa.gov.

K2 GO Cycle 6 Phase-2 proposals for funding due on April 19th

2018-03-19T12:00:00-07:00

US-based users of K2 data are reminded that Phase-2 proposals for the K2 Guest Observer Cycle 6 are due in one month, i.e. by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on April 19, 2018.

The Cycle 6 Phase-2 solicitation offers the opportunity to obtain funds to execute scientific investigations which require the analysis of observations obtained as part of K2 Campaigns 17, 18, or 19.

Funding amounts will be determined formulaically based on the number of targets the proposal will utilize. Award sizes will range from $30K for a few targets to up to $50K for 999 targets. Proposals which will utilize over 1000 targets may receive up to the maximum award amount of $150K. We anticipate that approximately 12-20 small programs and 5-6 large programs will be selected.

The Cycle 6 solicitation is available at NSPIRES. Further information about the proposal process, including the scope, evaluation criteria, availability of funds, eligibility, submission process, and frequently asked questions, is detailed on the proposal preparation page on this website.

Compared to previous K2 GO Cycles, we draw attention to the following changes:

Phase-2 proposals are limited to use observations for targets which have already been selected to be observed during K2 Campaigns 17, 18, or 19, i.e. which are listed on the K2 approved targets & programs page. The target lists for these Campaigns have already been established based on the peer review of Phase-1 proposals.
Any team may submit a Phase-2 proposal using any of the targets that appear in the target lists of Campaigns 17, 18, or 19. A Phase-1 submission is not mandatory to qualify for Phase-2. Likewise, teams who submitted Phase-1 proposals are permitted to change the scope of their proposed investigation and the composition of their team.
Proposers must include target tables which detail the objects their investigation will analyze. The tables must both be embedded within the body of the proposal package that is uploaded to NSPIRES, and electronic copies of the tables must also be submitted via e-mail to the Kepler & K2 GO Office (keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov) by the deadline. The required target table format is documented on the proposal preparation page.
Because the future Campaigns are at risk of spacecraft fuel running low, proposers may wish to clarify, as part of their proposal, to which degree the scientific objectives of the proposed investigation can be met using data from Campaigns 17 or 18 alone.
As part of the Phase-2 submission, NSPIRES will request a mandatory Data Management Plan (4000 characters). Proposers are encouraged to explain how the results, data, and source code produced by the investigation will be made public as part of this plan. Guidance on the Data Management Plan requirements can be found at https://go.nasa.gov/ROSESDMP.

New Kepler data analysis tools and tutorials: Lightkurve v1.0

2018-03-18T12:00:00-07:00

Lightkurve v1.0 is a new Python package which offers a user-friendly way to work with the pixel and lightcurve products produced by the Kepler and TESS pipelines. The package aims to lower the barrier for both students, astronomers, and citizen scientists interested in analyzing Kepler and K2 data by providing high-quality tools that are accompanied by tutorials.

Detailed installation instructions are available on the documentation webpages at http://lightkurve.keplerscience.org.

The first version of lightkurve is accompanied by the following tutorials:

Additional video tutorials are available on our YouTube channel.

Lightkurve is an open source community project owned by the authors. The development takes place on GitHub and everyone is invited to contribute. It replaces the existing PyKE suite of command-line tools, which will slowly be migrated to become the command-line interface for the lightkurve package.

The animation below illustrates some of the features provided by lightkurve:

K2 Campaign 18 science program now available

2018-03-16T14:00:00-07:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 18 have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

The Campaign 18 target list includes 20,929 standard long cadence and 234 standard short cadence targets located towards the constellation of Cancer.

The field is almost identical to that observed during Campaign 5 and overlaps substantially with Campaign 16. The third visit to this key part of the sky that contains the M44 and M67 star clusters will enable users to study benchmark targets with a 3-year baseline and 8-month duty cycle, enabling original Kepler-like science at a Galactic sightline that is located 130 degrees away from the original Kepler field in Cygnus.

Notable targets include:

Two open star clusters:
- M44 is one of the most nearby open star clusters and is known to contain at least six confirmed planets (K2-95b, K2-100b, K2-101b, K2-102b, K2-103b, K2-104b). Its members are being observed using standard masks.
- M67 is the benchmark star cluster with solar-like age and metallicity. Hundreds of stars in the cluster core are being observed using 121 unique 40x40-pixel long cadence aperture masks which create a contiguous 440x440 pixel region. In addition, hundreds of members in the outskirts are being observed using standard masks, and more than 40 targets are being observed using short cadence masks.
42 confirmed exoplanets from Campaign 5: K2-34b, 95b, 97b, 98b, 100b, 101b, 102b, 103b, 104b, 105b, 108b, 114b, 115b, 117bc, 118b, 119b, 120b, 121b, 122b, 123b, 124b, 146b, 180b, 181b, 182b, 183bcd, 184b, 185b, 187bcde, 188bc, and HIP 41378 bcdef. Most noteworthy, the HIP 41378 system is a bright F-type dwarf (V=9) shown by Campaign 5 to host at least five planets. The majority of these confirmed planet systems are being observed in short cadence.
Dozens of unconfirmed planet candidates from Campaign 5 are being re-observed, the majority in long cadence.
60 low-mass flare stars and 59 variable white dwarfs are being observed in short cadence.
13 very bright stars are being observed using custom circular masks, including ζ Cancri and 25 Cancri in short cadence, and η, γ, X, 21, 29, 49, 50, and 60 Cancri in long cadence.
OJ 287 is a well-studied bright galaxy (V=15) which is thought to show lightcurve variations due to a binary supermassive black hole at its center. It is being observed in short cadence.
37 Solar System objects including 22 comets and trojan Asteroids, 9 faint Trans-Neptunian Objects, and the potentially hazardous asteroid 99942 Apophis are being observed in long cadence.

The figure below illustrates the location of the field and its notable targets.

K2 Campaign 15 processed data available

2018-03-14T08:00:00-07:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 15 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

The target list featured 23,279 standard long cadence and 119 standard short cadence targets located towards the constellations of Scorpius.

Highlights include:

hundreds of newly-formed stars in the Upper Sco open star cluster;
the cataclysmic variable GW Lib, which was simultaneously being observed by both Kepler and Hubble;
the L5-type Brown Dwarf 2MASS 1507-1627;
the K2-38 exoplanet system previously discovered in Campaign 2;
asteroid Ryugu, due to be visited by the Japanese Hyabusa 2 sample return mission this summer.

Users are encouraged to contact, cite, and collaborate with the teams who proposed the observations. We also encourage users to carefully review the associated data release notes.

K2 Campaign 16 completed successfully

2018-03-01T06:00:00-08:00

The Kepler spacecraft successfully completed its K2 Campaign 16 on February 25th, and the full data set has now been downlinked via NASA's Deep Space Network.

To enable users to make use of the current visibility of the Campaign 16 field from the ground, the raw cadence data files have been made public immediately via the K2 data archive at MAST.

The use of the raw, uncalibrated data files requires an intimate understanding of their format and caveats. For scientific investigations that are not time-critical, we recommend that users wait for the calibrated and quality-controlled data products to become available in approximately 3 months.

Meanwhile, K2's Campaign 17 is scheduled to start on March 2nd at 01:00 UTC.

K2 Campaign 15 data processing complete

2018-02-28T12:00:00-08:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 15 is now complete and the pixel files and lightcurves are in the process of being shipped to the data archive at MAST. We anticipate that the data release will be announced near March 13th.

The target list featured 23,279 standard long cadence and 119 standard short cadence targets including members of the ~11 Myr-old Upper Sco cluster, the cataclysmic variable GW Lib, and the L5-type Brown Dwarf 2MASS 1507-1627.

Please keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Bright supernova discovered in K2's ongoing Campaign 16

2018-02-06T14:00:00-08:00

The ASAS-SN survey reports the discovery of a bright supernova (V=15) in a nearby galaxy that is currently being monitored by Kepler as part of its ongoing K2 Campaign 16. The event is named ASASSN-18bt (AT 2018oh) and is located at 09:06:39.6 +19:20:17.5 in the galaxy UGC 4780.

The initial spectroscopic follow-up indicates that the event is a Type Ia supernova which is still rising and is several days away from reaching its maximum brightness. We encourage the community to continue to coordinate the follow-up of this unique event via the K2 Supernova Experiment Google Group.

This event is expected to yield the highest-precision lightcurve ever obtained for a supernova. Kepler is providing a continuous 30-minute cadence view of the event from December 7th through February 25th, i.e. starting 2 months before and ending 3 weeks after the explosion.

Figure: spectrum of ASASSN-18bt (AT 2018oh) taken by the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory on February 5th. The red line shows a Type Ia reference template. (Image Credit: Jozsef Vinko.)

Kepler's K2 Mission reaches 300,000 standard targets and 200 confirmed planets

2018-02-05T14:00:00-08:00

During Campaigns 0 through 14, the K2 mission has now targeted an estimated 297,991 objects, including 50,159 cool dwarf stars, 37,041 giant stars, 40,125 galaxies, and 1,560 white dwarfs. The number of confirmed K2 planets recently surpassed 200 and now stands at 212!

The flyer below, which was distributed at the recent Winter AAS meeting, summarizes a few of these statistics.

These numbers will further increase upon the upcoming data releases for Campaign 15 and 16. We also note that the numbers do not include the very large number of objects observed as part of the large "superstamps" collected towards the Galactic Bulge and multiple clusters.

New K2 superstamp mosaic FITS files available at MAST

2018-02-05T14:00:00-08:00

The K2 Guest Observer Office is excited to announce a new High Level Science Product (HLSP) available at the MAST archive. The HLSP – called K2Superstamp – consists of a series of FITS images for four open star clusters observed by K2 using so-called "superstamp" pixel masks:

M35: the ~150 Myr old open cluster observed during Campaign 0.
M67: the solar-age, solar-metallicity benchmark cluster observed during C5.
Ruprecht 147: the ~3 Gyr-old open cluster observed during C7.
The Lagoon Nebula (M8): the high-mass star-forming region observed during C9.

While the data for these regions have long been served on MAST, until now they were only available as a disconnected set of smaller Target Pixel Files (TPFs) because the spacecraft stored these observations in small chunks. As a result, these regions have hitherto been ignored by many lightcurve and planet search pipelines. With this new release, we have stitched these TPFs together into spatially contiguous FITS images (one per cadence) to make their scientific analysis easier. In addition, each image has been fit with an accurate WCS solution so that you may locate any object of interest via its right ascension and declination. The process of stitching and astrometric calibration is described in a companion RNAAS article.

The release of these superstamp FITS images makes the analysis of the open star clusters observed by K2 much easier. In the future, we expect to release similar products for other superstamp regions observed by K2, including galaxies and globular clusters.

K2 Campaign 14 data release notes available

2018-02-04T12:00:00-08:00

The data release notes for K2 Campaign 14 are now available online. We encourage all users to review the notes.

In particular, we draw attention to the fact that more cadences than usual were flagged as "Spacecraft is not in fine point" (QUALITY flag bit #16, decimal=32768) due to a lowering of the on-board fine point fault logging threshold, which did not otherwise affect pointing performance. The project has identified a workaround for the flagging resulting from this changed threshold and has implemented it for future (re-)processing starting with C15. See the data release notes for details.

K2 Campaign 17 science program now available

2018-01-27T14:00:00-08:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 17 have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

The target list is based on the peer review of target proposals submitted in response to the K2 GO Cycle 6 Phase-1 opportunity. PI teams may expect to receive feedback on their proposals by March. Note that US-based investigators may be eligible to obtain funding to analyze the data obtained as part of this Campaign by submitting a Phase-2 proposal before the deadline, which is currently set for April 19, 2018, i.e. after the the successful start of Campaign 17 is confirmed. See NSPIRES for details.

The Campaign 17 target list includes 34,398 standard long cadence and 179 standard short cadence targets located towards the constellation of Virgo. Like Campaigns 9 and 16, this is a forward-facing field which enables simultaneous observations to be carried out from the ground.

Campaign 17 provides a substantial overlap with Campaign 6, offering a longer baseline for stellar activity, asteroseismology, and AGN studies, as well as enabling dozens of K2 planet candidates to be revisited. The field also provides access to 20 deg² of previously unexplored sky.

Notable long cadence targets include:

Spica: the brightest star system in the constellation of Virgo (V=1), known to be an ellipsoidal variable. The object is being observed using a 40px-diameter circular mask (ID 200213067) designed to capture the PSF core and wings while excluding the long saturation columns which will bleed off silicon.
3,000+ candidate M dwarfs and 10,000+ candidate FGK dwarfs for planet searches and other investigations.
14,000+ galaxies for the K2 Supernova Cosmology Experiment.
24 Solar System objects including comets 183P/Korlevic-Juric and 235P/LINEAR, main-belt asteroids (223) Rosa and (422) Berolina, 9 Trans-Neptunian Objects, and 11 Jupiter Trojan/Hilda Objects.

Targets being observed in short cadence include:

Six confirmed planet systems from Campaign 6 (K2-41 = WASP-157, K2-99, K2-110, K2-126, K2-127, K2-128).
Dozens of planet candidates from Campaign 6.
67 variable white dwarfs, including the bright white dwarf WD 1327-083 (V=12).
47 cool flare stars, including the bright K-type flare star EQ Virginis (V=9).
17 bright solar-type stars for asteroseismology studies.

The figure below illustrates the location of the field and its notable targets.

Slides available from the K2 Clusters Workshop in Boston

2018-01-26T16:00:00-08:00

The Kepler/K2 workshop on Dwarf Stars and Clusters was held on January 16-18, 2018, at Boston University. The event was attended by over 50 participants and featured talks, stimulating discussions, and new collaborations. A highlight of the workshop was the unconference held on the final day, during which participants worked on software, analyzed data, and planned future observations.

Those who could not attend the event can catch up in several ways:

The talks have been posted in PDF format on the workshop webpage (click on the talk titles in the agenda).
K2 staff Michael Gully-Santiago and Christina Hedges recorded a podcast to summarize their impressions from the meeting.
Various participants shared their highlights using the #K2Clusters hashtag on Twitter.

In addition, several tutorials were presented during the unconference day. Notes from these tutorials are available on line:

PyKE tutorial by Christina Hedges
K2 PSF photometry tutorial by Ann Marie Cody
Gaussian processes tutorial by Ruth Angus

The mission is grateful to Professor Philip Muirhead, Julie Skinner, and their colleagues at Boston University for hosting the successful meeting.

New community High Level Science Products available at MAST

2018-01-08T00:00:00-08:00

The mission encourages members of our community to share and archive value-added data products derived from Kepler or K2 observations via the High Level Science Products (HLSP) service offered by the data archive at MAST.

In recent months, four bespoke data products have been released or updated in this way:

The Kepler/K2 Extragalactic Survey Project (KEGS) has released light curves for galaxies observed during K2 Campaigns 5, 6, and 8. The team has constructed their own cotrending basis vectors (CBVs) using the galaxies on each channel using a PCA analysis. Their products and documentation are available at https://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/kegs.
The K2 Galactic Archaeology Program (K2GAP) has released asteroseismology parameters for red giants observed during K2 Campaign 1. The team used six different seismology pipelines to provide power spectra and a catalog of the dnu and numax values. The products are available at https://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/k2gap.
The K2 Self-Flat-Fielding (K2SFF) light curves prepared by Vanderburg et al have been updated to include all fields through Campaign 14. The products are available at https://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/k2sff.
The EVEREST light curves prepared by Luger et al have been updated to include all fields through Campaign 13. The products are available at https://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/everest.

More details on each of these data products, including a more detailed description and a list of references, is available via the K2 High Level Science Product page at MAST.

Additional teams are encouraged to make their bespoke data products available in the same way. In particular, PI's of large programs funded via the K2 Guest Observer Program are reminded of the requirement to develop and disseminate a value-added community resource product at the end of their performance period.

The project's helpdesk is available to help guide the delivery of new data products and connect authors with the archives.

The Kepler/K2 publication database surpasses 2500 papers

2018-01-07T00:00:00-08:00

The GO office curates a database of scientific publications pertaining to Kepler and K2. The list now contains 2502 publications, of which 2219 are peer-reviewed. Last year was the most productive one so far with over 500 publications recorded!

The database is available as a spreadsheet (kepler-publications.xls). If you spot an error in the database, such as a missing entry, then please get in touch.

K2 & TESS Splinter Meeting at #AAS231 on Jan 9th, 2018

2018-01-03T12:00:00-08:00

NASA's TESS and Kepler/K2 Missions are convening a joint splinter meeting during the 231st meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), which is being held in Washington, DC, next week.

The session will take place on Tuesday evening, January 9th, 2018, at 7:30 pm in room "National Harbor 7" at the convention center. All AAS participants are invited to join the gathering to learn more about the present and future science opportunities with K2 and TESS.

The schedule is as follows:

7:30pm: K2 Mission Update – Jessie Dotson, NASA Ames
7:40pm: TESS Mission Update – George Ricker, MIT
7:50pm: K2 & TESS Data Resources and Tools – Susan Mullally (STScI) & Christina Hedges (NASA Ames)
8:00pm: Star Clusters & Young Planets – Andrew Mann, Columbia University
8:10pm: Finding the Best Planets for Characterization – Ian Crossfield, MIT
8:20pm: The Kepler/K2 Revolution and Prospects for TESS – Eric Mamajek, JPL
8:30pm: Informal Q&A and Socializing until 9pm

In addition to the splinter meeting, a wealth of Kepler/K2/TESS-related talks and posters will be presented during the meeting, and members of the missions will be part of NASA's Exoplanets Booth in the exhibit hall.

DDT deadline for K2 Campaign 18 approaching

2018-01-02T12:00:00-08:00

We are currently accepting DDT proposals for Campaigns 18 and 19. The primary goal of the DDT program is to enable exceptional, time-critical observing opportunities.

Owing to the overlaps with previous fields, C18 offers the opportunity to revisit targets from C5, while C19 enables re-observations of objects from C3 and C12. DDT proposals based on recent analyses of these previous fields, e.g. newly-discovered planet candidates, are particularly encouraged.

DDT proposals are due by 23:59 PT (Pacific Time) on the following dates:

Campaign 18: Jan 19, 2018
Campaign 19: Apr 12, 2018

For further information on the DDT program and the requirements for proposal submission, consult the DDT web page. Proposals should be submitted via email to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Kepler/K2 at the AAS 231: January 2018, Washington DC

2017-12-20T01:00:00-08:00

Members of the Kepler/K2 mission team are looking forward to meeting you at the 231st AAS meeting in Washington, DC. You can find us at our exhibit booth, the K2/TESS splinter session, and several presentations.

Exhibit booth

Kepler/K2 staff will be available at the NASA Exoplanets Booth in the far rear left corner of the exhibit hall. We will be able to update you about the spacecraft status, answer your questions about the upcoming K2 Cycle 6 funding opportunities, and demonstrate the new PyKE data analysis tools. You can also just pass by to grab a Kepler sticker!

Joint splinter session with TESS

On Tuesday evening (Jan 9th, at 7:30pm) the K2 and TESS missions are convening a joint splinter session to enable you to hear latest news from both missions, alongside a small number of fun science talks. Stay tuned for details!

NASA Hyperwall presentations

Come and experience Kepler talks on the ultra-high resolution Hyperwall screen at NASA's booth in the exhibit hall:

Tue Jan 9th, 5:00pm: How to get the most out of Kepler data (Christina Hedges, Kepler/K2 Support Scientist)
Wed Jan 10th, 4:15pm: High-Precision Photometry Across 1000 Square Degrees (Jessie Dotson, Kepler/K2 Project Scientist)

Conference talks and posters

Kepler/K2 staff will present the following contributions during the meeting:

Poster 439.07: A PSF photometry tool for NASA's Kepler, K2, and TESS missions (José De Miranda Cardoso)
Poster 439.10: PyKE3: data analysis tools for NASA's Kepler, K2, and TESS missions (Christina Hedges)
Talk at Wed Jan 10th, 10:40am: The Kepler and K2 Near-Infrared Transit Survey (Knicole Colón)
Talk at Fri Jan 12th, 11:00am: Using Final Kepler Catalog Completeness and Reliability Products in Exoplanet Occurrence Rate Estimates (Steve Bryson)
Talk at Fri Jan 12th, 11:20am: Star clusters and K2 (Jessie Dotson)
Talk at Fri Jan 12th, 2:00pm: The exoplanet population revealed by K2 (Geert Barentsen)
Talk at Fri Jan 12th, 2:10pm: Fake Planets! Simulating Transits and False Positives for Kepler's Final Catalog (Jeff Coughlin)
Talk at Fri Jan 12th, 2:50pm: Kepler's DR25 Most Earth-like Planet Candidates: What To Know Before You Go (Susan Thompson)

PanSTARRS monitoring of the K2 Campaign 16 field

2017-12-20T01:00:00-08:00

Because the currently-ongoing K2 Campaign 16 is partially dedicated to the Supernova Experiment, the project has acquired PanSTARRS time to monitor the entire field every night in two filters (cycling through g+r and g+i) for the purpose of providing early alerts for transients in the field. The alerts are made public instantly via the Transient Name Server, where users can receive K2-specific alerts by signing up for the "KEGS-C16" alerts category.

During the first week of C16, PanSTARRS has already identified two events in galaxies which are currently being observed by Kepler:

2017iws: a Type Ia supernova (z=0.09).
2017ixf: a Type II supernova (z=0.05).

Members of the community who wish to stay up to date with this activity are encouraged to subscribe to the K2 Supernova mailing list. Note that several members of this list have signed up to a follow-up agreement which is intended to encourage collaboration.

The imaging data collected by PanSTARRS for K2 is expected to be released to the public no later than June 1st, 2018. The release will include images in g, r, and i for the entire field to a typical depth of 21st magnitude and with a typical cadence better than 1-2 days. These PanSTARRS data are expected to benefit multiple galactic and extragalactic investigations associated with Campaign 16.

K2 Campaign 16 successfully underway

2017-12-19T01:00:00-08:00

K2 Campaign 16 started successfully on December 7th and has continued to proceed without issues since.

Uniquely, the spacecraft is pointing along the forward-facing direction of the spacecraft's velocity vector during Campaigns 16 and 17, which allows the field to be accessed from Earth during Kepler's observations. This enables K2's single-bandpass photometry to be complemented with simultaneous color photometry and spectroscopy from the ground.

For example, members of the extragalactic community are taking advantage of this opportunity to execute rapid follow-up of transients. At the same time, teams led by Dr Sharon Wang (see RVxK2.com) and Dr Alexandre Santerne (see the K2 Stellar Activity Campaign) are collecting simultaneous high-precision RV observations of bright stars in the K2 field. A comprehensive list of science programs is available on our website, and a non-exhaustive list of the ground-based facilities involved is available as a Google Spreadsheet.

The cartoon below highlights some of the most notable science programs being executed during this Campaign.

Agenda available for the K2 Clusters Workshop in Boston

2017-12-14T12:00:00-08:00

The draft agenda for the Kepler/K2 workshop on Dwarf Stars and Clusters is now available online.

So far, over 50 participants have registered to attend the workshop, which will take place from January 16-18, 2018, on the Boston University (BU) campus. The first two days will consist of science talks by attendees, while the last day will be an "unconference" dedicated to tutorials and collaborations.

We continue to accept late registrations for additional participants. A small number of talk slots remain available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov as soon as possible to be considered for the spare talk slots.

K2 Campaign 14 processed data available

2017-11-20T10:00:00-08:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 14 are now available for download from the K2 archive at MAST.

The target list featured 29,897 standard long cadence and 147 standard short cadence targets, including Wolf-359, WASP-104, and rho Leo, alongside a number of large galaxies (e.g. M95, M96, M105) and Solar System objects.

As usual, we strongly encourage users to read the accompanying data release notes carefully.

Workshop on Dwarf Stars and Clusters with K2: Abstract deadline approaching!

2017-11-16T14:00:00-08:00

The K2 Mission and Boston University (BU) are convening a small meeting from January 16 to 18, 2018, on the BU campus in Boston, Massachusetts.

The event will highlight the diverse science that K2 has enabled in the areas of cool stars and open clusters. Topics will include stellar rotation and activity, eclipsing binaries, young stellar objects, and planets in clusters.

The workshop website contains further details, including the registration form. There is no fee to attend.

The deadline for submitting a talk is November 22nd. We expect to give most participants who meet this deadline the opportunity to give a talk.

Image Credit: Eric Kilby

K2 Campaign 14 data processing complete

2017-11-16T12:00:00-08:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 14 is now complete and the pixel files and lightcurves are being ingested into the data archive at MAST. We anticipate that the data release will be made public on Monday, November 20th, or shortly thereafter.

Keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Kepler to image Earth and Moon on December 10, 2017

2017-11-16T06:00:00-08:00

During K2's upcoming Campaign 16, the Kepler spacecraft will be operated in its forward-facing mode to enable simultaneous observations of the K2 field to be carried out using ground-based telescopes.

A consequence of the forward-facing observing geometry is that the Earth-Moon system will be moving across Kepler's focal plane during the first 3 days of the Campaign, i.e. from December 7 through December 10, 2017.

We warn that our planet's passage will temporarily add noise to multiple CCD channels due to scattered light and saturation effects. To map the scattered light, the Campaign's first Full Frame Image (FFI) has been scheduled to capture Earth and Moon while they are in the field of view.

The Earth-Moon FFI will start on Sunday December 10 at 21:38 Universal Time (4:38pm Eastern, 1:38pm Pacific) using the standard 30-minute integration time. Kepler will be above the horizon across the United States at this time, so don't forget to smile and wave towards (ra, dec) = (320.4, -15.7) degrees during the exposure!

Kepler user Jim Davenport tweeted the following fan art to mark the occasion:

Image Credit: Jim Davenport

K2 pixel data now available in bundles from MAST

2017-11-15T18:00:00-08:00

Users seeking to obtain a copy of every single Target Pixel File (TPF) for a given K2 Campaign may now retrieve the data in bundles of tar archive files from the following url at MAST:

http://archive.stsci.edu/missions/k2/target_pixel_files/bundles/

By grouping the TPFs into larger bundles, users will tend to experience faster data transfers and have a more convenient way of verifying that all files have been transferred. See the README file in the directory for more information. Warning: the K2 pixel data amounts to more than 3 terabyte!

DDT deadline for K2 Campaign 17 approaching

2017-11-14T22:00:00-08:00

A small percentage of the available K2 pixels in each campaign may be allocated by the K2 Guest Observer (GO) Office Director as Director's Discretionary Targets (DDTs). The primary utilization of DDT programs is in support of community-proposed requests that are based on exceptional, time-critical observing opportunities that cannot be accommodated with the regular cycle of Calls for Proposals for K2.

We are currently accepting DDT proposals for Campaign 17, 18, and 19. The proposals are due by 23:59 PT (Pacific Time) on the following dates:

Campaign 17: Nov 30, 2017
Campaign 18: Jan 19, 2018
Campaign 19: Apr 12, 2018

For further information on the DDT program and the requirements for proposal submission, consult the DDT web page. Proposals should be submitted via email to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

K2 Campaign 16 science program now available

2017-10-25T19:00:00-07:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 16 have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

Campaign 16 is scheduled to run from 2017 Dec 7 (~22h UT) through 2018 Feb 25 (~13h UT). The target list includes 29,888 standard long cadence and 129 standard short cadence targets located towards the constellation of Cancer. The list includes 20,647 stars alongside 9,241 galaxies for the supernova experiment.

Uniquely, the spacecraft will be pointing along the forward-facing direction of the spacecraft's velocity vector during this Campaign, which allows the field to be accessed from Earth. This enables K2's single-bandpass photometry to be complemented with simultaneous observations from the ground, an opportunity that is being utilised by many of the selected programs, e.g. to characterize supernovae in the field, and to carry out simultaneous high-precision RV observations alongside K2's photometry.

The field contains two important clusters: M44 (Beehive) and M67. M44 is one of the most nearby open clusters; its members are being observed using standard masks. M67 is a benchmark cluster with solar-like age and metallicity; the stars in its core are being observed using a 400-by-360 pixel custom mask that covers the same area of the sky that was previously covered by a 400-by-400 pixel custom mask in Campaign 5, except for a 40px-wide strip that is not on silicon in C16. In addition, hundreds of members in the outskirts of M67 are being targeted using standard long cadence masks, and 39 members are targeted using short cadence masks.

Other notable targets in Campaign 16 include:

Dozens of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates revealed by K2 Campaign 5, including several discovered in the Beehive cluster (K2-101b, K2-102b, K2-103b, K2-104b, EPIC 211901114b) and the confirmed hot Jupiter K2-34b.
Nearby late-type flare stars including LHS 2090 (M6.5), DP Cnc (M3.5), DS Cnc (M4), and AZ Cnc (M6).
9 very bright stars are being observed using custom circular masks, including HD 76333 and 45 Cancri in short cadence, and α, δ, η, and ξ Cancri in long cadence.
19 Solar System objects including asteroid Hekate, comets 288P and 2009 YD7, 4 Trojan asteroids, and 12 Trans-Neptunian Objects.

Finally, a consequence of the forward-facing geometry is that our own Earth-Moon system will be moving across the focal plane during the first 3.5 days of the Campaign. We warn that our planet's passage will add noise to multiple CCD channels due to scattered light and saturation effects. Ground-based observers may wish to wait for Earth to leave the focal plane on 2017-Dec-11 near 6h UT to commence their complementary observations. By this time, the mission's engineers will also have been able to confirm the accuracy of Kepler's pointing.

Earth and Moon will be captured by the first Full Frame Image (FFI), which is scheduled for 2017-Dec-10 between 21:38 and 22:08 UT. In addition, a narrow custom LC mask will cover Earth's trajectory between 2017-Dec-07 17:00 and 2017-Dec-08 03:00 UT, which is when Earth will occult the Moon as seen from Kepler. Don't forget to smile and wave towards the constellation of Capricornus near these times, which is where Kepler will be located while it is observing our planet!

The figures below illustrates the location of the field and its notable targets.

Workshop on Dwarf Stars and Clusters with K2: Registration now open, space is limited!

2017-10-23T16:00:00-07:00

The K2 Mission and Boston University (BU) are convening a small workshop on Dwarf Stars and Clusters with K2, to take place from January 16 to 18, 2018, on the BU campus in Boston, Massachusetts.

The workshop website contains further details, and you may now register to attend. We will be soliciting talks until November 22nd; most participants will have an opportunity to give a brief presentation on a topic of their choice.

Image Credit: Eric Kilby

New Kepler/K2 postdoc and fellowship opportunities available

2017-10-23T15:00:00-07:00

With the astronomy job season in full swing, we alert our community to several post-doctoral job opportunities which emphasize the use of Kepler and K2 data:

postdoc position at Aarhus University (closes Dec 1);
postdoc position at the University of California, Riverside (closes Dec 15);
postdoc position at Caltech/IPAC/NExScI (closes Dec 20);
postdoc position at Penn State University (closes Jan 15);
postdoc position at NASA Ames (open until filled).

We also note that multiple Kepler/K2 users have been successful in securing fellowships in recent years. For example, applications for the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (which replaces the previous Einstein, Hubble, and Sagan Fellowship Programs) are due by Nov 2nd, 2017.

Finally, MAST is seeking to hire two Archive Scientists to provide scientific, technical and computational expertise to improve the MAST Archive (closes Dec 15).

If you have a Kepler/K2-related job opening that you would like us to advertise, then please let us know at keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Save the date: Workshop on Dwarf Stars and Clusters with K2, January 16-18, 2018

2017-09-27T17:00:00-07:00

The K2 Mission and Boston University are convening a small workshop on Dwarf Stars and Clusters with K2, to take place from January 16 to 18, 2018, on the BU campus in Boston, Massachusetts.

The workshop website is now live, and you may register your interest in attending.

Stay tuned for further details!

Image Credit: Eric Kilby

K2 Cycle 6: Notable objects in Campaigns 17-18-19

2017-09-26T07:00:00-07:00

Proposals for targets to be observed by K2 in Campaigns 17, 18, and 19 are currently being solicited as part of K2 Guest Observer Cycle 6, with Phase 1 submissions due on October 12, 2017.

The fields of these campaigns will cover roughly 100 square degrees each towards the constellations of Virgo (C17), Cancer (C18), and Aquarius/Pisces (C19). To help inspire observing proposals, we offer below a list of notable targets that will be visible during these campaigns.

Campaign 17

Campaign 17 (Mar 1 - May 8, 2018) will observe a forward-facing field located towards the constellation of Virgo. The high galactic latitude of this field (+55°) makes it ideally suited to survey a large number of galaxies for the K2 Supernova Cosmology Experiment. The field also provides a substantial overlap with Campaign 6, offering a longer baseline for stellar activity, asteroseismology, and AGN studies, as well as enabling dozens of known K2 planet candidates to be revisited. The field also provides access to ~20 deg² of previously unexplored sky.

Notable objects which may be proposed include:

Spica (V=1): the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, known to be a rotating ellipsoidal variable with a period of four days.
EQ Virginis (V=9): a bright K-type flare star.
K2-41, K2-99, K2-110: stars hosting confirmed planets discovered during K2 Campaign 6.
RX J1347.5-1145: one of the most massive galaxy clusters known.

Campaign 18

Campaign 18 (May 12 - Aug 2, 2018) will observe a backward-facing campaign dedicated to revisit Campaign 5 and substantially overlap Campaign 16. The third visit to this key part of the sky that contains the M44 and M67 clusters will enable users to study benchmark targets with a 3-year baseline and 8-month duty cycle, enabling original Kepler-like science at a Galactic sightline that is located 130 degrees away from the original Kepler field in Cygnus. The field also provides access to more than one hundred previously-published K2 planets and planet candidates.

Notable objects which may be proposed include:

M67: the benchmark open cluster with solar-like age and metallicity.
M44 (aka Praesepe or the Beehive): a 600 Myr-old open cluster revealed by K2 Campaign 5 to contain several planets.
HIP 41378 (V=9): a bright F-type dwarf previously discovered by K2 to host at least 5 planets.
K2-34, K2-95, K2-97, K2-98, K2-100, K2-101, K2-102, K2-103, K2-104, K2-105, K2-108, K2-114, K2-115: additional stars hosting confirmed K2 planets.
OJ 287 (V=15): a well-studied galaxy thought to show lightcurve variations due to a binary supermassive black hole at its center.

Campaign 19

Campaign 19 (Aug 6 - Oct 10, 2018) will observe a forward-facing field near the constellation of Aquarius, partially overlapping Campaigns 3 and 12, while also providing access to ~15 deg² of previously unstudied sky.

Notable objects which may be proposed include:

Neptune: the planet.
TRAPPIST-1 (V=19): the well-known M dwarf known to host 7 Earth-sized planets.
GJ 9827 (V=10): a K-type dwarf recently revealed to host at least three transiting planets near the rocky/gaseous divide.
HD 217107 (V=6): a bright G-type subgiant known to host two large RV planets.
Comet 2P/Encke (V=20): a well-known periodic comet.

Other candidate targets

In addition to the highlights listed above, Simbad lists a wealth of known objects that will be visible during these Campaigns. They include:

28,857 Galaxies;
1,979 known M dwarfs;
799 High Proper-Motion stars;
616 White Dwarfs;
462 RR Lyr Variables;
310 Active Galactic Nuclei;
204 (candidate) Brown Dwarfs;
44 Flare Stars;
21 Cataclysmic Variables.

A full table containing all Simbad sources that are visible in C17-18-19 can be downloaded from this website in CSV format (K2-C17-C19-Simbad.csv) or as a VOTable (K2-C17-C19-Simbad.xml.gz). Beware however that Simbad is not a full catalog of all known sources; it merely lists objects that have previously been discussed in the literature. For the purpose of e.g. color-based target selections, we recommend using a more complete source catalog such as the EPIC.

As a reminder, the K2fov Python package enables you to test whether targets fall within a campaign field, while its sister K2ephem package allows moving Solar System bodies to be checked. Note that Campaigns 17-18-19 require K2fov version 7.0 or higher to be installed.

First version of the K2 Handbook now available

2017-09-25T12:00:00-07:00

The first version of the K2 Handbook has been released and is available in PDF format via the K2 Documents page at MAST. The K2 handbook describes:

Operation of the spacecraft in K2 compared to Kepler.
How K2 targets are selected and apertures chosen.
How the data is processed by the Kepler pipeline and archived.
Data quality and characteristics for campaigns processed to-date.
Publicly available engineering data.

Both novice and experienced users of K2 data are encouraged to read the handbook.

Internship and postdoc opportunities available at NASA Ames

2017-09-25T06:00:00-07:00

The Kepler/K2 Science Center at NASA Ames is now accepting applications for paid internships via the NASA Internships Portal (search for the opportunity titled "Kepler/K2 Science Center"). The program enables students to gain experience in the scientific operations of a high-profile space photometry mission. PhD and graduate students already using Kepler or K2 data as part of their research projects are particularly encouraged to apply. We encourage interested applicants to contact keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov before applying.

Also at NASA Ames, the NASA Postdoctoral Program is accepting applications to work on high-resolution imaging of K2 and TESS exoplanet host stars with Steve Howell and the analysis of transiting planets to be observed by JWST with Tom Greene. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the advisor before applying.

Finally, Ames is seeking to hire a Science Communications Specialist to help share the scientific results from Kepler and K2 with the public. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact matthew.c.buffington@nasa.gov.

Call for K2 GO Cycle 6 proposals for Campaigns 17, 18, and 19

2017-08-28T07:20:00-07:00

The call for K2 Guest Observer Cycle 6 proposals for Campaigns 17, 18, and 19 has been released and made available at NSPIRES.

New two-phase process

Because spacecraft fuel is expected to run out during one of these Campaigns, the Cycle 6 call will use a new two-phase submission and target selection process:

An optional Phase-1 proposal, for all three campaigns (17-19) combined, will enable targets to be selected ahead of the observing campaigns. Phase-1 proposals, including target lists and a scientific rationale, are requested by October 12, 2017 and must be submitted via email to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov. The scientific rationale must not exceed 2 pages for small programs (less than 1000 targets) and 4 pages for large programs (1000 targets or more).
If the spacecraft health and fuel allow, then Phase-2 proposals for funding will be due April 19, 2018 (via NSPIRES). Phase-2 proposals are limited to use observations for targets which have been selected as part of Phase-1, the selection results of which will be published in February 2018. Phase-2 proposals are eligible to receive funding awards between $30K and $150K, depending on the number of targets used.

This revised process allows the allocation of funding to be postponed until after the successful start of Campaign 17 is confirmed in April 2018.

Both Phase-1 and Phase-2 proposals will be peer-reviewed and ranked by professional volunteers. The ranking of Phase-1 proposals will only inform the target selection, while the ranking of Phase-2 proposals will only inform the allocation of funding. Submission of the Phase-1 proposals does not obligate proposers to submit a Phase-2 proposal (the latter will normally only be of interest to US-based investigators that are eligible to receive funding.)

Information about the proposal process, including the scope, evaluation criteria, availability of funds, eligibility, target selection tools, submission process, and frequently asked questions, is detailed on the proposal preparation page.

K2fov update required

The final field positions for Campaigns 17-19 have recently been set based on community input. All investigators must update their version of the K2fov target selection tool to version 7.0, released on 16 June 2017, to take the final field positions into account.

K2fov can be updated from the command line using pip:

pip install K2fov --upgrade --no-deps

The version number of your K2fov installation may be verified using the following command:

python -c "import K2fov; print(K2fov.__version__)"

This should return "7.0.0" or higher. If the number is lower, or if you see an error message, then your installation of K2fov is outdated.

Questions?

Questions regarding this call should be sent to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

K2 Campaign 13 processed data available

2017-08-28T06:30:00-07:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 13 are now available for download from the K2 archive at MAST.

The Campaign 13 target list featured 21,434 standard long cadence and 109 standard short cadence targets, including members of the Taurus and Hyades clusters, alongside a number of galaxies and Solar System objects.

The properties of the release are discussed in the data release notes. In particular, users are alerted to the presence of one of the brightest stars in the sky (Aldebaran) on Module 22.1 (Channel 73), which also impacted the calibration of Module 22.2 (Channel 74).

K2 Campaign 14 raw data available

2017-08-25T20:00:00-07:00

The raw cadence data for K2 Campaign 14 were successfully downlinked from the spacecraft in the weekend of August 19th and are now available for download from the K2 archive at MAST.

The use of the raw, uncalibrated data files requires an intimate understanding of their format and caveats. For nearly all scientific investigations, we recommend that users wait for the calibrated products to become available. Pipeline processing has started and the calibrated data products are expected to become available in the course of October 2017.

K2 Campaign 16 DDT deadline approaching

2017-08-25T14:00:00-07:00

The deadline for 2-page Campaign 16 Director's Discretionary Time (DDT) proposals is August 31, 2017. The DDT program welcome requests for exceptional, time-critical observing opportunities of targets that have not already been included in the preliminary target list for K2 Campaign 16.

Notable targets in the Campaign 16 field include the M67 and M44 (Beehive) clusters, alongside dozens of confirmed and candidate planets previously discovered in the overlapping Campaign 5 field.

As a reminder: the "forward-facing" Campaign 16 field will be visible from both hemispheres throughout the duration of the Campaign (Dec 7 - Feb 25), enabling contemporaneous observations to be carried out from observatories on Earth. Many teams have already registered their contemporaneous observing plans in a publicly editable Google Doc.

The plans submitted so far have been compiled into the map below, revealing a wide range of observing capabilities which are expected to yield a rich legacy data set that is likely to benefit a wide variety of investigations. Several of the observatories plan to monitor the C16 field every night, providing polychromatic photometry and spectroscopy to complement Kepler's single bandpass.

We continue to encourage the K2 community to continue to register the details of the observing efforts in the Google Doc, and to engage in collaborations which help optimize the use of the available resources.

New community-prepared K2 light curves available at MAST

2017-08-16T08:00:00-07:00

The project encourages members of our community to share and archive value-added data products derived from Kepler or K2 observations via the High Level Science Products (HLSP) service offered by the data archive at MAST.

In recent months, four bespoke data products have been released or updated in this way:

As of this month, the second version of the K2 Systematics Correction (K2SC) light curves prepared by Aigrain et al. has been made available. The K2SC pipeline aims to preserve astrophysical signals by modeling both spacecraft systematics and stellar variability at the same time. Version 2.0 incorporates Campaigns 7, 8, and 10 for the first time, includes a re-processing of Campaigns 3-6, and fixes the "cadence" and "quality" columns which were affected by a glitch in version 1.0.
As of July, the K2 Self-Flat-Fielding (K2SFF) light curves prepared by Vanderburg & Johnson have been updated. The K2SFF algorithm correlates flux measurements with the spacecraft's pointing to remove the motion-induced systematics. The latest update adds Campaign 11 light curves to the existing set which already included Campaigns 0 through 10.
As of March, the Planet candidates from OptimaL Aperture Reduction (POLAR) light curves and planet candidates prepared by Barros et al. have been made available for Campaigns 1 through 6. POLAR is a new product optimized for bright stars which are suitable for spectroscopic follow-up.
As of February, version 2.0 of the EPIC Variability Extraction and Removal for Exoplanet Science Targets (EVEREST) light curves was released. The update, detailed in Luger et al. (2017), provides light curves for Campaigns 0 through 8, and includes short cadence and saturated targets for the first time. EVEREST uses a pixel-level detrending model which is asserted to offer a photometric performance similar to that of Kepler's main mission for stars down to Kp=14.

More details on each of these data products, including a more detailed description and a list of references, is available via the K2 High Level Science Product page at MAST.

The project's helpdesk is available to help guide the delivery of new data products and connect authors with the archives.

Recorded talks from Kepler & K2 SciCon IV now available online

2017-08-14T14:00:00-07:00

The Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV was held at the NASA Ames Research Center on June 19–23, 2017. The conference was live-streamed and talks were recorded via Adobe Connect. These recordings have now been made available online via the conference webpage.

In order to view the talks, you will need to have the "Adobe Connect Add-In" installed. Most browsers should be able to access these talks, but we have found Firefox to be the most user-friendly browser for the plug-in to work.

As a reminder, photos and impressions of the conference can also be accessed via the #KeplerSciCon hashtag on Twitter.

K2 Campaign 13 data processing complete

2017-08-10T09:00:00-07:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 13 is now complete and the pixel files and lightcurves are being shipped to the data archive at MAST. We anticipate that the data will become available in the week of August 28th, or shortly thereafter.

The target list featured 21,434 standard long cadence and 109 standard short cadence targets, including members of the Taurus and Hyades clusters, alongside a number of galaxies and Solar System objects.

Keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

K2 Campaign 15 science program now available

2017-08-02T21:00:00-07:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 15 have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

Campaign 15 is scheduled to run from August 23 through November 20, 2017, and will be observing towards the constellation of Scorpius. The target list includes 23,279 standard long cadence and 119 standard short cadence stars.

Notable targets include:

The outskirts of the ~11 Myr-old Upper Sco region, the most nearby OB star association (400 light-years away), including:
- Delta Sco: one of the best-studied Be-type stars, known for outbursts in 2000 and 2011. The target is very bright (Kp=2) and thus observed using a custom circular mask (ID 200194910).
- Several other bright B- and A-type stars (Kp=4-6) to be searched for pulsations for the first time.
- Hundreds of low-mass pre-main sequence stars.
Targets being observed in short cadence include:
- GW Lib: a cataclysmic variable with a white dwarf that pulsates (ID 249251294).
- 2MASS 1507-1627: an L5-type Brown Dwarf located just 24 light-years from Earth (ID 249914869).
- K2-38: an exoplanet system with two transiting super-Earths discovered in K2 Campaign 2 (ID 204221263).
The globular cluster NGC 5897 is being observed using a 90-by-90 pixel square box (IDs 200194922–200194957).
3466 Galaxies are being monitored for supernovae.
38 Solar System objects, including:
- Asteroid Ryugu: target of the Hyabusa 2 sample return mission (IDs 200194922–200194787).
- 3 Main-belt asteroids: Fantasia, Neujmina, and Stereoskopia.
- 4 Comets: 94P/Russell, 130P/McNaught-Hughes, C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo), and C/2014 W2 (PANSTARRS).
- 16 Jupiter Trojans and 14 Trans-Neptunian Objects.

The figure below illustrates the location of the field and its notable targets.

Open source release of the Kepler data processing pipeline

2017-08-01T16:00:00-07:00

The source code for the official Kepler data processing pipeline has been released to the public under the NASA Open Source License, and made available for download via the GitHub repository at https://github.com/nasa/kepler-pipeline. The release is accompanied by a Source Code Roadmap (pdf) which presents an overview of the various pipeline components found in the source code directory tree.

Users interested in the development of the underlying algorithms should refer to the Kepler Data Processing Handbook (pdf) which, together with the source code, represents the documentation of the algorithms used to produce the final target pixel files, light curves, and list of transit Threshold Crossing Events (TCEs) for the final Data Release 25 of Kepler's original mission in the Cygnus field (DR25).

A separate codebase, called the Robovetter, was used to classify the TCEs into planet candidates and false positives for Kepler's DR25 planet catalog. This code is available in a separate repository at https://github.com/nasa/kepler-robovetter and will be described in a forthcoming paper led by Susan Mullally et al (in prep).

K2 Campaign 12 processed data available

2017-07-31T07:00:00-07:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 12 are now available for download from the K2 archive at MAST.

The Campaign 12 target list included 29,221 standard long cadence and 141 standard short cadence targets, located in a high-Galactic latitude field (-60°) towards the constellations of Aquarius and Pisces. Notable targets in this Campaign included planet hosts TRAPPIST-1 (mask ID 200164267), WASP-28 (246375295), and HD 218566 (246340370), alongside minor planet Chiron (IDs 200164175–200164266 for long cadence, plus IDs 200161173–200162430 for a 20-day short cadence segment).

We strongly encourage users to read the C12 data release notes carefully. In particular, users should be aware that planet Mars passed through the focal plane during the Campaign, introducing significant saturation, scattered light, and video crosstalk in multiple channels over a period of three weeks.

Beta release of PyKE v3.0 out now

2017-07-31T06:00:00-07:00

A new major version of PyKE has been released in beta. PyKE is Python-based set of data analysis tools which offer a user-friendly way to inspect and analyze the pixels and lightcurves obtained by Kepler and K2.

PyKE v3.0 provides the following key improvements::

PyKE is now a pip-installable package and supports both Python 2 and 3;
tasks are now available both as command-line tools and Python functions;
PyKE no longer depends on PyRAF and is TESS-ready;
the tutorials have been updated for K2 and the documentation is now generated using Sphinx;
the development has been moved to GitHub to encourage user contributions and bug reports.

Interested users are encouraged to consult the documentation at pyke.keplerscience.org, which includes a quickstart tutorial.

Release of high-cadence guide star photometry

2017-07-27T12:00:00-07:00

Engineering data from Kepler's Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS) have recently been released to the public via the data archive at MAST. The data provide photometry and centroid positions for 95 guide stars that were used to keep the spacecraft pointing stable; 44 unique guide stars were observed during Kepler's prime mission and 51 during K2 Campaigns 0 through 12.

These guide stars were observed by four dedicated sensors in the corners of the focal plane, which collected photometry at a cadence of 0.104 seconds. An irregularly-sampled subset of the data were downlinked to Earth for engineering purposes. These have now been unearthed from the telemetry to enable the scientific value to be assessed by the community. The figure below illustrates the sampling cadence. Note that Quarters 0, 1 and 2 were more sparsely sampled than later periods.

Documentation on these data is available in document KSCI-19112, which details the way the FGS data were recorded and the format of the data products. The document is accompanied by a short tutorial hosted on GitHub which demonstrates the use of the data.

Although the Fine Guidance targets were chosen to be quiet, with variability in flux of less than 10%, there are some interesting targets in the high-cadence FGS data, such as the shallow eclipsing binary shown below.

K2 Campaign 12 data processing complete

2017-07-13T17:00:00-07:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 12 is now complete and the pixel files and lightcurves are being shipped to the data archive at MAST. We anticipate that the data will become available in the week of July 24th, or shortly thereafter.

The target list included 29,221 standard long cadence and 141 standard short cadence targets, alongside TRAPPIST-1, Chiron, and a large number of asteroids and galaxies.

Keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

TESS Guest Investigator Cycle 1 released

2017-07-13T16:00:00-07:00

The Cycle 1 proposal call for the Guest Investigator (GI) Program of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has been released. TESS is a new NASA Explorer mission, currently scheduled for launch no later than June 2018, which will carry out a near all-sky photometric survey down to magnitude ~12–16. The Kepler/K2 community is encouraged to explore the opportunities enabled by the new GI Program at the TESS Science Support Center Website.

Phase-1 proposals for TESS Cycle 1 are currently due on 29 Sep 2017, while Step-1 proposals for K2 GO Cycle 6 are expected to be due on 12 Oct 2017.

Share your plan for K2 Campaign 16 ancillary observations

2017-07-06T16:00:00-07:00

K2 Campaign 16 (Dec 7 - Feb 25) will be "forward-facing", making possible contemporaneous ground-based observations from Earth. Many teams have now secured telescope time to provide polychromatic photometry and spectroscopy of the field during the Campaign, e.g. for the benefit of the K2 Supernova Cosmology Experiment as well as a diversity of other projects including stellar rotation/activity/jitter studies and simultaneous exoplanet transit observations.

Because many of these ancillary data can be repurposed to benefit multiple science projects, and because many of these data will become publicly available, we encourage the K2 community to share the details of their observing resources in a crowdsourced Google Doc and collaborate to optimize the use of these resources:

Click here to access the K2 Campaign 16 ancillary observations Google Doc

The document above is editable directly if you wish to update the spreadsheet with your planned observations. Alternatively you can input your observations using this form or using the embedded form below.

As a reminder: the preliminary target list for Campaign 16 is available on line, and 2-page DDT proposals for additional targets may be submitted until August 31, 2017.

K2 Campaign 11 data available

2017-06-30T00:00:00-07:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 11 are now available for download from the K2 archive at MAST.

As explained in more detail in the data release notes, Campaign 11 was operationally separated into two segments, C11a (23 days) and C11b (47 days), as a result of a necessary roll correction made 23 days after the start of the Campaign to minimize solar torque on the spacecraft. The C11a files are known in the archive under Campaign number 111, and the C11b files have Campaign number 112. A search for Campaign 11 will return both sets of files.

We strongly encourage users to read the C11 data release notes carefully to understand the implications of the roll correction, which is unique to C11.

Live streaming available for Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV

2017-06-16T10:00:00-07:00

The Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV, to be held at NASA Ames next week (June 19–23, 2017), will be live-streamed for the benefit of researchers unable to attend the conference in-person. Those interested in virtual participation will be able to sign in to the Adobe Connect URL at https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/kepler from Monday, June 19th at 9:00 AM PST. Remote participants can also join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #KeplerSciCon.

The agenda features 84 talks and 91 posters. The schedule outline is shown below. The full program, including abstracts, is available in pdf format.

Fields selected for K2 Campaigns 17, 18, and 19

2017-06-16T09:00:00-07:00

The K2 project has selected the fields that will be observed as part of Campaigns 17, 18, and 19. The fields were selected based on the feedback received as part of a recent solicitation for community input, while also taking into account the spacecraft's constraints and fuel usage.

Campaign 17 (Mar 1 - May 8, 2018) will observe a forward-facing field toward the constellation of Virgo. The high galactic latitude of this field makes it ideally suited to enable the K2 Supernova Cosmology Experiment to continue, leveraging ground-based resources already put in place for Campaign 16. The field also provides a substantial overlap with Campaign 6, offering a longer baseline for stellar activity, asteroseismology, and AGN studies, as well as enabling dozens of known K2 planet candidates to be revisited. The field also provides access to ~20 deg² of previously unexplored sky.

Campaign 18 (May 12 - Aug 2, 2018) will be a backward-facing campaign dedicated to revisit Campaign 5 and substantially overlap Campaign 16. The third visit to this key part of the sky that contains the M44 and M67 clusters will enable users to study benchmark targets with a 3-year baseline and 8-month duty cycle, enabling "original Kepler mission"-like science at a Galactic sightline that is located 130 degrees away from the original Kepler field in Cygnus. Alongside M44 and M67, the field provides access to HIP 41378 (a 5-planet system around a 9th magnitude star), and more than one hundred previously-published K2 planet candidates.

Campaign 19 (Aug 6 - Oct 10, 2018) will observe a forward-facing field near the constellation of Aquarius, partially overlapping Campaigns 3 and 12, plus providing access to ~15 deg² of previously unstudied sky. The field includes the planet Neptune, Comet 2P/Encke, and the Trappist-1 system and the forward-facing orientation facilitates simultaneous ground observations.

These fields will constitute K2's GO Cycle 6. A call for target and funding proposals to be submitted to this Cycle is expected to be issued in July as part of the NASA ROSES program, with a Step-1 deadline expected to fall in October.

The following graphs illustrate the exact field placement:

Finally, the graph below shows their position relative to all twenty K2 Campaigns:

Additional details of all fields can be found on the K2 Campaign fields page.

K2 Campaign 11 data processing complete

2017-06-15T20:00:00-07:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 11 is now complete and the pixel files and lightcurves are in the process of being shipped to the MAST archive. We anticipate that the data will become available to the public towards the last week of June. The Campaign 11 data processing proceeded more slowly than usual due to the crowded Galactic Bulge field targeted by this Campaign.

The target list included 14,209 standard long cadence and 65 standard short cadence targets, alongside five globular clusters (M9, M19, NGC 6293, NGC 6355, Terzan 5), 11 bright stars, 55 Trojan asteroids, 7 Trans-Neptunian Objects, and Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus.

Keep an eye on our website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Ann Marie Cody, Michael Gully-Santiago, Christina Hedges, and Zé Vinícius join the Guest Observer Office

2017-06-01T14:00:00-07:00

The Kepler/K2 Guest Observer Office has four new members joining us at Ames Research Center in California: Michael Gully-Santiago, Ann Marie Cody, Christina Hedges, and Zé Vinícius.

Ann Marie Cody earned her PhD at the California Institute of Technology in 2011, where she investigated the properties of young brown dwarfs and low-mass stars using time series photometry and spectroscopy. Ann Marie will take a leading role in supporting the stellar astrophysics community mine the rich star clusters K2 has observed in recent Campaigns. She will also organize a K2 Cluster Science Workshop, and help PI's deliver value-added High Level Science Products to the data archive.

Michael Gully-Santiago earned his PhD at the University of Texas in Austin in 2015 where he developed innovative technologies for and observational studies of star and planet formation. Gully will take a leading role in supporting the K2 Supernova Cosmology Experiment and helping our community leverage modern data science methods.

Christina Hedges recently submitted her PhD at the University of Cambridge in the UK, researching exoplanet transmission spectroscopy using the Hubble Space Telescope and mining the K2 data using machine learning methods. Christina will take a leading role in supporting our exoplanet and asteroseismology communities.

Zé Vinícius is an intern from the University of Campina Grande in Brazil, where he is studying towards an Electrical Engineering degree. Last year Zé implemented PSF photometry for the AstroPy/photutils project as part of a Google Summer of Code project. Zé will take a leading role in helping the GO office and the community produce high-quality open source software tools and perform photometry in crowded fields.

Zé started on March 1st, Michael and Ann Marie started on May 31st, and Christina will join us at the end of June.

Together, the team will embark on an ambitious plan to leave behind a rich set of community-oriented data products, tools, and tutorials to help current and future astronomers extract the best possible science from Kepler and K2's unique legacy data sets.

DDT deadlines for K2 Campaigns 15 & 16 approaching

2017-05-11T13:00:00-07:00

We are currently accepting DDT proposals for Campaigns 15 and 16. The proposals are due by 23:59 PT (Pacific Time) on the following dates:

May 18, 2017 for Campaign 15
August 31, 2017 for Campaign 16

For further information on the DDT program and the requirements for proposal submission, check out the DDT website. Proposals should be submitted via email to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV program now available

2017-05-11T11:00:00-07:00

The conference agenda for the Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV, to be held June 19–23 at NASA Ames Research Center, is now available from the conference website.

The agenda features 85 talks and 101 posters covering topics across all science areas that are impacted by Kepler and K2 data, including exoplanets, microlensing, asteroseismology, clusters, stellar activity, extragalactic science, and Solar System studies.

U.S. Citizens & Permanent Residents can continue to register for the conference until Monday 15 May 2017. Registration is free.

If you have registered for the conference and are interested in shared housing, please contact ARC-KeplerSciCon@mail.nasa.gov to be connected to other participants interested in this option.

ExoPAG meeting to take place in conjunction with Kepler & K2 SciCon IV

2017-05-09T15:00:00-07:00

NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG) will hold its sixteenth meeting on Sunday, June 18, 2017 in Mountain View, CA, one day before the start of Kepler & K2 SciCon IV in the same city.

ExoPAG is responsible for soliciting and coordinating community input into the development and execution of NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP).

ExoPAG meetings are open to the entire scientific community, and offer an opportunity to participate in discussions of scientific and technical issues in exoplanet exploration. The schedule for the meeting on June 18th may be found on the ExoPAG meeting webpage.

K2 Campaign 14 science program now available

2017-05-04T16:00:00-07:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 14 have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

Campaign 14 is scheduled to run from May 31 through August 19, 2017, and will be observing towards the constellations of Leo and Sextans near the North Galactic Cap. The target list includes 29,897 standard long cadence and 147 standard short cadence targets.

Notable targets include:

Wolf 359: a late M dwarf and 5th nearest star system to the Sun (EPIC 201885041);
WASP-104: host of a transiting hot Jupiter (EPIC 248662696);
7 bright stars observed using custom circular masks, including the 4th-magnitude blue supergiant rho Leo (EPIC 200182931);
6 large galaxies observed using custom masks (M95, M96, M105, NGC 3384, NGC 3423, NGC3412) and 14,691 small galaxies observed using standard masks to observe supernovae;
27 hilda and trojan asteroids;
8 trans-Neptunian objects: 2000 CM105, 2000 OG44, 2002 CY224, 2008 CS190, 2014 WJ510, 2014 WA509, 2014 WA510, 2014 WO509;
6 comets: 17P, 202P, 331P, 50P, P2010 TO20, and P2016 A3;
1 main-belt asteroid: 373 Melusina.

Release of dithered data obtained during Kepler commissioning

2017-04-16T03:00:00-07:00

During Kepler’s commissioning phase in April 2009, the spacecraft observed 33,424 stars in a dither pattern for the purpose of measuring the Pixel Response Function (PRF). The pattern consisted of 122 pointings, each with a duration of 14.7 minutes, observed across a 2.5-day period on April 27-29, 2009.

The PRF inferred from these data was previously released in the form of FITS files which provide PRF images for the four corners and the center of each CCD channel. These files have been available from the Kepler data archive's Focal Plane Characteristics page for several years, and their construction was detailed in a paper by Bryson et al. 2011.

The dithered data from which the PRF was inferred was hitherto unavailable. As part of an ongoing effort to unearth all useful data before the end of the mission, these cadences have been processed into Target Pixel Files and are now available from the data archive at MAST for the first time. They may be of use to anyone wishing to investigate Kepler's intra- and inter-pixel variations. Details of this release are described in document KSCI-19100.

The animation below shows example data obtained as part of the dither sequence. The graph elucidates the dither pattern (Figure 3 from Bryson et al. 2011).

Request for input on the Campaign 17 and 18 field placement

2017-03-26T17:00:00-07:00

The fields for K2 Campaigns 17 and beyond have not yet been set. Although these future Campaigns are at risk of not being executed due to Kepler running low on fuel, there is a significant chance that the spacecraft will continue to function well into 2018 and the project must be ready to observe fields accordingly.

We strive to optimize these future fields based on potential science. We are now soliciting feedback from the community on the placement of fields 17 and 18. Example options which satisfy K2's pointing constraints are shown below. When submitting your input, please keep in mind that we can only shift the field along the ecliptic between these options, not up or down.

We ask that all requests for field placements be received by April 11 and be submitted via this Google Form. Advocacy that was submitted in recent months via e-mail will be taken into account as well. We anticipate announcing the final field positions in early May.

Questions may be addressed to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Campaign 17: Example forward-facing options

Campaign 17 is designated to have a forward-facing field to enable simultaneous observations from the Earth. Possible field options are outlined in the table below.

Note that all options have a start date of 3 March 2018, i.e. 5 days after the end of Campaign 16. The first option is very short in duration due to its partial overlap in observing geometry with C16.

Campaign 17: Example options

Option	Possible dates	Max. duration	Overlap region
1	Mar 3 - Apr 18, 2018	46 days	14 modules of C10
2	Mar 3 - May 8, 2018	66 days	14 modules of C6
3	Mar 3 - May 23, 2018	81 days	1 module of C6

Campaign 18: Example forward-facing options

The field for Campaign 18 largely depends on the location of the Campaign 17 field as well as whether or not Campaign 18 will be posited as a forward-facing or backward-facing field. If we allow Campaign 18 to begin 5 days after the end of each of the three options for Campaign 17 noted above, then we obtain the following options listed below in the case of a forward-facing field:

Campaign 18: Example options (forward-facing)

Option	Possible dates	Max. duration	Overlap region
1	Apr 23 - Jul 18, 2018	86 days	17 modules of C9*
2	May 13 - Aug 09, 2018	88 days	9 modules of C7
3	May 28 - Aug 25, 2018	88 days	none

* C9 was the microlensing experiment where pixels were primarily collected around the Galactic bulge. Therefore, the distribution of targets across modules was not uniform in that campaign.

Campaign 18: Example backward-facing options

And these are the C18 options for the backward-facing geometry, in which case Earth is kept out of the field but simultaneous observations from the ground would be challenging:

Campaign 18: Example options (backward-facing)

Option	Possible dates	Max. duration	Overlap region
1	Apr 23 - Jul 18, 2018	86 days	1/2 module of C5
2	May 13 - Aug 09, 2018	88 days	14 modules of C5 and C16
3	May 28 - Aug 25, 2018	88 days	2 modules of C14

K2fov

The above field options have been configured in the GitHub version of K2fov using mock field numbers:

171, 172, 173 (C17);
181, 182, 183 (C18 forward-facing);
184, 185, 186 (C18 backward-facing).

Kepler DR 25 KOI Catalog now available

2017-03-26T15:00:00-07:00

The latest version of the Kepler Objects of Interest (KOI) Catalog, version DR25, is now available in the NASA Exoplanet Archive.

The catalog details all the transit-like features across the full data set of the original Kepler mission, i.e. Quarters 1 through 17, as found by the Kepler pipeline and vetted by the RoboVetter. Details on the nature and contents of the catalog can be found in the DR25 KOI Companion Document.

The catalog will be the first of its kind to be accompanied by a full suite of detection reliability and completeness measurements, and will hence be the recommended catalog for estimating planet occurence rates. A first set of these accompanying products have been released alongside the catalog, and additional products will be released as they become available over the next months.

Further details on the DR25 data products, and their use for occurence rates measurements, will be described in a forthcoming paper and accompanying talks to be presented at the Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV. (Note: abstract and foreign registration deadline: March 31!)

Raw data for K2 Campaign 12 and TRAPPIST-1 now available

2017-03-08T06:00:00-08:00

The raw, uncalibrated data files for K2 Campaign 12 are now available for download from the data archive at MAST.

The raw files are made public straight away to aid astronomers in preparing proposals due this month to use ground-based telescopes to further investigate TRAPPIST-1. These are not the project's true data products: by late May, the routine pipeline processing of the K2 data will be completed and vetted, and the fully calibrated data made available.

We encourage our community to share their understanding of the raw data with the public by blogging or tweeting tutorials and analyses. This public TRAPPIST-1 data set offers a unique opportunity to let a wider audience witness the process scientific discovery.

The remainder of this blog post summarizes the caveats associated with the raw data, describes the availability of preliminary Target Pixel Files, and offers a quick-look at the TRAPPIST-1 light curve.

Raw data caveats

The use of the raw, uncalibrated data files requires an intimate understanding of their format and caveats. In particular:

the raw data are not flat-fielded, bias-subtracted, or smear-corrected;
cadences of poor quality, e.g. due to thruster firings, are not flagged;
the data are formatted in a non-standard way and require reformatting.

Moreover, during Campaign 12, a cosmic ray event reset the spacecraft's onboard software causing a five-day break in science data collection from Feb 1st through Feb 6th. The benign event is the fourth occurrence of a cosmic ray susceptibility since launch in March 2009 and the spacecraft remains healthy and operating nominally otherwise.

Pseudo Target Pixel Files

TRAPPIST-1 was observed using a 11x11 short-cadence mask with EPIC ID 200164267 from Dec 15th, 2016, through Mar 4th, 2017. To help the community explore this target, the Guest Observer Office reformatted the raw data into a pseudo Target Pixel Files using the Kadenza tool.

The files are available for download from Zenodo (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.375796):

Long cadence: k2-trappist1-unofficial-tpf-long-cadence.fits.gz (2 MB)
Short cadence: k2-trappist1-unofficial-tpf-short-cadence.fits.gz (45 MB)

Compared to traditional Target Pixel Files, the FLUX values in these files are not corrected for smear or bias, and not all header keywords are populated.

Quick look at TRAPPIST-1

A quick-look lightcurve of the long cadence data for TRAPPIST-1 reveals sinusoidal patterns due to star spots, and at least 6 planets:

The pseudo Target Pixel Files above can also be converted into movies using the k2flix tool, which shows TRAPPIST-1 to be at the center of the target mask:

Funding available for exoplanet research through NASA's XRP

2017-03-06T19:00:00-08:00

Our US-based Kepler/K2 community is being alerted to the open call for proposals to be submitted to NASA's Exoplanet Research Program (XRP). Investigations are expected to directly support the goal of understanding exoplanetary systems, by doing one or more of the following:

detect exoplanets and/or confirm exoplanet candidates in order to provide high-value targets for current and future NASA observatories or support NASA’s ongoing exoplanet surveys;
observationally characterize exoplanets, their atmospheres, or specific host star properties that directly impact our understanding of the exoplanetary system, in order to support NASA’s ongoing exoplanet surveys, inform target and operational choices for current NASA missions, or deliver targeting, operational, and formulation data for future NASA observatories;
understand the chemical and physical processes of exoplanets (including the state and evolution of their surfaces, interiors, and atmospheres);
improve understanding of the origins of exoplanetary systems.

XRP proposals are solicitated annually as part of NASA's Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) solicitation. Typical XRP funding amounts range between $60,000 to $200,000 per year, and run typically for 2-3 years.

Proposals for the 2017 call are due on Mar 30, 2017.

Quick links:

K2 Campaign 16 preliminary target list available

2017-02-27T09:00:00-08:00

A limitation that K2 users have faced in previous Campaigns is that simultaneous observations from the ground were only possible during challenging twilight conditions, owing to K2's strategy to observe in the backward-facing direction along its velocity vector.

This will change in Campaign 16 (Dec 2017 - Feb 2018), when K2 will observe in the forward-facing direction to enable observations in a field that can easily be accessed from Earth at the same time. This will enable K2's single-bandpass photometry to be complemented with simultaneous observations from the ground.

To help the community secure observing resources for this opportunity ahead of the upcoming proposal deadlines, the project has prepared a preliminary list of 16,000 targets which are planned to be observed during the Campaign. The list is available as a CSV file (k2c16-preliminary-target-list.csv) and contains five columns:

EPIC ID (empty if not in EPIC);
RA (decimal degrees);
Dec (decimal degrees);
Kp (magnitude);
Programs (pipe-delimited list of program IDs).

The list does not include short cadence mode, Solar System bodies, and custom masks (such as M67, the core of which is likely to be observed using a ~0.5°-by-0.5° super-mask).

The final list of ~25,000 targets will be available by Nov 2017 and is expected to include all targets from the preliminary list, save a small number of targets which prove to be unobservable due to falling close to the edge of the field of view.

As a reminder: Campaign 16 will run from December 7th, 2017, through February 25th, 2018. The field is located at a moderate Galactic Latitude (+35°) towards the constellation of Cancer (RA 9h, Dec +19°). The line of sight shows very low foreground extinction (Av ~0.2 mag) which makes it well-suited for extragalactic and supernova science. The field also contains the well-known clusters M44 (Beehive) and M67.

K2 Campaign 13 science program now available

2017-02-20T16:00:00-08:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 13 have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

Campaign 13 is scheduled to run from March 8th through May 27th, 2017, and will be observing towards the constellation of Taurus in the Galactic Anti-Center direction.

The target list includes 21,434 standard long cadence and 109 standard short cadence targets. Notable targets include:

members of the Taurus star-forming region including two well-known T Tauri-type stars:
- HL Tau (EPIC 210690913);
- LkCa 15 (EPIC 247520207);
the nearby Hyades open cluster;
the distant clusters NGC 1647, NGC 1746 and NGC 1817;
33 galaxies;
6 Trojan asteroids;
8 Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs);
1 Comet (246P/NEAT).

Moreover, a total of 33 bright stars (Kp 0-6), including Aldebaran and more than 15 members of the Hyades, are being observed using a custom 40-pixel diameter circular aperture mask. Such circular masks capture the PSF cores while excluding the long saturation columns which tend to bleed off silicon. Nine bright Hyades members are also being observed in short cadence using a similar custom mask.

Funding available for Kepler & K2 data analysis through ADAP

2017-02-14T22:00:00-08:00

The Kepler/K2 community is being alerted to the open call for proposals to be submitted to the Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP), which provides financial support for US-based investigations whose primary purpose is the analysis of NASA space astrophysics data that are archived in the public domain at the time of proposal submission.

ADAP proposals are solicitated annually as part of NASA's Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) solicitation. Typical ADAP funding amounts range between $40,000 per year to more than $200,000 per year, and can run for up to 3 years.

Proposals for the 2017 call are due on May 16, 2017. All Kepler/K2 data that will have been released to the community as of that date will be eligible for inclusion in ADAP proposals. This includes all Kepler prime mission data and K2 Campaigns 0 through 10.

Note: studies of Solar System bodies based on Kepler/K2 data are not eligible for funding under the ADAP, they may be submitted to the DDAP program instead.

Quick links:

Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP)
Discovery Data Analysis Program (DDAP)
Annual ROSES solication

K2 Campaigns 14, 15 and 16 Director's Discretionary Targets program

2017-02-01T15:30:00-08:00

We are currently accepting DDT proposals for Campaigns 14, 15 and 16. The proposals are due by 23:59 PT (Pacific Time) on the following dates:

February 23, 2017 for Campaign 14
May 18, 2017 for Campaign 15
August 31, 2017 for Campaign 16

For further information on the DDT program for K2 and the requirements for proposal submission, check out the DDT website. Proposals should be submitted via email to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

We are hiring! Job opportunities available at the Kepler/K2 Science Center

2017-01-31T10:00:00-08:00

The Kepler/K2 Science Center is seeking to fill multiple staff positions within the Kepler and K2 Guest Observer (GO) Office at NASA’s Ames Research Center.

Job ad

Support Scientists, Kepler/K2 Science Center
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California 94035

NASA’s Kepler and K2 missions deliver high-precision space-borne photometry which impact all areas of astrophysics in unique and important ways, including exoplanet science, stellar astrophysics, extragalactic physics, and solar system science.

The Kepler/K2 Science Center is seeking to fill multiple staff positions within the Kepler and K2 Guest Observer (GO) Office at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Responsibilities of the GO Office are to provide an interface between mission operations and the diverse academic community, to help execute and vet new K2 observations, to provide technical support for the scientific exploitation of the data by developing open source software tools, and to support outreach activities. Details of the GO Office’s activities can be found at keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov.

Support Scientists will be encouraged to develop an independent astronomical research program. Ideally, this research would involve active collaboration with Kepler/K2 community scientists and staff. The development of synergies between Kepler/K2 science and NASA’s upcoming TESS and JWST missions is particularly encouraged.

The position is expected to last around 2 years, depending on Kepler’s fuel usage, and may continue thereafter depending on the mission’s close-out funding. The position comes with a competitive salary for the Silicon Valley area ($95-$115k commensurate with experience) plus health, vision, and dental insurance, and retirement contributions.

Qualifications: PhD in science or equivalent experience; broad understanding of astronomical and/or exoplanet science; open source software development skills; excellent communication skills. Additional desirable experience includes familiarity with the Python/AstroPy ecosystem, the GitHub platform, and web development skills. Experience in a science support role and/or direct experience with Kepler data is beneficial, but not essential.

These jobs will entail significant travel in support of the Kepler/K2 community. The positions are funded through a cooperative agreement between NASA and the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (www.baeri.org). To apply send a CV, a list of three references, and a summary of science interests and relevant technical skills (maximum 3 pages for the summary) to resumes@baeri.org. Applications will be reviewed starting February 20, 2017, and will continue to be considered thereafter until March 31, 2017. Applicants should expect to receive a confirmation after submission.

Enquires about the position may be directed to geert.barentsen@nasa.gov.

First Announcement: Kepler & K2 SciCon IV, June 19-23, 2017

2017-01-30T09:30:00-08:00

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV
June 19-23, 2017
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
https://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov/scicon4/

Over the past 8 years, high-precision photometry from the Kepler/K2 mission has enabled breakthrough discoveries in exoplanet science, asteroseismology, eclipsing binary stars, solar-system objects, and extragalactic science. To celebrate the legacy and latest science results of Kepler/K2 we invite the community to the 4th Kepler & K2 Science Conference, hosted at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA. We welcome contributions from any area of science related to the Kepler/K2 mission, as well as related future missions such as TESS. We are looking forward to celebrating the Kepler/K2 science and legacy with the community!

Confirmed Invited Speakers include:
Angie Wolfgang, Penn State
Armin Rest, STScI
Calen Henderson, JPL
Conny Aerts, KU Leuven
Dave Latham, Harvard-Smithsonian CfA
Dennis Stello, UNSW Australia
Eric Mamajek, JPL
Jason Rowe, Université de Montréal
Jennifer Johnson, OSU
Jennifer van Saders, Carnegie
Luisa Rebull, Caltech
Ruth Murray Clay, UCSC
Susan Thompson, NASA Ames

Important Dates:
26 Jan 2017 Registration and abstract submission open
31 Mar 2017 Abstract submission deadline
31 Mar 2017 Registration deadline for Foreign Nationals
15 May 2017 Registration deadline for U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

Conference Venue, Registration and Logistics:
For more information, including registration details, please visit the conference website:
https://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov/scicon4/

Note that Wednesday afternoon (June 21) has been reserved for breakout sessions to enable the community to discuss and work on Kepler/K2 related projects. We envision that these sessions will be more hands-on ("unconference" sessions) compared to traditional talks, ideally with broad interest to the community. Examples for breakout sessions could include panel discussions, hack activities, work meetings of larger collaborations, or tutorials to use data/software products related to Kepler/K2. To submit a proposal for a breakout session please select the appropriate abstract preference during registration.

Scientific Organizing Committee:
Eric Agol, University of Washington (co-Chair)
Daniel Huber, University of Hawaii (co-Chair)
Natalie Batalha, NASA Ames Research Center (Kepler Project Scientist)
Jessie Dotson, NASA Ames Research Center (K2 Project Scientist)
Thomas Barclay, NASA Ames Research Center (Kepler/K2 Guest Observer Office Director)
Jessie Christiansen, NASA Exoplanet Science Institute
JJ Hermes, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Marc Pinsonneault, The Ohio State University
Erin Ryan, SETI Institute
Karl Stapelfeldt, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Rachel Street, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
Brad Tucker, Australian National University

Local Organizing Committee:
Mark Messersmith, NASA Ames Research Center (Chair)
Knicole Colón, NASA Ames Research Center
Ellen O'Leary, NASA Exoplanet Science Institute
Wendy Stenzel, NASA Ames Research Center
Geert Barentsen, NASA Ames Research Center

Dr. Geert Barentsen to take over as Kepler/K2 Guest Observer Office lead on April 1

2017-01-30T08:00:00-08:00

Dr. Geert Barentsen has been appointed to Director of the Kepler/K2 Guest Observer Office at NASA Ames and will take up this new position on April 1. Geert earned a Ph.D in astrophysics from Queens University Belfast and has a background in star formation. Geert has been with the Kepler/K2 GO office since June 2015, serving as a support scientist. During his time with the project Geert took leading role in coordinating the K2 C9 microlensing experiment.

After spending 6 years within the Kepler and K2 mission, current Director Dr. Tom Barclay will be moving to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Tom will take the position of Guest Investigator Deputy Director for the upcoming Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which is due for launch in March 2018.

We are working to ensure that the transition is as seamless as possible, and are expecting to hire new staff in the near future. Geert and the rest of the Kepler/K2 team look forward continuing to support the scientific community in the coming years.

Visiting Scientist opportunities available

2017-01-26T13:10:00-08:00

The Kepler & K2 missions are launching a Visiting Scientist Program.

The Program enables users of Kepler or K2 data to visit the mission headquarters at NASA Ames in California, for a period of multiple weeks or months, to work on a research project that would benefit from close interaction with Kepler/K2 team members and instrument experts. Visitors will also be expected to give a seminar at Ames.

Funds will normally be available to support the travel and lodging expenses of successful applicants, to be agreed upon acceptance.

Interested participants should submit a <2-page proposal that includes an outline of the research project, relevant experience, and the desired duration and period of the visit. Astronomers of all career stages may apply.

Proposals may be submitted at any time via e-mail to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov. They will be evaluated at the start of each month with respect to several factors, including:

scientific merit of the proposed project;
benefit of having access to Kepler/K2 experts to carry out the project;
contribution of the project to Kepler/K2’s long-term legacy.

Student Internship opportunities available

2017-01-26T13:00:00-08:00

The Kepler & K2 missions are offering internship opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students wishing to to gain experience in the scientific exploitation and operations of a major NASA mission.

The internships are based at Kepler/K2's mission headquarters at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.

Example projects we can offer include:

Designing an interactive web application to compute Kepler’s planet occurrence rates, or to visualize K2’s planet discoveries.
Searching the Kepler/K2 data for unknown asteroids and comets.
Assisting the quality control of new data releases by improving the k2-quality-control software.
Mining the Kepler/K2 literature and producing enhanced publication statistics using the kpub software.
Writing Kepler/K2 data analysis tutorials.
etc...

Due to the technical nature of these projects, candidates are expected to present evidence of strong and relevant computing skills, such as Python, AstroPy, GitHub, Linux, and/or web development.

Interested participants should submit a <2-page proposal to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov outlining their skills, ambitions, and period of availability. Candidates may be eligible to receive lodging and a stipend as part of NASA’s internship program.

Raw data for K2 Campaign 12 to be released after downlink

2017-01-24T12:00:00-08:00

The project has decided that raw data from the currently on-going K2 Campaign 12 will be released immediately after downlink. C12 includes the high-profile TRAPPIST-1 exoplanet system.

The raw data will be available from a public directory at the MAST data archive on or near March 6th. The use of the raw data files requires an intimate understanding of their format and caveats. The kadenza tool may be used to convert the raw files into uncalibrated FITS images for quicklook purposes. The traditional pipeline-processed calibrated data products will be released within 2 to 3 months after the end of the Campaign, as usual.

The decision to release the raw data was triggered by a request from members of the K2 community. Similar requests may be made for future Campaigns by sending a well-motivated justification to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov, no later than one month before the end of a Campaign.

K2 Campaign 10 data release notes now available

2017-01-18T14:00:00-08:00

The K2 Campaign 10 Data Release Notes are now available online.

We strongly encourage all users to review the notes to learn more about the impact of the pointing offset, which affected the first 6 days of the Campaign, and the loss of Module 4, which resulted in a 14-day data gap.

In addition, the K2 Campaign 9 Data Release Notes have been updated to document a minor issue with the Target Pixel File for EPIC-200070438.

Galactic Archeology Special Session at AAS 229

2016-12-29T13:00:00-08:00

At the upcoming American Astronomical Society meeting in Grapevine, Tx there will be a special session on Galactic Archeology with K2 and Kepler. This is an exciting area of astrophysics that will only continue to grow over the coming years. The organizer of the event is Jennifer Johnson from Ohio State University and the session will take place in the Grapevine B room of the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center and starts at 10am. The astract of the session below.

The exquisite lightcurves of the Kepler and K2 missions have been an unexpected boon to the field of near-field cosmology. Ages and evolutionary states can now be derived for field red giants, by combining asteroseismology with spectroscopic data. Red giants, far more luminous than the main-sequence turnoff stars usually used, allow us to probe the evolution of the whole Galaxy. Originally these investigations were restricted to a single line of sight of the Kepler field. With the failure of two of the reaction wheels and the start of the K2 program to observe many fields along the ecliptic, we now probe distinctly different Galactic populations, including the inner and outer disks, the bulge-halo interface, and far more of the Galactic halo. In K2, the Galactic Archaeology Program has been awarded the second largest number of targets, with over 50,000 stars targeted to understand the formation of the Milky Way. The data from the Kepler field has already been used to calibrate the largest age map yet made of the Galaxy, and we are just beginning to explore this vast dataset. The ongoing release of Kepler/K2 light curves and the public availability of follow-up spectra for thousands of targets over the last year alone indicates that this is an ideal time to discuss the most recent breakthroughs in the rapidly evolving field of Galactic archeologyIn this special session, we will discuss the extensive follow-up work underway to make Galactic archaeology possible, discuss how Kepler/K2 data in stellar clusters reveals the history of stellar activity, and present the pioneering results of Galactic archaeology. These include investigations of the age spread in the Galactic halo, examination of the vertical and radial age gradients in the thick and thin disk, measurement of the timescales for chemical evolution, calibration of age indicators for even larger age maps, and discussion of synergies with Gaia.

K2 Campaign 10 data available

2016-12-21T10:30:00-08:00

The pipeline-processed data for K2 Campaign 10 are now available for download from the K2 archive at MAST.

As explained in detail in the data release notes, the data were processed in two separate sets:

The first six days of data, dubbed C10a, were collected with a pointing error of 3.3 pixels from the nominal field-of-view, so they were only processed through CAL to make Type 1 target pixel files and collateral data files.
The remainder of the campaign, dubbed C10b, was processed through the entire photometry pipeline, creating Type 2 target pixel files, long-cadence light curves, and collateral data files.

The C10a files are known in the archive under Campaign number 101, and the C10b files have Campaign number 102. A search for Campaign 10 will return both sets of files.

Another complexity is that Module 4 was lost part way through C10b, which powered off the photometer and produced a 14-day data gap.

We strongly encourage users to read the C10 data release notes carefully.

K2 Campaign 10 data processing complete

2016-12-09T10:00:00-08:00

Pipeline processing for K2 Campaign 10 is now complete and the data are in the process of being shipped to the data archive at MAST. We anticipate that the data will become available for download on or before December 22nd.

Alongside 28,345 standard long cadence and 138 short cadence targets, the Campaign 10 science program included a large number of galaxies owing to the field's location near the north galactic pole. The extragalactic targets include the well-known quasar 3C 273.

Keep an eye on this website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Reprocessed data for K2 Campaign 1 now available

2016-12-06T14:00:00-08:00

The original data release for K2 Campaign 1 in 2014 used a prior version of the pipeline (v9.2) which only produced "Type-1" FITS Target Pixel Files. The Campaign has now been re-processed using the mature version of the pipeline (v9.3) which updates the pixel files to "Type-2" TPFs (differences detailed here). The new release also adds long-cadence lightcurves, cotrending basis vectors, and collateral products such as smear data.

The re-processing also corrects a short cadence calibration bug. Short cadence targets with significantly improved calibration are identifed in the list of affected targets at the MAST.

Finally, the C1 data release notes have been updated to include more details on the data characteristics, and to explain issues associated with the first few days of data which were taken before a pointing tweak.

The reprocessed Campaign 1 data are now available from the K2 data archive at MAST. Campaigns 0 and 2 are currently undergoing a similar reprocessing effort which is expected to be completed in early 2017, at which point all Campaigns will have been processed using the same version of the pipeline.

K2 & TESS Splinter Session at #AAS229 on 4 Jan 2017

2016-12-04T20:00:00-08:00

The TESS and K2 Missions are convening a joint special session at the 229th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) being held in Grapevine, Texas, this January.

The session will take place on Wednesday evening, January 4th, 2017, at 7:30 pm in room "Texas C" at the Gaylord Texan Convention Center. All AAS participants are invited to join the gathering to learn more about present and future science opportunities with K2 and TESS.

The schedule is as follows:

7:30pm: K2 Mission Update – Jessie Dotson, NASA Ames
7:40pm: K2 Campaigns 16 & 17 Supernova Cosmology Experiment – Armin Rest, STScI
7:50pm: K2 Campaign 9 Microlensing Experiment – Calen Henderson, JPL/Caltech
8:00pm: TESS Mission Update & Overview – George Ricker, MIT
8:10pm: TESS Science Preview – Jennifer Burt, MIT
8:20pm: TESS GI Program – Padi Boyd, NASA Goddard
8:30pm: K2, TESS, and The Future – Jessie Christiansen, Caltech
8:40pm: Q&A and Socializing (bar in room open until 9pm)

In addition to the special session, a wealth of Kepler/K2/TESS-related talks and posters will be presented throughout the meeting, and the missions will also operate a booth in the exhibit hall.

(PS: Come early if you like warm pretzels!)

K2 Campaign 12 science program now available

2016-11-28T15:00:00-08:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 12 have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

The Campaign 12 target list includes 29,221 standard long cadence and 141 standard short cadence targets, all located in a high-Galactic latitude field (-60°) on the boundary between the constellations of Aquarius and Pisces.

The short cadence list includes TRAPPIST-1, an ultracool dwarf star known to host several Earth-sized transiting planets. A generous 11-by-11 pixel short cadence mask will be used to capture the target (mask ID 200164267).

The long cadence list includes 2,576 galaxies to enable supernovae and AGN studies. It also includes 8 bright stars (Kp ~5) for which we collected only the central region of pixels using a circular aperture mask, excluding the long saturation bleed. Their target IDs are:

200164167 (κ Psc)
200164168 (83 Aqr)
200164169 (24 Psc)
200164170 (HR 8759)
200164171 (14 Psc)
200164172 (HR 8921)
200164173 (81 Aqr)
200164174 (HR 8897)

Finally, long cadence custom masks are scheduled to observe 19 Trojan asteroids, 9 Trans-Neptunian Objects, and 4 Comets (90P/Gehrels, 95P/Chiron, 176P/LINEAR, 228P/LINEAR). The trajectories of these moving bodies have been tiled using 1xn or nx1 pixel strips. Most notably, the well-known Centaur 95P/Chiron will be observed for the entire duration of the campaign in long cadence (mask ID range 200164175–200164266) and for 20 days in short cadence (IDs 200161173–200162430).

Compared to the original plan, the Campaign 12 field was rotated and shifted slightly in order to optimize spacecraft stability and to ensure the visibility of TRAPPIST-1.

Small changes to Campaigns 13, 14, and 15

2016-11-14T21:00:00-08:00

K2 users are alerted to a small but necessary adjustment to the fields of Campaigns 13, 14, and 15.

To better compensate for the radiation pressure exerted by one of the spacecraft's low-gain antennae, these fields have been rotated by 0.365°. This change minimizes the roll drift rate and hence optimizes fuel usage and photometric precision.

The change affects less than 1% of the sky area covered and is unlikely to affect most Cycle 5 proposals. All users are nevertheless encouraged to update the K2fov target selection tool to version 6.2, released on 14 Nov 2016, which includes the change.

K2fov can be updated from the command line using pip:

pip install K2fov --upgrade

The version number of your K2fov installation may be verified using the following command:

python -c "import K2fov; print(K2fov.__version__)"

This must return "6.2.0" or higher. If the number is lower, or if you see an error message, then your installation of K2fov is outdated and must be upgraded.

Campaign 16 does not require a change due to the use of a different, forward-facing spacecraft configuration.

Please contact the Guest Observer Office if you have questions.

K2 Cycle 5 deadline fast approaching

2016-10-25T11:00:00-07:00

The deadline for K2 Cycle 5 Step-1 proposals is just over a week away. This call is for targets falling into fields for Campaigns 14, 15 and 16. Proposal submission is a 2-step process and both steps are mandatory. Step-1 proposals are required to be submitted through the NSPIRES website by 23:59 EST November 3, 2016. Step-1 proposals are not scientifically reviewed and consist of a title, project summary and list of team members.

K2 Supernova Experiment Workshop on Feb 14-16, 2017

2016-10-06T07:00:00-07:00

We previously announced that in order to maximize the science return from the remaining fuel, the K2 Campaign 16 field has been changed to enable a forward-facing supernova survey. In addition to benefiting from low galactic extinction, the new field allows simultaneous observations to be made from the ground to complement K2’s single-bandpass photometry, i.e. allowing K2's supernovae to be characterized spectroscopically.

The survey is called the K2 Supernova Cosmology Experiment. Its aims include, but are not limited to:

monitoring >20,000 galaxies to gather a statistical sample of the best supernovae lightcurves ever obtained;
catching the critical first few hours of supernovae, allowing different explosion physics and progenitors to be elucidated;
improving the calibration of Type Ia supernovae for cosmology by determining the key parameters needed for distance fitting.

Proposals to select and analyze K2 targets for this Campaign are eligible for funding up to $150,000 as part of K2 GO Cycle 5 (which also accepts proposals from all other areas of astrophysics and planetary science). The Step 1 deadline is Nov 3, 2016.

To help the supernova community plan the observations and follow-up, the mission will be hosting a K2 Supernova Cosmology Workshop on Feb 14-16, 2017, at NASA Ames in Mountain View, California.

The motivations for this workshop include:

planning the K2 observations with Kepler/K2 team members;
coordinating the simultaneous, ground-based follow-up observations and proposals;
preparing the data analysis and interpretation efforts, e.g. informed by the previous supernovae observed by Kepler;
exploring synergies with other space missions, wavelength regions, and science areas.

This will be an unconference-style meeting with a limited number of introductory talks and a strong focus on participant-led breakout sessions. The final day will provide ample time for drafting papers and observing proposals.

Details on the venue, accommodation, and registration are available on the meeting webpage.

K2 Users' Panel selected

2016-10-05T14:00:00-07:00

The K2 mission has developed a K2 Users' Panel (K2UP), whose role will be to represent the voice of the community in regards to mission science, management policies, and products from the project. More information on the panel's responsibilities and any reports generated can be found on the K2UP page.

The panel members are:

Padi Boyd (Chair), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Ben Montet (Deputy Chair), University of Chicago
Ian Crossfield, UC Santa Cruz
Saskia Hekker, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
JJ Hermes, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Erin Ryan, SETI Institute
Dennis Stello, University of Sydney
Robert Szabo, Konkoly Observatory
Brad Tucker, Australian National University

K2 Campaign 9 data available

2016-10-05T08:00:00-07:00

Target pixel files, full frame images, and thruster firing lists for K2 Campaign 9 are now available for download from the MAST archive. The C9 data release notes are available here.

C9 was largely dedicated to a search for gravitational microlensing events in a region around the Galactic bulge. A variety of other targets were also observed through the K2 Director's Discretionary Target program. These include O-type stars,the Kuiper Belt Object Quaoar, and the Lagoon star-forming region (M8). The complete list of observed targets can be found here.

Due to the unique operations for this campaign, the C9 data release only contains Type-1 target pixel files and does not include light curves. Also, the campaign was split into two halves (C9a and C9b), with a data downlink taking place in between C9a and C9b to maximize data collection capabilities as well as introduce a ~0.6 pixel offset. Archive products are therefore identified as being from either C9a or C9b using the identifier c91 or c92, respectively. We strongly encourage users interested in C9 data to review the data release notes in detail.

K2 GO Cycle 5: Notable targets in Campaigns 14-15-16

2016-09-28T18:00:00-07:00

Proposals for targets to be observed by K2 in Campaigns 14, 15, and 16 are currently being solicited as part of K2 Guest Observer Cycle 5, with Step 1 submissions due on November 3, 2016.

The fields of these campaigns will cover roughly 100 square degrees each towards the constellations of Leo (C14), Libra (C15), and Cancer (C16). To help inspire observing proposals, this post offers a list of notable targets that will be visible during these campaigns.

Figure: position of fields 14, 15, and 16 (green) relative to previous fields.

Campaign 14

Field 14 (RA 11h, Dec +7°) is located at a moderately high Galactic Latitude (+50°) towards the constellations of Leo and Sextans.

Notable targets include:

Leo I Group: a group of nearby, bright galaxies that lie within the Local Supercluster. Its members include M95, M96, and M105.
WASP-104: a bright G-type star known to host a transiting hot Jupiter. (V=11)
Wolf 359: a very nearby (2.4pc) late-M dwarf, known to show flares. (V=14)
BD+01 2447: a nearby M dwarf member of the AB Doradus moving group. (V=10)
ρ Leo: a bright B-type supergiant. (V=4)
Asteroid Toutatis: a potentially hazardous asteroid that has been visited by the Chinese Chang'e 2 probe. (V=19)
Comet 61P/Shajn-Schaldach: a faint periodic comet. (V=22)

Figure: position of field 14.

Campaign 15

Field 15 (RA 16h, Dec -20°) is located at a moderate Galactic Latitude (+30°) towards the constellation of Libra. There is a small overlap with the previous Campaign 2.

Notable targets include:

Upper Sco: a young, nearby OB association that was previously observed during C2. It is partially visible again in C15. Notable Upper Sco members that are visible in C15 include:
- HIP 78530: a B-type star known from direct imaging to contain a planet or brown dwarf companion. (V=7)
- δ Sco: a bright, B-type binary. (V=2)
33 Lib: a bright roAp-type star. (V=7)
HD 134439 & HD 134440: a metal-poor proper motion pair. (V=9)
NGC 5897: a distant, 12 Gyr-old globular cluster.
Asteroid Ryugu: a near-Earth asteroid, scheduled to be visited by the Hayabusa 2 sample-return mission in 2018. (V=20)
Asteroid Gaspra: a main belt asteroid visited by the Galileo spacecraft in 1991. (V=16)
Comet C/2014 W2: a long-period comet. (V=18)

Figure: position of field 15 relative to field 2.

Campaign 16

Field 16 (RA 9h, Dec +19°) is located at a moderate Galactic Latitude (+35°) towards the constellation of Cancer. About 30% of the field overlaps with the previous Campaign 5.

The field shows very low foreground extinction (Av ~0.2 mag) which makes it well-suited for extragalactic and supernova science. This field will be observed in the spacecraft's forward-facing direction, enabling simultaneous observations to be made from the ground at the cost of having the bright Earth pass through the field.

Notable objects include:

M44 (aka Praesepe or the Beehive): a 600 Myr-old open cluster revealed by K2 Campaign 5 to contain several planets.
M67: a famous, 4 Gyr-old open cluster.
K2-34: a known exoplanet host revealed by K2 Campaign 5. (V=11)
Arkushanangarushashutu: a bright K-type giant, famous for being the star with the longest name. (V=4)

Figure: position of field 16 relative to field 5.

Other candidate highlights

In addition to the highlights listed above, Simbad lists a wealth of known objects that will be visible during these Campaigns. They include:

19208 Galaxies;
6993 Quasars;
1904 M-type stars;
868 High Proper-Motion stars;
820 Active Galactic Nuclei;
533 Planetary Nebulae;
515 White Dwarfs;
511 RR Lyr Variables;
296 Symbiotic Stars;
131 Brown Dwarfs;
75 Blue Stragglers;
64 Cepheids
28 T Tauri Stars;
22 Cataclysmic Variables;
16 Mira Variables;
3 O-type stars.

A full table containing all Simbad sources that are visible in C14-15-16 can be downloaded from this website in CSV format (K2-C14-C16-Simbad.csv) or as a VOTable (K2-C14-C16-Simbad.xml.gz). Beware however that Simbad is not a full catalog of all known sources; it merely lists objects that have previously been discussed in the literature. For the purpose of e.g. color-based target selections, we recommend using a more complete source catalog, preferably the EPIC catalog.

As a reminder, the K2fov Python package enables you to test whether targets fall within a campaign field, while its sister K2ephem package allows moving Solar System bodies to be checked. Note that it is crucial to use K2fov version 6.0 or higher for Campaigns 14-15-16.

New forward-facing position of Campaign 16 finalized

2016-09-23T11:00:00-07:00

We previously announced that in order to maximize the science return from the remaining fuel, K2 Campaign 16 will now be a forward-facing campaign. This is to facilitate science that benefits from simultaneous observations from Earth.

The position of this field has been finalized. The position was chosen to maximize the number of known low-redshift galaxies, while also enabling the collection of a significant fractions of both M67 and the Beehive cluster (aka Praesepe, M44). The campaign will begin around December 7, 2017 and last approximately 80 days. Campaign 16 has a 30% overlap with the Campaign 5 field.

To determine whether targets fall on-silicon, all investigators must update their version of the K2fov target selection tool and ensure they are using v6.2 or higher.

An updated EPIC catalog which includes the new C16 field is available from MAST. It can be accessed via the EPIC query form or it can be downloaded in full.

The deadline for Step-1 proposals is November 3 at 23:59 EST. Information about the proposal process, including the scope, evaluation criteria, availability of funds, eligibility, target selection tools, submission process, and frequently asked questions, is detailed on the proposal preparation page.

K2 Campaign 9 data processing complete

2016-09-21T14:00:00-07:00

Pipeline processing for K2 Campaign 9 is now complete and the data are in the process of being shipped to the MAST archive. We anticipate that the data will become available for download on or before September 30.

The majority of the Campaign 9 pixel budget was dedicated to a 3.7 deg² superstamp toward the Galactic bulge, designed to search for gravitational microlensing events. Owing to the unique nature of this data set, the C9 data release will only contain target pixel files. High-level derived products, such as lightcurves, are expected to be released by the C9 science team at a later date.

Keep an eye on this website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Raw data for K2 Campaign 10 to be released immediately after downlink

2016-09-15T14:00:00-07:00

The currently on-going K2 Campaign 10 includes targeted observations of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the comet currently being studied by the ESA Rosetta Mission.

To provide members of the Rosetta science team with fast access to the data, the uncalibrated level 1 files for Campaign 10 will be made available immediately after downlink on or near September 26. They will be accessible from a public directory at https://archive.stsci.edu/pub/k2/c10_raw_cadence_data.

The use of the level 1 files requires an intimate understanding of their structure, as documented in KADN-26135. The Kepler/K2 GO Office has released a tool to convert the level 1 data into uncalibrated FITS images for quicklook purposes. The tool, called "kadenza", is available and documented at https://github.com/KeplerGO/kadenza.

The traditional calibrated data products for Campaign 10 will be released, as usual, when they are ready — approximately 2 to 3 months after the end of the Campaign.

Change to Campaign 16 field position and delay to GO Cycle 5 deadline

2016-09-12T08:00:00-07:00

In order to maximize the science return from K2 using the remaining fuel, the mission has decided to change the position of the field for Campaign 16 and to delay the upcoming K2 Cycle 5 deadline by about a month.

The position of the Campaign 16 field is being changed to facilitate supernova science. Recent estimates of the remaining fuel on the Kepler spacecraft indicate that Campaign 17 is at risk. Campaign 17 was intended to have a primary science focus of supernova science. In order to enable detailed characterization of supernovae, Campaign 17 would be a forward-facing campaign (much like the C9 microlensing campaign). Observing in this mode allows for simultaneous observations from K2 and from Earth.

In order to maximize the science return from the K2 mission, we are changing the position of the field for Campaign 16. Campaign 16 will now involve the Kepler spacecraft observing in the forward-facing direction, and a significant fraction of pixels will be dedicated to supernova science. The new pointing for Campaign 16 will have significant overlap with the field observed during Campaign 5. The final field position will be posted to this website in the near future.

As a reminder, proposals are currently being solicited for K2 GO Cycle 5, which includes Campaigns 14, 15, and 16. While Campaign 16 will be partially dedicated to supernova science, proposals covering all other areas of astrophysics and planetary science are still encouraged for Campaign 16. In particular, we encourage K2 observations that can benefit from simultaneous observations from Earth.

With these changes to the Campaign 16 field, the Step 1 and Step 2 proposal deadlines have been revised. Step 1 proposals are now due by 23:59 EST 3 November 2016, and Step 2 proposals are due by 23:59 EST 15 December 2016. Investigators may not submit a Step 2 proposal without first submitting a Step 1 proposal.

Proposers should only propose for targets that are on active silicon in the updated Campaign 16 field. All investigators must update their version of the K2fov target selection tool once the new field position of Campaign 16 has been announced. The field position currently configured in K2fov v5.2 is preliminary.

K2 Campaign 11 science program now available

2016-09-08T22:00:00-07:00

The science program and target lists for K2 Campaign 11 (Sep 24 - Dec 8) have now been posted on the approved targets & programs page.

The C11 target list includes 14,209 standard long cadence and 65 standard short cadence targets. The number of targets is lower than usual because it is a function of the spacecraft's on-board compression efficiency, which is low in the crowded Galactic Bulge field targeted by this Campaign.

We gained efficiency by tiling five globular clusters—M9, M19, NGC 6293, NGC 6355, and Terzan 5—which contained a high density of targets requested by multiple programs. The latter three clusters will be observed using a circular aperture with 1.6' radius, whilst M9 was targeted using a 2' radius aperture, and M19 will be targeted using a 3'-by-5' rectangular aperture because it fell only partially on silicon. Each cluster was tiled using a series of masks with the following ID ranges:

200126982–200127109 (M9)
200126870–200126870 (M19)
200127326–200127413 (NGC 6293)
200127414–200127501 (NGC 6355)
200128019–200128100 (Terzan 5)

The target list also includes 11 very bright stars (Kp magnitudes 3 to 6) for which we target only the central region of pixels using a circular aperture mask, excluding the long saturation bleed. Two of the bright stars are observed in short cadence (26 Oph & 36 Oph) and the others in long cadence. Their target IDs are:

200129034 (26 Oph)
200129035 (36 Oph)
200128906 (θ Oph)
200128907 (44 Oph)
200128908 (45 Oph)
200128909 (51 Oph)
200128910 (ο Oph)
200128911 (HR 6472)
200128912 (HR 6365)
200128913 (HR 6366)
200128914 (191 Oph)

Finally, we will also observe 55 Trojan asteroids, 7 Trans-Neptunian Objects, and Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus. The trajectories of these moving bodies have been tiled using 1xn or nx1 pixel strips. The ID ranges for these objects are:

200107039–200128905 (Trojans)
200114742–200125326 (TNOs)
200128938–200129033 (Titan)
200124091–200124403 (Enceladus)

Note that this is the first campaign to be executed after the loss of CCD Module 4. Targets that were approved but would have fallen on this module were excluded from the target list. Only five programs lost more than 10% of their targets as a result, and no program lost more than 20%.

Changes to Kepler and K2 Project Scientist personnel

2016-09-08T11:00:00-07:00

There have been personnel changes at the Kepler and K2 Project Scientist role.

Effective August 15, Dr. Natalie Batalha became the new Kepler Project Scientist. Natalie has been a member of the Kepler team since the proposal stages and has served as Kepler Mission Scientist for the past several years.

Effective September 6, Dr. Jessie Dotson assumed the role of K2 Project Scientist. Jessie was formally the Deputy Science Office Director for Kepler and has most recently served as Astrophysics Branch Chief in the Space Science and Astrobiology Division at NASA Ames.

Together, they replace Dr. Steve Howell who served as Kepler Project Scientist since 2010 and K2 Project Scientist since mission conception. Steve has done a superb job as the Kepler/K2 Project Scientist, with notable leadership in catalyzing the science community to support the extended K2 mission, and will take on new work outside the Kepler/K2 missions, while continuing to be an active contributor to the science of the missions.

21st Microlensing Conference, February 1–3, 2017

2016-08-21T11:00:00-07:00

The 21st International Microlensing Conference—entitled "Ushering in the New Age of Microlensing from Space"—will take place on February 1–3, 2017, in Pasadena, California.

The conference intends to highlight results from K2's Campaign 9, a combined ground- and space-based microlensing survey that was carried out using the Kepler spacecraft this summer. The conference will also feature results from other space- and ground-based microlensing surveys, and will be preceded by a free half-day workshop featuring a series of introductory microlensing talks.

Head to the conference website for further details and registration.

Retirement of CCD Module 4 confirmed

2016-08-15T13:30:00-07:00

As reported in detail in the latest Kepler Mission Manager Update, additional spacecraft telemetry appears to confirm the loss of CCD Module 4 during K2's current Campaign 10.

Module 4 is the third of the 21 science modules to have failed in-flight. Such hardware failures were foreseen in the initial mission planning, and the system design is robust and compartmentalized to minimize the impacts. After more than seven years in the harsh conditions of space, 85 percent of Kepler's original detectors are still operating.

Campaign 10 science observations were interrupted between July 20 and August 3 as a result of the anomaly. Observations have since returned to normal and no further interruptions are expected.

Impact on GO programs

For the K2 mission’s current Campaign 10, the targets that fell on Module 4 will yield no data beyond July 20. For all campaigns going forward, we will only allocate pixels to targets which fall on one of the remaining 18 operational modules.

On average 4% of the targets requested by selected GO programs fell on the retired Module, with no single program affected by more than 20%.

The pixel storage budget that would have been used by Module 4 during future Campaigns will be re-allocated to other Modules, allowing the total number of K2 targets to remain unchanged. The impact on science is expected to be small as a result.

None of the high-profile targets in future Campaigns, such as Trappist-1 or Comet Chiron, are known to be affected. Investigators who are concerned about a particular target are encouraged to contact us at keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Where is Module 4?

The ill-fated Module is located on the outside of the focal plane, where both the pointing stability and the point spread function are less ideal. Its position is marked using a pen in the photograph below:

@johngizis @KeplerGO the one my pen is pointing to. pic.twitter.com/KjQ8oDoiE1
— Erin Ryan (@erinleeryan) August 8, 2016

Module 4 contains channel numbers #9, #10, #11, and #12.

K2fov update required

The due date for K2 Cycle 5 proposals for targets to be observed in Campaigns 14, 15, and 16 is just over a month away. The K2fov target selection tool has been updated to version 5.1 to incorporate the loss of Module 4.

All candidate investigators must upgrade to this new version. Instructions for updating your installation of K2fov are provided on the proposal preparation page.

Reprocessed Kepler Q0-Q17 short cadence data available

2016-08-11T11:00:00-07:00

The final reprocessing of the Kepler Q0-Q17 short cadence data has been completed. The new target pixel and lightcurve files have been ingested into the Kepler data archive at MAST.

This release (DR25) corrects both the scrambled collateral smear issue reported in the Global Erratum for Kepler Q0-Q17 & K2 C0-C5 Short-Cadence Data (KSCI-19080-002.pdf) and the Dynablack calibration problem reported in the Data Release 24 Notes Q0–Q17 Erratum (KSCI-19064-002a-DRN24err.pdf).

A revised version of the Data Release Notes 25 KSCI-19065-002DRN25.pdf is available as well.

Break in science collection during K2 Campaign 10

2016-08-04T16:00:00-07:00

The K2 Campaign 10, ongoing since July 6, has suffered a couple of unexpected reductions to the intended science.

The initial line of sight pointing of the spacecraft at the start of the campaign was offset from its intended target by 12 arcsec, sufficient to lose much of the expected target light from the assigned apertures. This error was compounded by a downlink issue that failed to provide the requisite focal plane data that is intended to catch such errors. These data were subsequently acquired and pointing corrected on July 13. Although the spacecraft was in fine point throughout, the pointing offset will compromise much of the data for the first week of observations, and is likely to more seriously affect those targets near the edge of the focal plane where roll is largest.

Then, on July 20, the photometers was turned off as an apparent response to a failure of a module on the focal plane. The spacecraft otherwise continued to operate normally, and the anomaly was not discovered until a scheduled data downlink on July 28.

With extremely poor communication geometry at science attitude, spacecraft health checks consume significant DSN resources, requiring a 70-meter antenna. Such health checks are therefore performed infrequently during the K2 mission, roughly every two weeks.

While the cause of this is yet to be confirmed, the observables are in family with those seen in conjunction with the failure of science CCD Modules 3 and 7 in 2010 and 2014. Further, thermal data retrieved from the spacecraft are strongly suggestive of a drop in power dissipated by Module 4 that is again in family with a similar drop when Modules 3 and 7 failed. Thus there is a strong likelihood that Module 4 is no longer functioning. If this is indeed the case, this would leave us with 18 remaining science modules of the initial 21.

We undertook a recovery which involved reorienting the spacecraft to attain higher data rate communications with Earth and carefully powering on the various components that had been switched off, and science observations resumed on August 3.

Based on the thermal data, the Campaign 11 target apertures located on Module 4 are being reassigned to targets on other modules. We anticipate being able to confirm the health of the suspect module at the next planned health check on August 11 and further updates will be provide thereafter.

Events like this module failure are things that happen with an aging spacecraft. For future campaigns we will reallocate pixels to active modules as needed.

Release of reprocessed short cadence data for K2 Campaigns 3, 4, 5

2016-08-02T14:00:00-07:00

Reprocessed short cadence target pixel files for K2 Campaigns 3, 4, and 5 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

This release, formally called K2 Data Release 10, corrects the short cadence pixel calibration bug described in the Global Erratum for Kepler Q0-Q17 & K2 C0-C5 Short-Cadence Data (KSCI-19080). Specific targets known to have their calibration improved by this reprocessing are identifed in the list of affected targets at the MAST.

No other features of the files or the data processing have changed. The long cadence data are unchanged. As usual, this new release is documented by the K2 data release notes and K2 pipeline release notes.

A release of reprocessed short cadence data for Kepler is expected later this month, and a re-release of K2 Campaign 0-1-2 short cadence data is expected later this year.

Call for K2 GO Cycle 5 proposals for Campaigns 14, 15, and 16

2016-08-01T12:00:00-07:00

Proposals are now being solicited for the K2 Guest Observer Cycle 5, which includes Campaigns 14, 15, and 16. The due date for Step 1 proposals is 23:59 EST 3 Nov 2016. Step 2 proposals are due by 23:59 EST 15 Dec 2016. Investigators may not submit a Step 2 proposal without first submitting a Step 1 proposal by the due date.

K2fov update required

The final field positions for Campaigns 14 and 15 have recently been set based on community input. The field position for Campaign 16 is currently preliminary and will be finalized before the Step 1 deadline. All investigators must update their version of the K2fov target selection tool to version 5.1, released on 14 Aug 2016, to take the final field positions into account.

K2fov can be updated from the command line using pip:

pip install K2fov --upgrade

The version number of your K2fov installation may be verified using the following command:

python -c "import K2fov; print(K2fov.__version__)"

This should return "5.1.0" or higher. If the number is lower, or if you see an error message, then your installation of K2fov is outdated.

Questions?

Questions regarding this call should be sent to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Kepler 3D puzzle available for outreach

2016-08-01T11:00:00-07:00

With the help of the NASA Ames SpaceShop Rapid Prototyping Facility, the Kepler team has created a 3D-printable puzzle of the spacecraft for educational purposes.

The model files and documentation are available on our GitHub repository at https://github.com/KeplerGO/kepler-3d-printing-model. We would love to hear about your experiences if you decide to use this resource for educational or outreach purposes,

K2 mission recruiting members for the K2 Users' Panel

2016-07-04T16:00:00-07:00

The K2 mission is developing a K2 Users' Panel (K2UP), whose role will be to represent the voice of the community in regards to mission science, management policies, and products from the project. Specifically, the panel will be expected to:

provide input on data products and documentation from the mission
review the mission's science balance for the remaining observing campaigns
define what products are needed to preserve the legacy of the mission
recommend new services and identify current services that are superfluous

The panel will report to the K2 Project Scientist and K2 Program Scientists a few times a year via telecon and/or in-person meetings held at NASA Ames Research Center or major conferences like the AAS winter meeting. We anticipate members will serve on the K2UP for a term of at least one year.

Our goal is to form a panel consisting of 5-10 members that will have a first meeting via telecon in September 2016. To ensure that the K2 community is adequately represented, we anticipate selecting members with expertise that covers suitable fields of astrophysics and planetary science. If you are interested in participating in the K2UP, please send an email to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov that contains a short description of your expertise and reasons why you wish to join. We will consider applications until 20 August 2016.

K2 Campaign 8 data available

2016-07-04T12:00:00-07:00

Long cadence light curves, target pixel files, and full frame images for K2 Campaign 8 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST. The data are not yet searchable using the K2 data search interface, which will be available later this week.

The Campaign 8 target list included 24,187 standard long cadence and 54 short cadence targets, including 2,800 galaxies.

In addition, the campaign included several custom masks:

The planet Uranus was observed for roughly a month in short cadence, and the remaining time in long cadence.
Four irregular Uranian satellites were observed in long cadence over a period of one month (Caliban, Sycorax, Prospero, Setebos).
Six Hilda asteroids were observed in long cadence (1999 TJ90, 1999TS40, 1999 VG135, 2000 WC140, 2006 UB219, 2007 RY194).
Four Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) were observed in long cadence (1998 SN165, 2001 QT322, 2003 QW90, 2005 RS43).
The irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 was covered using a 120-by-160 pixel mask.
Finally, we covered several very bright stars using custom pixel masks that collect the wings of the PSF.

Detailed data release notes are available on this website. We strongly encourage users to read these carefully.

K2 mission officially extended through end of mission

2016-06-09T09:30:00-07:00

Today NASA announced that the K2 mission is officially extended, based on a recommendation from NASA's Astrophysics Division's 2016 Senior Review of operating missions. The extension includes funding for three additional years plus a closeout period. K2 science operations will therefore be covered beyond when the on-board fuel is fully depleted, anticipated to be sometime in 2018.

Details about the recommendation can be found in the 2016 Senior Review report. In particular, the report noted that "...with a very efficient GO program, the project includes worldwide participation covering every continent except Antarctica. The GO program is recognized as a major reason for the wealth of new scientific results."

For an overview of the K2 mission's current status, check out the latest Mission Manager update.

K2 Campaign 10 science program now available

2016-06-01T17:00:00-07:00

The K2 Campaign 10 science program has been posted online. The target list includes 28,345 standard long cadence and 138 short cadence targets.

Owing to the high galactic latitude of the field, the standard long cadence targets include 4,950 small galaxies. In addition, 27 larger galaxies are targeted using custom pixel masks. The short cadence list includes the well-known extragalactic object 3C 273, which is the optically brightest quasar in the sky.

In addition, large pixel masks will be obtained to cover 11 Hilda asteroids, 4 TNOs, and comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko which is currently being investigated by the Rosetta mission. Finally, K2 will also observe 8 very bright stars by targeting just the central region of pixels around these targets but excluding the bleed columns.

Save the date for Kepler & K2 SciCon IV, June 19-23, 2017

2016-05-31T11:30:00-07:00

The Kepler & K2 SciCon IV: Legacy & Scion will take place June 19-23, 2017, at NASA Ames Research Center in California. This conference will celebrate the legacy of the Kepler mission and will explore how the K2 mission is extending that legacy.

Stay tuned for additional details!

Stellar properties available for EPIC targets from Campaigns 1-8

2016-05-31T10:00:00-07:00

The K2 Ecliptic Plane Input Catalog (EPIC), which is hosted at MAST, has been updated to include stellar classifications for 138,600 targets (~88% of all targets) in Campaigns 1-8. The stellar properties were derived using colors, proper motions, spectroscopy, parallaxes, and galactic population synthesis models. This update supports target selection for the various K2 Guest Observer programs and may be of particular interest for programs focused on transit searches or large asteroseismic studies. For additional details on the updates to the EPIC, see Huber et al. (2016). The updated stellar properties have also been ingested at the ExoFOP.

Raw data for K2 Campaign 9a now available at MAST

2016-05-23T10:00:00-07:00

The currently on-going K2 Campaign 9 is dedicated to a microlensing experiment, aimed at simultaneously observing gravitional microlensing events with K2 and from Earth in order to see a parallax effect in the shape and time of the lensing events. To allow such events to be identified and characterized rapidly, the raw data of this campaign are being released instantly through the data archive at MAST.

The data obtained during the first half of C9 (Apr 22 - May 18) are now available at https://archive.stsci.edu/pub/k2/c9_raw_cadence_data

The use of the level 1 data files requires an intimate understanding of their structure, as documented in KADN-26135. The Kepler/K2 Guest Observer Office has released a tool to convert these data into more traditional multi-extension image FITS files. The tool, called "kadenza", is available and documented at https://github.com/KeplerGO/kadenza

The traditional calibrated data products are scheduled to be processed and released by September 26.

New funding opportunity for work on K2 solar system data

2016-05-16T12:00:00-07:00

(Last updated on 2017 Oct 15 to include Campaign 15 solar system targets.)

A recent amendment to NASA's Discovery Data Analysis Program (DDAP) permits the submission of proposals for work on Kepler/K2 observations of solar system targets. The objective of the DDAP program is to enhance the scientific return of Discovery Program missions by broadening the scientific participation in the analysis of data, both recent and archived.

The program intends to fund solar system science. Proposals using Kepler/K2 observations of objects outside the solar system are not eligible and should be submitted to the Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP) instead. A non-exhaustive list of K2's solar system targets is given below.

Background

Because operating in the ecliptic plane minimizes the torque exerted on the spacecraft by solar pressure, the K2 mission entails a series of sequential observing Campaigns of fields distributed around the ecliptic. A result of this observing strategy is that the K2 fields contain a large number of solar system targets, which can be observed to provide high-cadence, uninterrupted light curves to e.g. measure rotation periods, constrain object shapes and spin states, and search for activity in comets or oscillations in giant planets. Because Solar System objects move relative to the celestial sphere, long streaks of pixels are downloaded from the Kepler spacecraft to cover their trajectory (or part thereof).

Solar system targets in Campaigns 0-15

The K2 mission has so far targeted ~200 solar system objects during Campaigns 0 through 15 as part of the approved observing programs. These objects are listed below.

This list is not exhaustive because thousands of objects are known to have serendipitously been observed for short periods of time as they passed through the pixel masks of other targets. A list of these serendipitously-observed targets is not available at this time, but note that the visibility of solar system targets in past or future K2 Campaigns can be checked using the K2ephem command-line tool.

Planets and moons

Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus (C11)
Uranus and its irregular satellites Caliban, Prospero, Setebos, Sycorax (C8)
Neptune and its moon Nereid (C3)
Pluto (C7)

Main Belt Asteroids

373 Melusina (C14)
566 Stereoskopia (C15)
1129 Neujmina (C15)
1224 Fantasia (C15)
162173 Ryugu (C15)

Comets

17P/Holmes (C14)
50P/Arend (C14)
67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (C10)
90P/Gehrels (C12)
94P/Russell (C15)
95P/Chiron (C12; short cadence)
130P/McNaught–Hughes (C15)
176P/LINEAR (C12)
202P/Scotti (C14)
228P/LINEAR (C12)
246P/NEAT (C13)
331P/Gibbs (C14)
C/2013 A1 Siding Spring (C2)
P/2010 TO20 (C14)
C/2014 F3 Sheppard-Trujillo (C15)
C/2014 W2 PANSTARRS (C15)
C/2016 A3 PANSTARRS (C14)

Trans-Neptunian Objects

Ixion (C11)
Quaoar (C9)
80806 (C14)
160147 (C15)
385437 (C15)
469505 (C15)
1998 SN165 (C8)
1999 DE9 (C10)
2000 OG44 (C14)
2001 HZ58 (C15)
2001 KA77 (C11)
2001 QT322 (C8)
2001 YH40 (C5)
2002 CY224 (C14)
2002 GJ32 (C15)
2002 GP32 (C11)
2002 GV31 (C1)
2002 KX14 (C11)
2002 KY14 (C4)
2002 VS130 (C13)
2002 VT130 (C13)
2002 VU130 (C13)
2003 FC128 (C10)
2003 QW90 (C8)
2004 TF282 (C13)
2004 TV357 (C13)
2004 XR190 (C13)
2005 LC54 (C11)
2005 RS43 (C8)
2007 JJ43 (C2)
2007 OR10 (C3)
2008 CS190 (C14)
2009 YG19 (C13)
2010 ET65 (C10)
2010 FC49 (C10)
2010 GX34 (C11)
2010 JJ124 (C11)
2011 JF31 (C15)
2012 VU85 (C13)
2013 JV65 (C15)
2014 DJ143 (C15)
2014 EZ51 (C15)
2014 GJ54 (C15)
2014 HF200 (C15)
2014 JQ80 (C15)
2014 LS28 (C15)
2014 WA509 (C14)
2014 WA510 (C14)
2014 WJ510 (C14)
2014 WO509 (C14)
2015 BZ518 (C15)

Trojan and Hilda asteroids

Actor (C6)
Agasthenes (C6)
Agrius (C6)
Amphilochos (C6)
Amphimachus (C6)
Anchialos (C11)
Atreus (C6)
Borasisi (C12)
Bredthauer (C12)
Chijagerbs (C10)
Demophon (C6)
Dolios (C6)
Echion (C11)
Eumelos (C6)
Eupraksia (C6)
Halaesus (C6)
Halitherses (C6)
Hesiodos (C6)
Hooke (C11)
Ialmenus (C11)
Icarion (C6)
Janeausten (C14)
Kalchas (C6)
Kamerlingh (C12)
Leucus (C11)
Lipperhey (C12)
Mauderli (C14)
Medon (C11)
Muskau (C15)
Odysseus (C6)
Peiraios (C11)
Phemios (C11)
Phyleus (C11)
Podarkes (C11)
Santorini (C13)
Semois (C14)
Stichius (C6)
Telamon (C6)
Thrasymedes (C6)
Tlepolemos (C11)
Tuckia (C11)
Xanthomalitia (C12)
13035 (C14)
31819 (C14)
60381 (C14)
63293 (C14)
76820 (C14)
76835 (C14)
86435 (C14)
111113 (C14)
111231 (C14)
116567 (C14)
117113 (C14)
119942 (C14)
120962 (C14)
131635 (C14)
134652 (C14)
141557 (C14)
146961 (C14)
174074 (C14)
174077 (C14)
174089 (C14)
177640 (C14)
207644 (C14)
208290 (C14)
301013 (C14)
1981 EK47 (C12)
1986 WD (C6)
1988 RO12 (C10 & C15)
1988 SX2 (C15)
1989 BL (C6)
1989 CW1 (C11)
1989 VW (C10 & C15)
1992 DJ6 (C15)
1992 ET32 (C10)
1996 RJ33 (C6)
1997 SJ4 (C6)
1997 TV28 (C6)
1997 WA12 (C6)
1997 XR13 (C11)
1997 XX3 (C12)
1998 KZ12 (C12)
1998 SU52 (C6)
1998 TC31 (C6)
1998 TV33 (C6)
1998 UH16 (C6)
1998 US24 (C6)
1998 VD30 (C6)
1998 VL27 (C6)
1998 VU6 (C6)
1998 WA15 (C6)
1998 WX9 (C6)
1998 XA13 (C11)
1998 XX93 (C11)
1999 CL153 (C11)
1999 TJ90 (C8)
1999 TS40 (C8)
1999 VG135 (C8)
1999 WS4 (C6)
1999 XJ55 (C15)
1999 XM193 (C11)
1999 XS226 (C11)
1999 YN12 (C6)
2000 AA80 (C6)
2000 AC115 (C6)
2000 AN146 (C11)
2000 AQ231 (C11)
2000 AR25 (C6)
2000 AU31 (C6)
2000 BA27 (C11)
2000 BQ21 (C11)
2000 BV1 (C11)
2000 DC27 (C15)
2000 DC45 (C15)
2000 DP99 (C10)
2000 DS8 (C10)
2000 DV76 (C10)
2000 DY4 (C11)
2000 HR50 (C6)
2000 KE9 (C11)
2000 KJ1 (C11)
2000 OK67 (C12)
2000 QG199 (C7 & C12)
2000 QK57 (C12)
2000 QT59 (C12)
2000 UX34 (C13)
2000 WC140 (C8)
2000 WW146 (C13)
2001 AH11 (C6)
2001 BD25 (C6)
2001 BU42 (C6)
2001 CB35 (C6)
2001 CD23 (C6)
2001 CT28 (C6)
2001 CX27 (C6)
2001 CX6 (C6)
2001 DU87 (C11)
2001 EN12 (C6)
2001 FV58 (C11)
2001 HG21 (C15)
2001 OB100 (C6 & C11)
2001 OG13 (C6 & C11)
2001 OH76 (C11)
2001 OP94 (C11)
2001 OR24 (C11)
2001 PJ4 (C11)
2001 QB298 (C12)
2001 QC20 (C6)
2001 QJ298 (C12)
2001 QK43 (C11)
2001 QW127 (C6)
2001 QX297 (C12)
2001 RS52 (C11)
2001 SM251 (C7 & C12)
2001 SE182 (C11)
2001 SW273 (C12)
2001 SZ250 (C12)
2001 TG218 (C12)
2001 TL98 (C12)
2001 TQ142 (C12)
2001 UK113 (C12)
2002 CR306 (C13)
2002 EL153 (C11)
2002 EN37 (C11)
2002 EQ149 (C11)
2002 ES46 (C6)
2002 EU106 (C6)
2002 EU34 (C6)
2002 EX154 (C11)
2002 FU36 (C6)
2002 GD118 (C11)
2002 GL77 (C6)
2002 GS149 (C11)
2002 NA28 (C6)
2002 RN121 (C6 & C11)
2002 TE13 (C11)
2002 XF45 (C11)
2003 QA92 (C12)
2003 QE57 (C15)
2004 CV2 (C12)
2004 TN126 (C10)
2005 CB68 (C7)
2005 TB190 (C12)
2005 TN125 (C15)
2005 UR38 (C10 & C15)
2005 VZ17 (C10)
2006 QA138 (C11)
2006 UB219 (C8 & C13)
2007 RJ283 (C11)
2007 RL162 (C11)
2007 RY194 (C8)
2007 TP371 (C11)
2008 CW119 (C15)
2008 DN52 (C10)
2008 RR51 (C12)
2008 SA192 (C11)
2008 SG182 (C11)
2008 SO47 (C15)
2008 SY172 (C6)
2008 TJ126 (C11)
2008 VE11 (C13)
2009 QB22 (C11)
2009 UR154 (C15)
2010 PL66 (C12)
2010 VM61 (C15)
2010 XP50 (C6)
2013 PH44 (C12)

K2 Discoveries

In addition to the targeted observations, K2 discovered the following objects:

2015 BO519 (NEO in C3)
2016 BP81 (TNO in C8)

More community generated light curves available at MAST

2016-04-29T10:30:00-07:00

The Oxford Exoplanets group announces the release at MAST of a new set of K2 light curve High Level Science Products. The Oxford group has applied the K2 Systematics Correction (K2SC) Gaussian Process-based detrending algorithm to project generated long-cadence light curves from Campaigns 3 to 6. This algorithm simultaneously models astrophysical variability and pointing systematics, enabling the user to disentangle the two and remove either or both. These light curves are therefore well-suited to searches for transits and other short-lived events in the light curves of variable active stars, or to studying stellar variability. Additional campaigns will be added as the data becomes available and the source code is available from Github.

This release complements the K2 data already hosted at the MAST, which includes the project generated data products, and community generated High Level Science Products.

K2 Campaign 7 data available

2016-04-22T15:00:00-07:00

Target pixel files for long and short cadence targets for K2 Campaign 7 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST. Light curves are also available for long cadence targets.

In Campaign 7 there was a significant drop in the number of targets observed relative to previous campaigns. This drop was because the number of targets we can observe is a function of our on-board compression efficiency. The extremely dense nature of the Campaign 7 field forced us to assume a poorer compression estimate than we used for earlier campaigns.

This target list consists of 13,469 standard long cadence and 72 standard short cadence targets. There were also several custom targets. We tiled a region around the open cluster Ruprecht 147 using 60 individual pixel masks. In addition, we included large pixel masks over 3 Trojan/Hilda Asteroids and the (dwarf) planet Pluto. Bodies within our own Solar System move relative to the celestial sphere and are covered by long streaks of pixels. We tiled just a subset of the pixels that make up the path the Trojans/Hildas move along. These observations are in long cadence. Finally, we also observed 10 very bright stars by targeting just the central region of pixels around these targets but excluding the bleed columns.

Detailed data release notes are available on the Kepler & K2 Science Center website. We encourage users to read these carefully; in particular, note that there was an increase in roll drift in Campaign 7 due to the use of an alternate low-gain antenna during science data collection. This increase in roll motion, combined with an extremely crowded field, impacted the photometry produced by the Kepler pipeline. Additional details are available in the full data release notes.

Kepler recovered and K2 mission underway again

2016-04-22T11:00:00-07:00

The Kepler spacecraft has officially been recovered since it was first discovered to be in Emergency Mode on April 7. Science operations are now resuming as planned, with K2 Campaign 9 beginning today, April 22. Campaign 9 involves the spacecraft looking toward the Galactic Center to primarily search for gravitational microlensing events. In addition to microlensing targets, a number of Director's Discretionary Targets (DDTs) were approved. The full target list for Campaign 9 can be found here.

Additional details on the recovery process can be found in the Mission Manager Updates.

K2 Campaigns 11, 12 and 13 Director's Discretionary Targets program

2016-04-13T14:30:00-07:00

As in Cycle 3, the Guest Observer (GO) Office is providing a faster mechanism for headline astrophysics in K2 GO Cycle 4, via the Director's Discretionary Target (DDT) program. The purpose of the DDT program for K2 is to:

respond to targets of opportunity, e.g. newly discovered exoplanets or supernovae;
yield high-impact science from K2;
enhance existing GO programs with additional critical data.

The DDT program for K2 occurs on a rolling basis; observations can be proposed for at any time starting with targets in Campaign 11. However, to ensure that approved targets are included in the final target lists for each campaign, proposals must be submitted by the following dates:

May 26, 2016 for Campaign 11
August 18, 2016 for Campaign 12
November 10, 2016 for Campaign 13

The complete list of requirements for DDT proposals and details on the submission process are provided on the DDT webpage.

K2 Special Session at #AAS228 on 13 Jun 2016

2016-04-13T13:30:00-07:00

The K2 mission will have a special session at the 228th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) being held in San Diego, California this summer.

On Monday, 13 Jun 2016, from 10:00 am - 11:30 am in room "Indigo A" at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, we will have a series of invited and contributed talks to update the audience on the status of the K2 mission as well as present some of the exciting scientific results coming out of the mission.

The talk schedule is as follows:

10:00 am - The NASA K2 Mission: Exploring Planets, Stars, and Beyond - Knicole Colón, NASA Ames
10:10 am - K2 Extra-Galactic and Supernova Studies and C17 - Bradley Tucker, Australian National University
10:20 am - K2 Microlensing and Campaign 9 - Matthew Penny, Ohio State University
10:30 am - DAVE: Discovery and Vetting of K2 Exoplanets - Jeffrey Coughlin, SETI/NASA Ames
10:40 am - Spitzer to the Rescue! Improved Ephemerides Preserve K2 Planets for Future Studies With JWST - Courtney Dressing, Caltech
10:50 am - Stellar Astrophysics with the K2 Mission - Derek Buzasi, Florida Gulf Coast University
11:00 am - K2 Survey of Ultracool Dwarfs - John Gizis, University of Delaware
11:10 am - Discovery and Characterization of Eclipsing Binary Stars and Transiting Planets in Young Benchmark Clusters: The Pleiades and Hyades - Keivan Stassun, Vanderbilt, Fisk University
11:20 am - That's How We Roll - The NASA K2 Mission Science Planning, Products, and Performance Metrics - Jeffrey Van Cleve, SETI/NASA Ames

In addition to the oral session, there is an associated K2 poster session the evening of Monday, 13 Jun 2016, from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm in room "Sapphire C".

Be sure to also check out other Kepler- and K2-related talks and posters being presented during the rest of the meeting!

K2 Campaign 7 data processing complete

2016-04-12T19:00:00-07:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 7 is now complete and the pixel files are in the process of being shipped to the MAST archive. We anticipate that the data will become available to the public shortly.

The Campaign 7 target list included 13,469 standard long cadence and 72 standard short cadence targets. In addition we tiled large masks to observe the open cluster Ruprecht 147, dwarf planet Pluto, and 3 Trojan/Hilda Asteroids.

Keep an eye on this website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Start of K2 Campaign 9 delayed

2016-04-08T16:00:00-07:00

During a scheduled contact on Thursday, April 7, mission operations engineers discovered that the Kepler spacecraft was in Emergency Mode (EM). As a result, the start of K2 Campaign 9 is delayed.

Updates will be provided via the Mission Manager Updates.

K2 Campaign 6 short cadence data available

2016-02-18T12:00:00-08:00

Short cadence target pixel files for K2 Campaign 6 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

Whilst data for 28,289 long cadence targets in C6 were already released two weeks ago, the data for the 84 short cadence targets were delayed slightly to allow the short cadence pixel calibration issue to be resolved.

We strongly encourage users to read the Campaign 6 data release notes.

Submit your abstract to the K2 Special Session at #AAS228

2016-02-10T12:00:00-08:00

The NASA K2 Mission will have a special session at the 228th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), which is being held in San Diego, California this June.

The K2 special session will be held Monday, 13 June 2016 at 10:00am and will consist of both invited and contributed talks. There will be an associated K2 poster session held that day as well.

Abstract submission is now open for contributed talks and posters to the K2 special session, and we encourage everyone to submit an abstract to present their latest results from K2. The "Research Contributed" abstracts are due 3 March 2016 by 9:00pm ET.

K2 Campaign 6 long cadence data available

2016-02-08T11:00:00-08:00

Long cadence target pixel files and light curves for K2 Campaign 6 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

The short cadence data will follow in approximately two weeks, to allow the pixel calibration issue that we described last week to be resolved.

The Campaign 6 target list contained 28,289 long cadence and 84 short cadence targets. We also included large pixel masks to cover the trajectories of 65 Trojan Asteroids.

We strongly encourage users to read the Campaign 6 data release notes.

Problem with Kepler and K2 short cadence pixel calibration

2016-02-04T13:00:00-08:00

A K2 Guest Observer notified the Kepler Science Center in November 2015 of a puzzling difference between the short- and long-cadence calibrated pixel data for a specific K2 target.

After investigation, the problem was traced to an accounting error for the short-cadence collateral smear data. Under some conditions, these data are passed incorrectly between the spacecraft and the ground, causing smear values to be assigned to the wrong columns within a target’s aperture.

In these cases, the pipeline’s pixel-level calibration routine applies an erroneous smear correction.

Impact

The issue has been present since launch and affects both the target pixel files and the light curves of approximately half of all short-cadence targets in all releases to date, i.e. Kepler Data Releases 1-24 and K2 Data Releases for Campaigns 0-5. A list of all the affected targets is attached below. The long cadence data for these or other targets is not affected.

Since the smear signal is often small compared to the target signal, the effect is negligible for many targets. However, the smear signal is scene-dependent, so time-varying signals can be introduced into an affected target by the other stars falling on the same CCD column.

To assess the impact on affected targets, users should inspect the calibrated target pixels (see Section 2.3.2 of the Kepler Archive Manual). An improperly corrected smear signal may show up as an anomalously bright, or dark, column in the calibrated target pixel image. Comparison of the short-cadence pixel image with the long-cadence pixel image (which is not affected by this problem) can be used to estimate the magnitude of any contaminating signal.

Solution

The Kepler pipeline has been amended to ensure that the correct smear data is used at all times. All affected data will be corrected as follows:

All upcoming K2 data releases will be corrected from the start, beginning with Campaign 6. (The release of C6 short cadence data will be delayed by approximately two weeks as a result.)
Reprocessing of K2 Campaigns 0-5 will occur over the coming months. The expected release dates will be listed here when known.
Data from the prime Kepler mission will be corrected as part of the scheduled reprocessing with pipeline release 9.3 (DR25). Corrected target pixel files are expected to be available in Summer 2016.

More information

The project has released an erratum document describing the issue and its impact in more detail. The document is accompanied by a list of all the affected targets:

KSCI-19080-002.pdf (Erratum document containing a detailed description of the problem; updated 23 March 2016.)
kepler_bad_short_cadence_target_list.csv
k2_bad_short_cadence_target_list.csv

Minor changes in the fields of Campaigns 11, 12, and 13

2016-01-28T16:00:00-08:00

K2 users are alerted to a small but necessary adjustment in the position of Campaigns 11, 12, and 13, for which target proposals are currently being solicited as part of the K2 Guest Observer Cycle 4.

The change, explained below, alters ~0.2% of sky area covered and is unlikely to affect the vast majority of proposals. All users are nevertheless encouraged to update the K2fov target selection tool to version 4.0, which was released on 27 Jan 2016 to include the change.

K2fov can be updated from the command line using pip:

pip install K2fov --upgrade

The version number of your K2fov installation may be verified using the following command:

python -c "import pkg_resources; print(pkg_resources.require('K2fov')[0].version)"

This should return "4.0.0" or higher.

Background

Campaigns 11, 12, and 13 are being rotated slightly to accommodate a change in the configuration of the Kepler spacecraft.

During these Campaigns, spacecraft telemetry will be downlinked using a different low-gain antenna than before: LGA2 instead of LGA1. This antenna provides a better orientation to Earth and compensates for the increasing range of the spacecraft to the Earth (now 0.8 AU).

The change of antenna was recently trialled during Campaign 7, where it was found to cause a small increase in the roll drift rate. The reduced pointing performance was understood to be caused by the antenna's radiation pressure, which torques the spacecraft slightly differently when LGA2 is used, increasing the roll rate.

To optimize fuel usage and photometric precision, the K2 team has decided to adjust the roll angle of Campaigns 11, 12, and 13 by a very small amount (0.12--0.16 degrees) to optimally balance the spacecraft against solar pressure and antenna radiation when LGA2 is in use.

As a consequence, there is a minor change in the fields of view covered by K2 during these campaigns. The position of the CCD edges are being shifted by ~0.5 arcsec (~0.1 px) near the center of the focal plane, and by up to 60 arcsec (~15 px) near the corners. The change is illustrated in the figure below, which shows the change in sky coverage for a single CCD channel near the corner of C11, where the shift is the most significant.

Please contact the Guest Observer Office if you have questions.

Figure: Illustration of the effect of the change in sky coverage for one of the CCD detectors near the corner of the focal plane during K2 Campaign 11. The edges of the field are shifted by up to ~60 arcsec.

Campaign 6 data processing complete

2016-01-28T14:00:00-08:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 6 is now complete and the pixel files are in the process of being shipped to the MAST archive. We anticipate that the data will become available to the public by February 11, 2016.

The Campaign 6 target list included 28,289 standard long cadence and 84 short cadence targets. In addition we observed 65 Trojan asteroids in long cadence.

Keep an eye on this website for an announcement of the release and the associated data release notes.

Previous short cadence data available at NExScI

2016-01-12T16:00:00-08:00

As previously reported, Kepler Q2--Q16, data release 24, short-cadence data was calibrated incorrectly, making it unsuitable for use in projects requiring high photometric precision. This is described in this erratum. As a service to the community, the NASA Exoplanet Archive has made available the short cadence data that were released prior to DR24. Only the original FITS files are available and the data release number varies by quarter; see the header keyword DATA_REL. The data may be obtained from NExScI by using this wget script.

K2 Cycle 4: Highlights in future fields

2016-01-03T13:00:00-08:00

Proposals for targets to be observed by K2 in Campaigns 11, 12, and 13 are currently being solicited as part of K2 Guest Observer Cycle 4. Step 1 submissions for these proposals are due on February 5, 2016.

The fields of these campaigns will cover roughly 100 square degrees at a time near the constellations of Ophiucus (C11), Aquarius (C12), and Taurus (C13). All the objects that will be observed during these campaigns must be requested by the community through the Cycle 4 call.

To help the community select and propose the most interesting targets, the Guest Observer Office has prepared a "K2-SIMBAD" catalog which lists all 240,000 objects which appear in the SIMBAD database and will fall within the fields of future K2 Campaigns. The catalog details object IDs, spectral types, object classifications, citation counts, proper motions, and selected photometry as recorded in SIMBAD. It can be downloaded in full from our GitHub repository.

The K2-SIMBAD catalog does not replace the EPIC Input Catalog, which remains the principal target selection tool. Instead it provides an overview of objects that have appeared in the literature and may hence trigger or inspire K2 Cycle 4 proposals.

Below we list a selection of notable objects that we encountered in the catalog, along with interesting Solar System bodies that will be visible as determined by the K2ephem tool. This list is not exhaustive by any means and we encourage members of the community to share missing highlights for inclusion.

Highlights in Campaign 11

C11 is located near the Galactic Center in the region of Ophiucus. Notable objects in the field will include:

Saturn and its moons;
Messier 9: a 12 Gyr-old globular cluster, also known as NGC 6333;
BF Oph: a bright classical Cepheid;
Kepler's Supernova Remnant;
V2116 Oph: a symbiotic star (V=18);
Terzan 5: a global cluster in the Galactic Bulge;
Asteroid Ixion: a likely dwarf planet;
Asteroid Sylvia: an asteroid with two moons;
Asteroid 311999: a Mars Trojan;
Comet 116P/Wild 4.

Highlights in Campaign 12

C12 is located towards the South Galactic Cap, in the region of Aquarius. Notable objects in the field will include:

Mars
HIP 116454: a known exoplanet host star;
Comet Chiron: a comet with a suspected ring system;
118401 LINEAR: a Main Belt Comet (MBC);
Asteroid Itokawa: visited by the Hayabuse spacecraft in 2005;
Comet 53P/Van Biesbroeck.

Highlights in Campaign 13

C13 is located towards the Galactic Anti-Center near Taurus. Notable objects in the field will include:

Aldebaran: a famous K-type giant, V=0;
Asteroid Annefrank: visited by the Stardust spacecraft in 2002;
The Taurus Star-Forming Region, including:
- HL Tau: star with a protoplanetary disk famously imaged by ALMA (V=15);
- LkCa15: thought to show an actively-forming exoplanet in direct imaging data;
- AA Tau: contains an unconfirmed transiting 20 MJup companion (V=12);
- V1213 Tau: associated with a Herbig Haro outflow (HH 30);
- XZ Tau: binary young system which showed a superflare in 2000;
- HBC 393: FUOr object, undergoing abrupt mass accretion events.
The Hyades open cluster, including:
- eps Tau: a bright member of the Hyades with a known RV planet (V=4);
NGC 1817: 1 Gyr open cluster, ~2 kpc distance;
NGC 1647, 1746, 1750, 1802, 1807: open clusters, not well-studied.

Other candidate highlights

Along with the highlights listed above, the K2-SIMBAD catalog details thousands of known objects in Campaigns 11-13 including, but not limited to:

2040 M-type stars;
1270 RR Lyr Variables;
1219 Quasars;
727 High proper-motion stars
280 Mira Variables;
252 Young Stellar Objects;
167 Active Galactic Nuclei;
152 White Dwarfs (3 pulsating);
133 Herbig Haro Objects;
71 T Tauri Stars;
57 Brown Dwarfs;
29 Blue Stragglers;
18 O-type stars;
16 Cataclysmic Variables;
11 Symbiotic Stars;
4 Wolf Rayet stars;
1 FU Orionis variable.

It is the task of the community to determine which of these objects are amenable to observations by the Kepler spacecraft. Again, note that targets which are not proposed will not be observed.

K2 Cycle 4: Target selection tools

2016-01-02T12:00:00-08:00

Proposals for targets to be observed by K2 in Campaigns 11, 12, and 13 are currently being solicited as part of K2 Guest Observer Cycle 4. Mandatory Step 1 submissions for these proposals are due on February 5, 2016, followed by a Step 2 deadline on March 4th, 2016.

Proposals must be accompanied by a target table (by the Step 2 deadline) which details the objects to be observed. To enable the community to select and propose the most interesting targets, the following resources are available:

The Ecliptic Plane Input Catalog (EPIC) has been updated to include targets for Campaigns 11-13. The catalogs can be queried online or downloaded in text format from MAST.
The K2fov package has been updated to include the details of fields 11-12-13, along with the preliminary positions of fields 14 through 17. Installing the package adds two executables to the command line, K2onSilicon and K2findCampaigns, which allow the visibility of targets to be checked during one or all campaigns. If you have a previous version of K2fov installed, it is crucial that you upgrade to version 3.0 or higher ("pip install K2fov --upgrade").
A new package called K2ephem has been built on top of K2fov to allow the visibility of Solar System bodies, i.e. asteroids and comets, to be checked in a user-friendly way.
The sky footprints of past and future campaigns have been made available as machine-readable text files. These files detail the coordinates of the CCD corners during each Campaign and allow users to create custom visualizations or run custom target selection algorithms. The footprints are also available in the MOC data format which can be opened and visualized using the Aladin interactive sky atlas.

Please contact the Guest Observer Office if you have questions.

Campaign 8 target list now available online

2015-12-29T12:00:00-08:00

The K2 Campaign 8 Target List has now been posted. The Campaign 8 target list includes 24187 standard long cadence and 54 short cadence targets. The planet Uranus will be observed for roughly a month in short cadence and the remaining time in long cadence, in addition four of its moons make the long cadence target list. Six Trojan asteroids and four TNOs round out the solar system targets. The irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 will be observed with a large pixel mask and several very bright stars will be targeted using custom pixel masks that only collect the wings of the PSF.

We now make available a list of targets observed as part of all executed programs. Programs from previous campaigns also now have this information included. We encourage PIs from all campaigns to check the list of approved programs.

Presenting results at AAS that have public appeal? Let us know!

2015-12-17T12:00:00-08:00

The K2 mission is well into its second year of operations and is routinely producing exciting and significant science from its observations of fields along the ecliptic. The prime Kepler mission also continues to yield scientifically significant results from its four-year-long observations of the Cygnus-Lyra region.

While we consider each scientific result to be critical to the legacy of both Kepler and K2, some results are of particular interest to the public (e.g., an exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby star, or stars with unique flux variations that spark a public conversation on alien megastructures).

If you are attending AAS in January and presenting new results from either K2 or Kepler that you think will grab the public's attention, let us know so we can help promote your work. In particular, if you have a science result that may have public appeal and will soon be accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, please contact Michele Johnson.

Call for K2 GO Cycle 4 proposals for Campaigns 11, 12, and 13

2015-12-08T12:00:00-08:00

Proposals are now being solicited for the K2 Guest Observer Cycle 4. Cycle 4 includes Campaigns 11, 12, and 13. The due date for Step-1 proposals is 23:59 EST February 5, 2016. Step-2 proposals are due by 23:59 EST March 4, 2016. Investigators may not submit a Step-2 proposal without first submitting a Step-1 proposal by the due date. Proposers should be aware that the execution of the K2 GO Cycle 4 is contingent upon the outcome of the 2016 Senior Review.

Information about the proposal process, including the scope of the Guest Observer program, proposal evaluation criteria, availability of funds, eligibility, target selection tools, the submission process, and frequently asked questions, is detailed on the proposal preparation page.

Proposers should read the call carefully. We note here two major changes since Cycle 3:

Small proposals will now have a budget capped at $50,000, while Large proposals will be awarded up to $150,000.
An additional 0.5 pages is allowed in Large proposals to describe progress the proposers have made to delivering value-added community resources.

Technical questions regarding this program should be sent to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

K2 Special Session at #AAS227 on 5 Jan 2016

2015-12-02T16:00:00-08:00

The K2 mission will be the subject of a special session at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Kissimmee, Florida, next month.

On Tuesday evening, 5 Jan 2016, between 7:30 and 9:00 pm in room "Sun A", we will update the audience on the status of the K2 mission and the health of the Kepler spacecraft (which is doing great).

Alongside members of the K2 teams at NASA and Ball Aerospace, five members of the K2 community will present a brief overview of past and future highlights of science with K2. The session will end with an informal Q&A.

The schedule is as follows:

Welcome, intro (5 min) - Steve Howell, NASA Ames
Spacecraft status (5 min) - John Troeltzsch, Ball Aerospace
Community, GO office, proposal opportunities (10 min) - Tom Barclay, NASA Ames
K2 Exoplanets (10 min) - Ian Crossfield, Arizona
K2 Clusters & young stars (10 min) - Ann Marie Cody, NASA Ames
K2 Asteroseismology (10 min) - Ruth Angus, Oxford
K2 Observations of AGN and Supernovae (10 min) - Peter Garnavich, Notre Dame
K2 Microlens Experiment (10 min) - Rachel Street, LCOGT
Q&A

(PS: Will there be beverages and snacks? Come to the session to find out!)

Problem with DR24 short cadence data

2015-11-24T16:00:00-08:00

The Q2--Q16 Data Release 24 (DR24) short-cadence (SC) data, which was processed with the SOC 9.2 pipeline, is incorrect and virtually unusable for projects requiring high photometric precision. The problem was traced to an error in the pipeline module that calibrates the pixels, specifically in how it handles the black model calculated by the Dynablack algorithm. As a result, the SC calibrated pixels available in the target pixel files, and the light curves based on these pixels, are excessively noisy. All DR24 SC data processed by CAL using Dynablack are affected. In other words, only the SC data from Q0, Q1 and Q17, as well as a few select channels in Q2--Q16, are valid. Unfortunately, no flag exists in the DR24 data files to indicate whether a target was calibrated using Dynablack. Users are encouraged to regress to an earlier data release, if they have the required files in their possession (i.e., these earlier releases are no longer available from the MAST archive), or they can wait for the next and final SC data release (DR25). This calibration problem has been fixed and the final reprocessing is expected to be available in Summer, 2016. There is no impact on the long-cadence data for either DR24 or DR25.

K2 Campaign 9 Microlensing Science Team selected

2015-11-06T15:00:00-08:00

K2 Campaign 9 will be executed in April 2016 and will be dedicated to a study of gravitational microlensing events. The Campaign 9 microlensing experiment involves the Kepler spacecraft observing in the +VV direction at fields toward the Galactic bulge. The aim of this program is to simultaneously observe gravitational microlensing events with K2 and from Earth in order to see a parallax effect in the shape and time of the lensing event.

The Microlensing Science Team (MST) was selected through a peer-review process during K2 GO Cycle 3 by a panel of experts. The aim of the MST is to both coordinate with and make recommendations to the K2 mission regarding the best observational methods to use during Campaign 9, allowing the highest value science return. Additionally, the MST will serve the interests of the community by, for example, facilitating simultaneous ground-based data collection, developing novel methods for crowded field photometry, and providing completeness and reliability studies of detected microlensing events.

The MST is comprised of the following people:

David Bennett (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
Calen Henderson (JPL/Caltech)
David Hogg (New York University)
Matthew Penny (Ohio State University)
Rachel Street (Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network)

The latest updates on the Campaign 9 microlensing experiment will be posted here.

Since Campaign 9 differs from previous and future K2 Campaigns (where targets are proposed by the community at large), the Guest Observer Office is offering a small number of pixels for approved Director's Discretionary Target (DDT) programs.

K2 Campaign 5 data release

2015-11-02T12:00:00-08:00

Target pixel files, light curves, and full frame images for Campaign 5 are now available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST.

In Campaign 5, 25,850 long cadence and 204 short cadence targets were observed. We additionally collected large pixel masks over dwarf planet (126154) 2001 YH140. We also observed the open cluster M67. The cluster was tiled with 72 individual apertures to create a contiguous 400x400 pixel region over two channels.

Detailed data release notes for Campaign 5 are available.

New Kepler/K2 Science Center website launched

2015-11-01T12:00:00-08:00

The Kepler/K2 Science Center has launched a new website. The reorganized pages, which you are looking at right now, provide resources for scientists interested in using data from the missions.

New features of the website include:

an updated list of future K2 campaign fields;
instructions to apply for Director's Discretionary Time (DDT) during Campaigns 9 and 10;
preliminary instructions to apply for targets and funding related to Campaigns 11, 12 and 13;
information on the Campaign 9 microlensing experiment;
a comprehensive overview of the Kepler and K2 data products;
a new publication database including citation statistics.

The previous Science Center website has been preserved with a warning message at the top of the old pages.

Special K2 workshop at the DPS on 10 November 2015

2015-10-28T07:00:00-07:00

The K2 mission will be part of a special workshop at the 47th annual meeting of the AAS Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) in National Harbor, Maryland, next month.

The workshop, called "NASA Planetary Science and Astrophysics Assets," will be held all day on Tuesday, 10 November 2015, in the Azalea 1 room at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

Between 9:00 am and 10:30 am, the workshop will focus on the K2 mission. The schedule is as follows:

K2 background (15 mins) - Thomas Barclay, NASA Ames
Targeting solar system bodies (10 mins) - Geert Barentsen, NASA Ames
K2 support and the ExoFOP (15 mins) - Rachel Akeson, NExScI
Observations of Neptune and Uranus (15 mins) - Amy Simon (NASA GSFC)
Pushing the limits of K2: observing distant, small Solar System bodies with Kepler (15 mins) - Csaba Kiss (Konkoly Obs., Hungary)
Trojan Asteroids (15 min) - Erin Ryan (NASA GSFC)
Q&A (5 mins)

The fields observed by K2 are close to the ecliptic plane and rich in solar system objects including planets, asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). K2 has already performed observations of Neptune and its large moon Triton, 68 Trojan and Hilda asteroids, 5 TNOs (including Pluto) and Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring). About thousands of main-belt asteroids that fell into the pixel masks of stars have been have been serendipitously observed. Uranus will be observed in a future campaign (C8), as will many more small solar system bodies. Observations of moving bodies as bright as Jupiter and as faint as V=23 have proved successful.

K2 has an ongoing funded Guest Observer program and which has been successfully proposed to by members of the planetary science community. We present K2’s plans and capabilities for solar system science and will have presentations by members of the planetary science community who have used K2 data. This presentation contains information about the mission and its capabilities, discusses the proposal cycles and provides examples, and has community folks talking about their K2 science.

We encourage members of the planetary science community interested in using the long-baseline, high-cadence, high-precision photometry provided by the Kepler spacecraft to join the workshop.

K2 Science Conference deadline fast approaching

2015-09-15T11:00:00-07:00

The September 18 deadline for early registration, hotel reservation, & abstract submission for the K2SciCon is just a few days away. The K2 Science Conference is hosted by the LCOGT and will celebrate the science from the first year of the K2 mission in sunny Santa Barbara. Hotel rooms are currently available at the government rate ($151) - a fantastic deal for Santa Barbara. However after Sept 18 the room rate will jump to over $300 per night. The registration fee also jumps to $425 after that date.

All K2 users are welcome to present early scientific results from all areas of research, from our own Solar System and exoplanets to young stars and distant galaxies. The organizing committee are particularly interested in hearing those in the asteroseismology community and also encourage contributions on results from the Kepler prime mission and the upcoming TESS mission.

Questions and to be added to the email list: k2scicon-loc@lcogt.net

The conference will take place Nov. 2-5, 2015 in Santa Barbara, CA at the Fess Parker hotel.

Conference registration link: https://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1727797
Abstract submission link: https://cat.ipac.caltech.edu/k2scicon/abstract.php
Hotel reservation link: https://aws.passkey.com/event/13934679/owner/3105901/home
Conference website: http://lcogt.net/k2scicon/

K2 Campaigns 8, 9 and 10 Director's Discretionary Targets program

2015-09-11T14:00:00-07:00

The Guest Observer Program solicitation for K2 occurs roughly twice per year and includes a call for multiple K2 campaigns. Given the proposal review timeline, and associated data processing and archive activities, there can be a significant delay between proposal submission and final target selection for each K2 campaign. To provide a faster mechanism for headline astrophysics with K2 we provide an alternative means for acquiring K2 data, through the Director's Discretionary Target (DDT) program.

The purpose of the DDT program for K2 is to:

Respond to targets of opportunity, e.g. newly discovered exoplanets or supernovae
Yield high-impact science from K2
Enhance existing GO programs with additional data

The DDT program for K2 occurs on a rolling basis; observations can be proposed for at any time starting with targets in Campaign 8. However, to ensure that approved targets are included in the final target lists for each campaign, proposals must be submitted by the following dates:

October 5, 2015 for Campaign 8
December 10, 2015 for Campaign 9
March 10, 2016 for Campaign 10

Proposals require a 2-page scientific justification and a target table and should be submitted on the DDT page. The required format as well as a template for the target table can be found here. The fixed locations and observing windows of Campaigns 8, 9, and 10 are provided at the field information page. Target overlap with the current GO target list will not be considered unless short cadence observations are being requested of a current long cadence target. DDT proposals will be sent to external reviewers; final selection will be at the discretion of the Guest Observer Office Director.

We expect to observe several hundred targets through the DDT program, which amounts to a few per cent of the total targets allocated. The exact number of DDTs to be observed largely depends on the number of short versus long cadence DDTs approved. There is no proprietary period and no associated funding for approved DDT programs. Proposals from any institution are encouraged.

We particularly encourage DDT proposals for Campaign 9, which is a non-standard campaign. The Campaign 9 microlensing experiment involves the Kepler spacecraft observing in the positive velocity vector (+VV) direction at fields toward the Galactic bulge. This allows for simultaneous observations from Earth during Campaign 9.

K2 Campaign 7 science program available

2015-09-10T15:00:00-07:00

The K2 Campaign 7 Target List has now been posted. In Campaign 7 there was a significant drop in the number of targets observed relative to previous campaigns. This drop was because the number of targets we can observe is a function of our on-board compression efficiency. The extremely dense nature of the Campaign 7 field forced us to assume a poorer compression estimate than we used for earlier campaigns. This target list consists of 13,469 standard long cadence and 72 standard short cadence targets.

We tiled a region around the open cluster Ruprecht 147 using 60 individual pixel masks.

In addition, we included large pixel masks over 3 Trojan/Hilda Asteroids and the (dwarf) planet Pluto. Bodies within our own Solar System move relative to the celestial sphere and are covered by long streaks of pixels. We tiled just a subset of the pixels that make up the path the Trojans/Hildas move along. These observations are in long cadence.

Finally, we also observed 10 very bright stars by targeting just the central region of pixels around these targets but excluding the bleed columns.

Updated K2 data release schedule

2015-09-10T14:00:00-07:00

The K2 project have updated the dates we expect to release K2 data to the MAST. These revised dates are available from the K2 fields information website. Of particular note is our plan to release Campaign 5 data on Nov 20, 2015 and Campaign 6 data on Dec 28, 2015. Our ongoing plan is to have data available less than three months after downlink from the spacecraft. Users should note that these dates are our best estimates and are subject to change.

K2 Campaign 4 data release

2015-09-08T11:00:00-07:00

Target pixel files, light curves, and full frame images for Campaign 4 are available for download from the K2 data archive at MAST. In Campaign 4, 15,853 long cadence and 122 short cadence targets were observed. Additionally, large circular pixel masks were collected that cover bright 3-5 mag B-stars and red giants in the Hyades and Pleiades open clusters. Data for these nine stars are listed by custom aperture number at MAST, rather than by EPIC number. A Trans-Neptunian Object (2002 KY14) was also observed, and 1340 pixel masks were collected to cover the trajectory of this moving target.

Data release notes for Campaign 4 are available on this website. Users are encouraged to read the release notes in full and note in particular the following:

Due to the dust clouds near the Pleiades, the background removal near the cluster has larger than normal residuals.
There are 887 stellar targets that have light curves with more noise than expected, as they were likely created with non-optimal apertures. This is due to incompatibility between K2 roll motion and determination of photometric optimal apertures.
A fraction (23.8%) of stellar targets have light curves generated from apertures that are larger than optimal because they have lower than expected flux compared to their Kepler magnitudes in the EPIC.
A different group of stars have higher than expected flux, also resulting in non-optimal apertures.

Call for spectroscopy targets for UKIRT program

2015-08-17T14:00:00-07:00

The Kepler/K2 project office has been awarded 30 hours to use UIST on the UK Infrared Telescope, UKIRT, for spectroscopic characterization of K2 targets. The aim of the UKIRT program is to provide a uniform catalog of K-band spectra of K2 targets of interest, with a focus on cool exoplanet hosts discovered by K2. We expect to acquire spectra of ~90 K2 targets in the 2015B semester. Targets from Campaigns 0, 3, and 4 are visible around December/January, August/September, and November, respectively. Members of the community are encouraged to suggest targets for this program. Those interested are encouraged to contact the K2 GO Office to discuss the feasibility of potential program. All spectra will be made publicly available on the ExoFOP.

K2 Campaign 3 data release

2015-07-21T10:00:00-07:00

Campaign 3 target pixel files, light curves, and full frame images are now available for download from the K2 data archive.

The C3 target list included 16,375 standard long cadence and 55 standard short cadence targets. In addition, custom pixel apertures were collected along the trajectories of dwarf planet (225088) 2007 OR10, the planet Neptune, and its moon Nereid.

Data release notes are available. We strongly encourage users to read the release notes. In particular, we draw attention to the following changes in the data processing:

The background level is now removed from the calibrated pixel flux provided by the target pixel files (column FLUX), bringing the K2 TPF files in line with those that were previously made available for the prime Kepler mission.
New quality flags now indicate which cadences were obtained during a thruster firing (column QUALITY).
Simple Aperture Photometry (SAP_FLUX) and cotrended (PDCSAP_FLUX) light curves are now available for long cadence data.

Got a hook? The Kepler/K2 press team would like to hear from you.

2015-07-14T02:00:00-07:00

The K2 mission, the repurposing of the prolific planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft, is an achievement that spans well beyond the NASA team and across the science and engineering communities. The resulting new scientific observation opportunities are a testament to ingenuity and teamwork, and we would like to help bring attention to your great work.

While all results are scientifically significant, there are some that hold the added luster of public appeal. At the basic level, public appeal can be qualified as 'firsts' (the first Earth-sized planet); has a tie to popular culture (Kepler-16b or "Tatooine" and is also a 'first'); or sparks curiosity (catching a supernova before the explosion, or a disintegrating planet). These are the hooks that grab the attention of the public and spurs additional learning. A news hook can be obvious but can require discussion to ferret out the story.

If you have a science result that may have public appeal, and will soon be accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, please contact Michele Johnson. Of most immediate interest are those results that will be announced at the IAU General Assembly in August.

Anticipated observing and archiving dates now listed online

2015-07-13T00:00:00-07:00

To assist folks with planning their K2 related activities (follow-up observing, graduate student work, etc.) we have made available the anticipated dates that we will archive pixel level and light curve data at the MAST for all K2 campaigns through to C13. These dates are subject to change due of programmatic activities and may come in or slip out. We will keep these dates updated as we are able.

Campaign 3 data processing complete

2015-07-09T00:00:00-07:00

Data processing for K2 Campaign 3 is now complete and the pixel files are in the process of being transferred to the MAST archive. We anticipate that the data will become available to the public by July 15, 2015. This data release will include both pixel level data and project created light curves. As for previous campaigns, there will be no proprietary period for using or publishing K2 data.

The Campaign 3 target list included 16,375 standard long cadence and 55 standard short cadence targets. In addition we have included large pixel masks over dwarf planet (225088) 2007 OR10, the planet Neptune and its moon Nereid.

Keep an eye on this blog for a release announcement and associated data release notes.

Campaign 6 target list available online

2015-06-26T09:00:00-07:00

The K2 Campaign 6 Target List has now been posted. This target list consists of 28,289 standard long cadence and 84 standard short cadence targets. In addition we have included large pixel masks over 65 Trojan Asteroids. Bodies within our own Solar System move relative to the celestial sphere and are covered by long streaks of pixels. We tiled the just a subset of the pixels that make up the path the Trojans move along. These observations are in long cadence. These observations are due to start in early-July.

Save the date for the K2 Science Conference. November 2-5, 2015

2015-06-03T06:00:00-07:00

The LCOGT (Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network) invites the whole astronomical community to celebrate the science from the first year of the NASA K2 mission in Santa Barbara, California. The meeting will take place November 2-5, 2015.

The organizers encourage K2 users to present early scientific results from all areas of research, from our own Solar System and exoplanets to young stars and distant galaxies. Attendees will hear updates on the mission and discuss the latest in data processing techniques. The organizers also encourage contributions on results from the Kepler prime mission and the future TESS mission.

Check the conference website in the coming weeks for updates and registration. Questions may be addressed to the LOC.

Campaign 5 target list available online

2015-06-02T09:00:00-07:00

The K2 Campaign 5 Target List has now been posted. The Campaign 5 target list consists of 25,099 standard long cadence and 204 standard short cadence targets. In addition we have included large pixel masks over dwarf planet (126154) 2002 YH140. We also observed the open cluster M67. The cluster was tiled with 73 individual apertures to create a contiguous 400x400 pixel region over two channels.

Additional targets available in future K2 campaigns

2015-06-02T05:00:00-07:00

As some of you prepare your K2 Cycle 3 proposal target lists I wanted to alert you to an increase in the number of targets that we can observe with K2.

Our pointing has been significantly better than our conservative pointing assumptions we used when we built our pixel cost algorithms. The result of this is that we can observe about double the number of targets from Campaign 5 onwards compared with Campaign 4 and earlier. The increase is from about 15,000 total to around 30,000 total. Unfortunately, the telemetry data to determine that we were able to do this was no available in time for the K2 GO Cycle 2 proposal deadline.

How does this affect you? You may wish to consider submitting larger target lists than in previous cycles in any Cycle 3 proposals you are submitting. Now, as always there is a caveat here that you should not propose more target than you can justify but please be aware that the cost of a target is now lower.

Due date for K2 Guest Observer Cycle 3 Step-1 proposal fast approaching

2015-05-29T05:00:00-07:00

The K2 Guest Observer Cycle 3 proposal call is observations of targets in Campaigns 8 and 10. The due date for Step-1 proposals (essentially a compulsory notice of intent) is June 2, 2015 at midnight Eastern Time. Investigators may not submit a Full Proposal (Step-2) without first submitting a Step-1 proposal by the due date.

Cycle 3 also include Campaign 9, which is dedicated to observing gravitational microlensing events. No proposals seeking to observe targets in C9 will be considered. The proposal call for this campaign is to join a Microlensing Science Team.

ExoFOP-K2 website launched

2015-05-05T12:00:00-07:00

ExoFOP-K2 is a web site designed to optimize resources and facilitate collaboration in follow-up studies of K2 targets. It serves as a repository for community-gathered follow-up data and is supported by the NASA Exoplanet Archive infrastructure.

In addition to continuing to support Kepler via the original CFOP website, this new service includes the K2 targets, and will eventually be expanded to support future missions.

The site is open to the entire community and currently contains magnitudes, finding charts, and nearby source lists for the targets from Campaigns 0-4 and the engineering campaign. A new feature allows users to designate possible planetary candidates, false positives and eclipsing binaries. ExoFOP-K2 will allow detailed searches of K2 targets similar to the CFOP search pages.

All content can be viewed and downloaded without logging in. A username and password are only required if you wish to upload data, notes, or files. Existing CFOP user name and password will work on ExoFOP-K2.

Geert Barentsen and Knicole Colón join the Guest Observer Office

2015-05-04T01:00:00-07:00

The Kepler/K2 Guest Observer Office has two new members joining us at Ames Research Center in California: Geert Barentsen and Knicole Colón.

Dr Geert Barentsen joins us from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. Geert's background is in the exploitation of photometry from wide-area surveys. In Hertfordshire he leads the data processing of two projects which aim to map our own Milky Way in unprecedented detail: IPHAS and VPHAS+. He also teaches a university's programming and statistics class, and is a contributor to the AstroPy project.

Geert earned his doctorate at the Queen's University of Belfast in 2012 where he studied star formation using narrow-band photometry. Prior to his PhD, he obtained a Master's degree in Computer Science at the University of Antwerp in Belgium, after which he gained professional experience in data science at the European Space Agency in The Netherlands and the Royal Meteorological Institute in Belgium. In his spare time, he studies the activity of meteor showers using data collected by amateur astronomers.

Dr Knicole Colón leaves a postdoctoral role at Lehigh University as a member of the KELT project to join us at Kepler. Her expertise is in the discovery and characterization of transiting exoplanets.

As a graduate student at the University of Florida, Knicole demonstrated the capability of OSIRIS on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) for exoplanet science. After earning her doctorate in 2012, she gained postdoctoral experience at the University of Hawaii and Lehigh University. There, she focused on the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres with narrow-band photometry and in the confirmation of planets around bright stars discovered by the KELT transit survey.

Geert will start his new role in June 2015 and Knicole will join us a month later in July.

K2 Microlensing Campaign draft agenda now available

2015-04-24T06:00:00-07:00

A draft agenda is now available for the K2 Microlensing Workshop. This will likely be updated as we get closer to the workshop.

The venue for the workshop will be the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA. Note that this is a change to the originally advertised venue.

There will be talks from Steve Howell (K2 Project Scientist, NASA Ames), Tom Barclay (K2 Guest Observer Office Director, NASA Ames), Doug Hudgins (NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program Scientist and K2 Deputy Program Scientist, NASA HQ) and Fergal Mullally (K2 Science Officer, NASA Ames), in addition to contributed talks from members of the scientific community.

K2 Microlensing Campaign workshop, May 7-8, 2015, SETI Inst., CA

2015-04-24T05:00:00-07:00

In April of 2016, the NASA K2 mission will execute Campaign 9, a continuous 75-day long campaign targeting the galactic bulge dedicated to a single Microlensing Science Experiment. The NASA K2 mission is sponsoring a 1.5-day workshop on the topic of the K2 Microlensing Experiment on May 7-8, 2015.

The motivations for holding this workshop are two-fold: Firstly to provide an opportunity for interactive planning for the K2 Microlensing Experiment amongst NASA, the K2 project and the scientific community; and secondly to serve as a pre-proposal discussion opportunity in advance of the submission of K2 Microlensing Science Team proposals.

K2 project staff will describe the observing plan and operating procedures for up-linking target lists, down-linking the observed data and the time-line for archiving products. NASA HQ and K2 staff will present information regarding the proposal process, possible avenues for investigation, and funding. We are also inviting attendees to present information valuable in the planning and preparation for the experiment.

This workshop will begin at 9.00am PST on Thursday May 7 and end at 12.00pm PST on Friday May 8, 2015. The venue will be the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. We are intending to have available limited facilities for virtual participation. To apply to attend the workshop either in-person or virtually you will need to fill in the application form. The deadline for applying to attend is April 17, 2015 at 4.00pm PST. Workshop information is available on a special website.

K2 Campaign 2 data release

2015-04-02T02:00:00-07:00

Target Pixel Files from K2 Campaign 2 have been delivered and are available at the MAST. Campaign 2 target list consists of 13,399 standard long cadence and 54 short cadence targets. In addition we have included large pixel masks over the clusters M4 and M80. If a target falls within either the M4 or M80 large mask it will not appear in the target list. Two Solar System bodies were selected - trans-Neptunian object (278361) 2007 JJ43 and Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring). The Solar System bodies are moving relative to the celestial sphere and are covered by long streaks of pixels. The full cluster and Solar System pixel masks are made up of many smaller masks. Data release notes are available.

Kepler robovetted KOI table released

2015-04-02T01:00:00-07:00

The Kepler project has opened the Q1-Q17 DR24 KOI table at the NASA Exoplanet Archive, adding 1368 new Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) to the cumulative table. This is a milestone release because it utilizes the first uniform processing of the entire Kepler data set and it represents a first attempt at fully automating the dispositioning process so as to produce a uniformly vetted catalog of planetary candidates (PCs) and false positives (FPs). This is being done via the use of "robovetters" - sophisticated decision trees that utilize a set of targeted metrics to mimic the decision-making process. While all KOIs in the Q1-Q17 DR24 KOI table are given dispositions, work on the robovetters is not yet complete. Thus, before the table is closed more KOIs will be added and dispositions will change. To get more information about this KOI table and to download the data it contains go to NExScI.

Extracted K2 lightcurves from Vanderburg and Johnson now available at MAST

2015-04-02T00:00:00-07:00

A new MAST High Level Science Product from K2 has been delivered that includes extracted lightcurves. Courtesy of Vanderburg and Johnson (2014), long-cadence targets from Campaigns 0 and 1 now have detrended, extracted lightcurves available at MAST, including 20 different photometric apertures. There's a MAST Classic Search Interface so you can get lightcurves based on target IDs, coordinates, EPIC catalog fluxes, etc. You can also use our interactive plotter to explore the lightcurves using any of the photometric apertures before downloading the FITS files. Check out all the details here: http://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/k2sff/.

Two-wheel engineering test data online

2014-03-25T09:00:00-07:00

Nine days of two-wheel engineering data have been delivered to the MAST archive and are accessible to all interested users within the community. This data was collected between Feb 4-13, 2014, before Campaign 0, and points to a different region of sky to Campaign 0, RA = 359 deg, Dec = -2 deg. In future publications and presentations, we would be grateful if you referred to these data collectively as the "Two-wheel Concept Engineering Test". The motivation for delivering this test data is described below.

To help the community in the endeavor of maximizing photometric quality and precision of a two-wheel mission we have delivered engineering data to the MAST archive. The Kepler spacecraft operated with fine-guidance, collecting data from 2,017 target masks. The properties and quality of the data therein is expected to be similar to those collected during Campaign 0 and provide an excellent opportunity for scientists to make an early and impactful start upon their investigations. Note also that the chances of there being undiscovered planet transits in this engineering set are high and the potential for other serendipitous science is great. To this end we have also provided lists of long cadence and short cadence targets with a brief description of why each was observed during the test. For those investigators eager to develop this test data scientifically and those investigators with the enthusiasm to develop new technical solutions for two-wheel photometry, we encourage you to dive wholeheartedly into this data set. A typical file size for one of these target pixel files is 26 MB. The Kepler Science Center will not support this engineering data with future reprocessings, deliveries or new products. However the Kepler Science Center will support questions through the helpdesk regarding this data set on a best-effort basis.