Updated parameters for the transiting exoplanet WASP-3b using RISE, a new fast camera for the Liverpool Telescope

¹ Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics & Physics, Queen's University, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK e-mail: ngibson07@qub.ac.uk
² Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, Apartado de Correos 321, 38700 Santa Cruz de la Palma, Tenerife, Spain
³ Astronomical Institute, Charles University Prague, V Holesovickach 2, 180 00 Praha, Czech Republic
⁴ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
⁵ Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, CH61 4UA, UK

Received: 23 September 2008
Accepted: 20 October 2008

Abstract

Some of the first results are reported from RISE – a new fast camera mounted on the Liverpool Telescope primarily designed to obtain high time-resolution light curves of transiting extrasolar planets for the purpose of transit timing. A full and partial transit of WASP-3 are presented, and a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo analysis is used to update the parameters from the discovery paper. This results in a planetary radius of R_J and therefore a density of , consistent with previous results. The inclination is deg, in agreement (but with a significant improvement in the precision) with the previously determined value. Central transit times are found to be consistent with the ephemeris given in the discovery paper; however, a new ephemeris calculated using the longer baseline results in T_c(0) = 2 454 605.55915 ± 0.00023 HJD and P = 1.846835 ± 0.000002 days.