Tool Kit

ANALYSIS TOOLS

  • Systemic
    Systemic Console is an application for exploring and analyzing exoplanetary data. It is used around the world by research groups and classrooms to analyze radial velocity datasets and derive the orbital properties of putative planetary systems. It includes a large array of tools for error estimation, orbital stability, plotting and animation.
  • Agatha
    The Agatha algorithm is to find the weak signals embedded in correlated noise.
  • Period04
    This programs performs statistical analyses of time series. Based on Fourier transforms, Period04 calculates the power of the periodic signals within the time-series. It allows multiple-frequency fitting. Period04 produces also the spectral window associated with the time cadence of the observations. Period04 was developed by Patrick Lenz and Michel Breger at the Univ. of Viena. It runs in java.
  • PlanetPack
    PlanetPack is a software tool developed to facilitate the radial-velocity time-series analysis for the goal of exoplanets detection, characterization, and basic dynamical simulations.
  • Lomb-Scargle periodograms calculator
    Python routine which computes the Lomb-Scargle periodogram of a time-series. These periodograms are used to test the significance of a periodic signal observed with real uneven temporal sampled data.
  • PyTransit
    A tool to analyse photometric time series of exoplanets transits with Python.
  • Bad-Ass Transit Model cAlculatioN (BATMAN)
    The batman package for Python makes super fast calculation of transit light curves easy.
  • EXO-NAILER
    The EXOplanet traNsits and rAdIal veLocity fittER (EXO–NAILER), is an easy-to-use code that allows you to efficiently fit exoplanet transit lightcurves, radial velocities or both.
  • George
    George is a fast and flexible Python library for Gaussian Process Regression.
  • Habitable Zone Calculator
    Interactive calculator that estimates Habitable Zones around Main-sequence stars with effective temperatures in the range of 2600 K – 7200 K. This calculator is based on the estimates calculated by Kopparapu et al. (2013) and which are the most commonly used to obtain the star’s habitability zones
  • EMPEROR: (link to be posted shortly)
    The Exoplanet Mcmc Parallel tEmpering Radial velOcity fitteR (EMPEROR) is a Python-based tool that allows the search for small signals in radial velocity data using MCMC parallel tempering techniques and applying correlated noise models. EMPEROR can be run in fully automatic mode, such that the code will use Bayesian arguments to determine the optimum number of signals in a dataset, or individual signals can be targeted directly. Data products include plots of the posteriors and chains, histograms of the parameter determinations, phase folded radial velocity curves, and full log file that outputs all EMPEROR statistics.
  • SPECIES
    The Spectroscopic Parameters and atmosphEric ChemIstriEs of Stars (SPECIES) code is a fully automatic code to compute precise bulk parameters and chemical abundances of stars using high resolution spectra. SPECIES is written in Python and uses a modified version of the MOOG code to perform the radiative transfer calculations necessary to model the stellar spectral lines. The code is flexible enough to handle spectra from a wide range of spectrographs, including HARPS, and is written explicitly to handle the parameter correlations and uncertainties at each step in the computational process.

HARPS SPECTRAL TOOLS AND MANUALS

  • ESO webpage with HARPS manuals and descriptions of the spectral data-products
  • TERRA: (link to be posted shortly) The Template Radial velocity Re-analysis Application is a Java code designed specifically to measure precision radial velocities on ESO-DRS extracted spectra (e2ds format). It also allows to transform the astronomy compliant ‘fits’ files to convenient ASCII files for easier manipulation and representation. It runs as a command line program in java (JRE 1.7 or higher recommended) and it has been tested on MAC & Linux machines. By analyzing all the spectra available on one object, it produces radial velocity measurements in the standard JDATE RV ERRRV format (eg. to be used with Systemic or the other tools under the ANALYSIS TOOLS section).

CATALOGUES

  • Exoplanets.eu
    Updated catalog with the current known Extrasolar Planets. Information such as the detection method, the parameters of the exoplanets and their host stars, and the publications related can be found in this catalog. It includes also a “diagram” tool which allows to plot in the browser the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia data.
  • SIMBAD Astronomical Database
    The SIMBAD astronomical database provides basic data, cross-identifications, bibliography and measurements for astronomical objects outside the solar system.
  • Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL)
    PHL is a virtual laboratory dedicated to studies of the habitability of Earth, the Solar System, and extrasolar planets. It contains catalogs such as the Nearby Stars Catalog or the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog describing the stellar and planetary properties of the nearby stellar system within 10 parsecs and the properties of the potentially exoplanets, respectively. Additionally, we can find in this web a large number of media resources and analysis software related to exoplanets (visit: http://phl.upr.edu/software).

NUMERICAL TOOLS

  • EMCEE
    emcee is an extensible, pure-Python implementation of Goodman & Weare’s Affine Invariant Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Ensemble sampler. It’s designed for Bayesian parameter estimation and it’s really sweet!
  • MCcubed
    A Python implementation of the Markov-chain Monte Carlo algorithm.
  • MultiNest
    MultiNest is a Bayesian inference tool which calculates the evidence and explores the parameter space which may contain multiple posterior modes and pronounced (curving) degeneracies in moderately high dimensions.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Public Participation: Planet Hunters
    On December 16, 2010, the Zooniverse launched the original Planet Hunters to enlist the public’s help to search data from the NASA’s Kepler spacecraft for the characteristic drop in light due to an orbiting extrasolar planets (exoplanets) crossing in front of their parent stars.
  • Game: Kerbal Space Program
    Space flight simulation video game in which players direct a nascent space program. The scenario is placed in a planet inhabited by humanoid aliens known as “Kerbals”. The game features a realistic orbital physics engine, allowing for various real-life orbital maneuvers.
  • Game: Super Planet Crash
    Build and destroy your very own planetary systems.