MicroFUN

MicroFUN
Name	MicroFUN
Formation	1999
Type	Amateur-professional collaboration
Headquarters	United States
Region served	International
Leader title	Coordinator

MicroFUN

MicroFUN is a collaborative network of amateur and professional astronomers organized to observe gravitational microlensing events and detect extrasolar planets. It links volunteers, students, and researchers to campaigns coordinated around alerts from survey teams, leveraging telescopes worldwide to provide time-series photometry for events identified by projects like OGLE, MOA, and MACHO. The network operates at the interface of observational campaigns, follow-up coordination, and data analysis, contributing to discoveries that connect to institutes, observatories, and planetary science programs.

History

Founded in 1999, the project arose after discussions among researchers associated with the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment and the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics collaboration, with early support from observatories such as Mount John Observatory and institutions including Ohio State University and University of Auckland. Initial campaigns focused on alerts from the Microlensing Follow-Up Network era and sought to mobilize observers affiliated with societies like the American Association of Variable Star Observers and the British Astronomical Association. Over time the group formalized coordination practices in response to large-scale surveys such as Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer follow-up needs and to complementarities with projects at the European Southern Observatory and Space Telescope Science Institute.

Mission and Goals

The mission emphasizes rapid-response photometry for transient lensing signatures reported by survey teams including OGLE and MOA, aiming to detect planetary anomalies related to events cataloged by projects tied to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint and the Two Micron All-Sky Survey. Goals include improving planet detection sensitivity in lensing surveys, producing light curves useful for modelers at institutions like Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and training observers from amateur associations such as the Royal Astronomical Society membership and university clubs like the Caltech astronomy groups.

Organization and Membership

Membership spans amateur astronomers, university students, and professional researchers affiliated with centers including Ohio State University, University of Canterbury, University of Notre Dame, and national facilities like National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Coordination is overseen by a central coordinator who distributes alerts from survey teams at institutes such as Carnegie Institution for Science and communicates via platforms used by networks associated with the International Astronomical Union and regional societies like the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Participants often operate telescopes at sites including Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Siding Spring Observatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and private observatories linked to amateur groups in locations such as Hawaii and Canary Islands.

Observational Techniques

Observers use time-series CCD photometry with instruments ranging from backyard rigs to professional-grade cameras at facilities like Las Campanas Observatory and detectors developed by groups at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Techniques include difference imaging analysis popularized in datasets from OGLE and aperture photometry methods comparable to those used by research teams at University of Oxford and University of Tokyo. Scheduling relies on alerts from surveys such as MOA and rapid modeling coordinated with groups at University of Notre Dame and the Max Planck Society to target high-magnification events and achieve continuous coverage across longitudes involving sites in Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, and Spain.

Notable Discoveries

Members contributed to the photometric coverage of planetary microlensing events that led to detections attributed in papers involving teams from Ohio State University, University of Auckland, and University of Canterbury. Follow-up observations aided characterization of low-mass planets whose analysis involved collaborators at Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, and the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. The network’s dense time-series photometry filled gaps for events requiring multi-site coverage similar to campaigns supported by the European Southern Observatory and the Space Telescope Science Institute for refinement of lens models.

Collaborations and Projects

MicroFUN collaborates with survey projects including Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment and Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics and partners with institutions such as Ohio State University, University of Auckland, Carnegie Institution for Science, and national observatories like NOIRLab. It participates in joint efforts with modeling groups at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, analysis teams at Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and instrumentation groups at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The network has been involved in coordinated campaigns alongside initiatives at European Southern Observatory, space missions supported by NASA, and community science programs associated with the International Astronomical Union.

Public Outreach and Education

Outreach engages amateur societies such as the American Association of Variable Star Observers and the Royal Astronomical Society through workshops, student observing programs at universities including Ohio State University and Caltech, and public talks at institutions like the Smithsonian Institution. Educational activities include training in CCD photometry, image reduction techniques used in OGLE data pipelines, and mentoring projects that connect students to researchers at Space Telescope Science Institute and European Southern Observatory for participation in follow-up campaigns.

Category:Astronomy organizations