KMTNet
South Korean optical telescope network
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The Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet; Korean: 외계행성 탐색시스템) is an ongoing wide-field photometric system that aims to discover extrasolar planets using gravitational microlensing.[1][2][3] The system leverages three identical 1.6 m wide-field optical telescopes located at the Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile,[4] the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in South Africa,[5] and the Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) in Australia.[6] All three telescopes share a latitude of −30 degrees enabling continuous monitoring of the galactic bulge during 8 months of each year and other targets in the south hemisphere during non-bulge season such as near-earth asteroids and supernovae.[7][8][9] Currently, 232 microlensing planets have been described by KMTNet.[1] The KMNet survey was recently used to show that super-earths are common in Jupiter-like orbits.[10][11]
| Alternative names | Korea Microlensing Telescope Network |
|---|---|
| Organization | Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute |
| Wavelength | Optical/Infrared |
| Built | 2015 |
| Diameter | 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) |
| Angular resolution | 0.37 arcsec |
| Focal length | 5.16 m (16.9 ft) |
| Website | https://kmtnet.kasi.re.kr/~ulens/ |
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