Vista variables in the via lactea (VVV): first results and perspectives
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Date
2011
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Abstract
VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) is a public ESO near-IR variability survey scanning the Milky Way Bulge and an adjacent section of the mid-plane. The survey will take 1929 hours of observations with the 4 m VISTA telescope during five years (2010-2014), covering similar to 10(9) point sources across an area of 520 deg(2). Here we address the first results obtained from the VVV Survey as well as a glimpse into the possibilities for using a deep near-IR atlas in five passbands and a catalogue of more than 10(6) variable point sources. We expect to use the data to find planetary transits of late-type main-sequence stars. We discuss the planet searches and future follow-ups