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14 changes: 6 additions & 8 deletions IoS2027/index.html
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Expand Up @@ -62,21 +62,19 @@ <h3 style="margin-bottom:0;">10 years of the</h3>
<h1 style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;">Next Generation<br>Transit Survey</h1>
<p>Isle of Skye, Scotland 24th-28th May 2027</p>
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<p> The discovery of planets orbiting stars beyond our Solar System has transformed modern astronomy. What began with the first detections of giant planets in the 1990s has developed into a field encompassing thousands of known exoplanets spanning an extraordinary diversity of sizes, masses, and orbital architectures. Yet despite these remarkable advances, many of the most important questions remain unanswered. How do planetary systems form and evolve? How common are Earth-like worlds? And what processes shape the wide variety of planets observed throughout our Galaxy? Addressing these questions requires both the discovery of new planetary systems and the detailed characterisation of the planets already known. Ground-based transit surveys have played a pivotal role in this effort, providing many of the brightest and most accessible planetary systems for follow-up observations. <br><br>

The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) was conceived to meet this challenge by delivering the highest-precision wide-field photometry ever achieved from the ground. Installed at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile, NGTS consists of an array of twelve independently steerable telescopes designed specifically to detect transiting exoplanets around bright stars. Following years of design, development, and testing by an international collaboration, the facility achieved first light in 2015 and soon began full science operations. Over the past decade, NGTS has demonstrated the power of dedicated ground-based surveys, combining innovative instrumentation with sophisticated data analysis techniques to push the limits of millimagnitude photometric precision. <br><br>
<p>The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) has now been in operation for over a decade. Conceived as a successor to the hugely succesful Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP), NGTS remains one of the best facilities in the world for ground-based exoplanet transit photometry. Our location at ESO Paranal and flexible system of twelve independent robotic 20cm telescopes fitted with custom red optimized CCD cameras from Andor Technology allow us to deliver world class photometric precision that rivals or even exceeds that of some space based facilities.<br><br>

Over the last ten years, NGTS has produced an exceptional scientific legacy. The survey has discovered and characterised a diverse population of exoplanets, from hot Jupiters and Neptune-sized worlds to longer-period and lower-mass planets that challenge our understanding of planetary formation and evolution. Beyond exoplanet discoveries, the survey has enabled studies of stellar variability, eclipsing binaries, transient phenomena, and a wide range of time-domain astrophysics. NGTS observations have supported numerous space missions, including TESS, while its high-quality photometric archive has become a valuable resource for the wider astronomical community. The scientific impact of NGTS is reflected not only in its discoveries but also in the hundreds of publications, collaborations, and early-career researchers whose work has been built upon its data. <br><br>
Since achieving first light in 2015, NGTS gone on to produce some of the most exciting discoveries in modern exoplanet science. This includes the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/stunning-monster-planet-discovery-puts-key-theory-doubt-ncna816386">`Monster Planet'</a>; NGTS-1b, one of the first giant planets found around an M-dwarf star, the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-30/astronomers-find-forbidden-planet-orbiting-a-star/11162464?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web">`Forbidden planet'</a>; NGTS-4b, the smallest transiting planet ever detected from the ground and one of the first planets found in the so-called `Neptune desert' and some of the shortest-period `ultra-hot-Jupiters' such as NGTS-6b and <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/02/20/astronomers-discover-1800-degree-planet-with-18-hour-years/">NGTS-10b</a>. With the advent of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Sattelite (<a href="https://tess.mit.edu">TESS</a>), NGTS has transitioned from being a dedicated survey facility to providing photometric followup for the most exciting discoveries from TESS. In particular this has led to the confirmation of some of the longest period transiting planets, including systems such as <a href="https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/07/21/Astronomers-track-down-lost-worlds-spotted-but-unconfirmed-by-TESS-survey/8411595332534/">NGTS-11b</a> - the first exoplanet discovered from just a single TESS transit and more recently <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/discovery-of-exoplanet-with-one-of-the-longest-orbits-yet-heralds-seismic-change-in-search-for-earth-like-worlds-84183">NGTS-38b</a> - one of the longest period transiting planets ever discovered. Beyond exoplanets, NGTS has also been enabling cutting edge science in the fields of binary stars, stellar flares and other areas of time-domain astronomy.<br><br>

To celebrate ten years of NGTS science, we are delighted to bring together the community that has made the project such a success. This meeting provides an opportunity to reflect on the survey's scientific achievements, showcase the latest results, and look ahead to the next decade of exoplanet and time-domain astronomy. Most importantly, it is a chance to recognise and thank the many people whose vision, expertise, and dedication have shaped NGTS—from those who designed and built the facility, to the observers, software developers, students, postdoctoral researchers, and scientists who have transformed its observations into world-leading science. We look forward to welcoming both longstanding collaborators and new members of the community as we celebrate the first ten years of the Next Generation Transit Survey. <br><br>
To celebrate ten years of NGTS, we are hosting a special conference on the Isle of Skye in Scotland from the 24th to the 28th of May 2027. This conference aims celebrate the contributions of as many people as possible who have contributed to our success over the last decade. With the future uncertain from <a href="https://www.ukri.org/publications/explainer-stfc-prioritisation-outcomes/explainer-stfc-prioritisation-outcomes-2026-to-2030/">STFC budget cuts</a> we also wish to use this meeting as an opportunity to dicsuss how the project may continue into the next decade and the lessons that can be learned from NGTS for future projects. We look forward to welcoming, consortium members, collaborators, old friends and new to Skye to celebrate the (first?) ten years of the Next Generation Transit Survey.
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