Flare?
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Ptd
Hi have found this feature, its probably a flare, but the shape seems a bit too even and the return to normal brightness too swift, so is this a flare a glitch or something else?
Follow this link for a better look at the LC on MAST as the feature goes further up than on the planethunters site
https://archive.stsci.edu/k2/data_search/search.php?ktc_k2_id=210747818&action=Search
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davidbundy77
This feature is listed here as an asteroid occultation.
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Davidbundy77 is right, I listed the event as an asteroid candidate in the link he provided. Truth is, I did not confirm the asteroid encounter before now (there are several asteroid contaminations in the K2 light curves), so the feature could might as well be due to stellar activity. As for the 'too even' part, in this case the asteroid crosses the center of the target star instead of 'touching' the perimeter as frequently observed, which results in an unequal spike distribution of the signal (at least for the 30 min. long cadence sampling data).
I have uploaded an animated video of the event here.
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Ptd
in response to Martti_Holst_Kristiansen's comment.
Hi
Many thanks both, for the explanation and the vid, I have learned something 😃
So is Kepler now putting asteroids on the map? Or are these asteroids which the astronomical community already knew about? And is there an article/post somewhere that will tell me all about Kepler and asteroids?
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Martti_Holst_Kristiansen
in response to Ptd's comment.
No, the asteroids are a natural occurrence in the K2 mission now that the spacecraft is pointing along the ecliptic plane. Most of these asteroids are probably already known, and it is estimated that only a few new discoveries will be done by K2. See this paper: Main-Belt Asteroids in the K2 Engineering Field of View.
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