TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) is a 60 cm telescope at La Silla devoted to the study of planetary systems and it follows two approaches: the detection and characterisation of exoplanets around other stars and the study of comets orbiting around the Sun. The robotic telescope is operated from a control room in Liège, Belgium. The project is led by the Department of Astrophysics, Geophysics and Oceanography of the University of Liège, in close collaboration with the Geneva Observatory (Switzerland). TRAPPIST is mostly funded by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research with the participation of the Swiss National Science Foundation.

The name TRAPPIST was given to the telescope to underline the Belgian origin of the project. Trappist beers are famous all around the world and most of them are Belgian.

Science goals

Search for exoplanets; comets; Trans-Neptunian Objects.

Links

• Images taken with the TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope
• Images taken of the TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope
• Read the TRAPPIST first light press release or go to the telescope web page.
• ESO press releases with results from the TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope