Search for exoplanets at Bologna University

The observation of a luminosity drop during the eclipse of the parent star by one of its planets is one of the possible techniques for the detection of extrasolar planets and the only one that allows us to determine parameters not otherwise determinable. To this purpose highly accurate photometric instrumentation and a careful choice of the targets are required. From the Schneider's [1] catalogue of extrasolar planets we selected 7 systems with period less than 20 days and declination greater than -3degrees. We are considering the possibility to observe these systems using the two head photometer mounted on the 152 cm telescope of Bologna University in Loiano, in order to detect possible eclipses. The accuracy in magnitude measurements allows, for a 7(th) magnitude star, to reveal 0.08% drops in luminosity.