Small Telescope – Big Discovery

Extremely Little Telescope Discovers Pair of Odd Planets

“The KELT team scans those bright stars, and watches to see if the starlight dims just a little — an indication that a planet has crossed in front of the star. The technique is called the “transit method,” and takes advantage of situations such as the recent transit of Venus across the face of the Sun in our own solar system. It’s a low-cost means of planet-hunting, using mostly off-the-shelf technology; whereas a traditional astronomical telescope costs millions of dollars to build, the hardware for a KELT telescope runs less than $75,000.”