BRITE-Constellation: astrophysics with nano-satellites

Andrzej Pigulski and the BRITE Team

The BRITE nano-satellite mission is the first space mission which uses nanosatellites for photometry of stars. The mission comprises of a constellation of six satellites. Each of the three contributing countries, Austria, Canada, and Poland, buildt two satellites. For Austria and Poland these were the first national scientific satellites. By now, BRITE satellites gathered data for about 500 bright stars during 25 campaigns in the selected stellar fields. For most of the observed stars, BRITE photometry is the best photometry ever made. We show that the photometry allows to detect periodic signals with amplitudes as small as 0.1 – 0.2 mmag. This opens an unprecedented opportunity to study a low-level variability in very bright stars. Combined with other data, like spectroscopy or polarimetry, the BRITE data may allow for a comprehensive analysis of many astrophysical phenomena, especially in massive luminous stars, the primary targets of the BRITE mission. Some highlights of the science made using BRITE data are presented.

Proceedings of the Polish Astronomical Society, vol. 7, 151-156 (2018)

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