Searching for Planetary Transits in Star Clusters

Abstract

Star clusters provide an excellent opportunity to study the role of environment on determining the frequencies of short period planets. They provide a large sample of stars which can be imaged simultaneously, with a common distance, age and pre-determined physical parameters. This allows the search to be tailor-made for each specific cluster. Several groups are attempting to detect transiting planets in open clusters. Three previous surveys have also targeted the two brightest globular clusters. No cluster survey has yet detected a planet. This contribution presents a brief overview of the field, highlighting the pros and cons of performing such a search, and presents the expected and current results, with implications for planetary frequencies in regions of high stellar density and low metallicity.