The ExoClock project for the Ariel space mission- 5 years of continuous operation

The ExoClock project - www.exoclock.space – aims to monitor regularly transiting exoplanets for the Ariel space mission, using small- and medium-scale telescopes. The project launched in EPSC 2019 and in EPSC 2024  we celebrate five years of continuous operation. ExoClock is part of the ephemerides working group of ESA's Ariel space mission and its main scope is to maximise the mission’s efficiency. In this effort, our team has been actively collaborating with both professional and amateur astronomers coming from various countries around the world. Participants contribute with observations of exoplanets by using a wide range of telescopes, from backyard ones to large facilities own by organisations and universities. Apart from he science goal, our efforts include public engagement with science. In order to increase participation and enable/ facilitate research, we have created educational and user friendly tools while we have initiated / developed also dedicated projects for completely inexperienced people such as citizen scientists and school students.

This presentation will describe how collaborative and open science can be used to advance exoplanet research though projects such as ExoClock. More specifically, I will talk about the organisation of the ExoClock project and the main tools that are used to achieve an effective pro-am collaboration. I will also present the status of the project and the results of the publications we have produced so far. The ExoClock network currently consists of more than 1400 participants, including professionals, amateur astronomers (75%), university students but also some citizen scientists. The talk will end with lessons learned from 5 years of operation and future plans.