Cool Stars 14 - Submitted Abstract # 212
This version created on 05 October 2006

The Global Network of Astronomical Telescopes (GNAT) as a Source of
Cool Star Photometry


Eric R. Craine, GNAT/WRC
Adam K. Kraus, CalTech
Mark S. Giampapa, NOAO/NSO
William Sherry, NOAO/NSO
Roy A. Tucker, GPO

The Global Network of Astronomical Telescopes (GNAT) is developing a
longitudinally distributed network of scan-mode telescopes following
an instrument design for the Moving Object and Transient Event Search
System (MOTESS), implemented in Tucson, Arizona.  The GNAT network is
embarking on a program of extended sky surveys producing CCD
photometry.  Preliminary experiments are being conducted with six
years of data collection covering two declination bands:  +03d18m and
+02d05m.  The imaged bands are 48-arcmin wide with detection limits of
R > 19.  GNAT has developed a comprehensive data pipeline for
extracting photometric measurements of all of the stars observed in
each of the discrete declination bands observed with the scan-mode
system.  The first band (the MG1 Survey) has been reduced to
photometric observations of about 1.6 million stars of which at least
26,000  have been identified as new candidate variable stars.  Of
these, 5,271 are periodic at the 99% confidence level.  Only 59 of
these stars appear in the General Catalog of Variable Stars.  The MG1
Variable Star Catalog (MG1-VSC) is a rich source of new candidates for
a variety of studies, including many studies related to properties of
cool stars.  We describe the form and content of the MG1-VSC and
report on some of the projects underway to characterize cool stars
that appear in these data.

----------------------------------