everest

everest is an open-source pipeline for removing instrumental noise from light curves generated by K2. The code exploits correlations across the pixels on the Kepler CCD to remove systematics introduced by the spacecraft's pointing error, yielding light curves with precision comparable to that of the original Kepler mission. Check out the links at the top for the code, the paper, the documentation, and access to the MAST database of everest light curves.


Figure 1 Light curve of K2-32 (EPIC 205071984), a star slightly less massive than the Sun hosting at least four transiting planets. The top panel shows the raw simple aperture photometry (SAP) flux, which is dominated by the 6- and 12-hour thruster firing events designed to keep the spacecraft pointing relatively stable. The bottom panel shows the light curve after de-trending with everest, where the transits of three of the planets are clearly visible to the eye. For this target, everest improved the photometric precision of the light curve by more than a factor of ten.