TESS follow-up of TOIs using the Whipple Observatory

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS; Ricker 2015) is currently in its fifth year of operation observing a second scan of the Northern ecliptic hemisphere before observing a new scan of the Southern hemisphere. As of October 2022, TESS has released close to 6000 TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs). The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian has been a workhorse for the TESS Follow-up Observing Program (TFOP) using the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO) to do important follow-up vetting and classification of TOIs. The Tillinghast Reflector Echelle Spectrograph (TRES) is mounted on the 1.5m Tillinghast Reflector at FLWO. It is an optical (390-910nm), fiber-fed spectrograph with a resolving power of R~44,000. As part of the TFOP subgroup for reconnaissance spectroscopy, we observe all TOIs, north of Declination -30 and brighter than V~13.5, to check for false positive scenarios such as stellar companions, composite spectra, and rapid rotation, all which would make the confirmation of a planetary companion too complex. Extracted spectra, quick-look classification plots, and stellar parameters, determined by the Stellar Parameter Classification Tool (SPC;Buchhave 2012), are uploaded to the community repository, ExoFOP, which is hosted by NASA and Caltech. Additionally, using the 1.2m optical telescope at FLWO, with the 4Kx4k KeplerCam detector and pixel scale of 0.672"/pix (with 2x2 binning), we vet TOIs for false positives through the TFOP subgroup focused on seeing-limited photometry. TESS has 21 arsecond pixels on the sky so multiple stars often fall on one TESS pixel. Ground-based photometry, where the stars can be resolved, is essential in determining if the signal detected by TESS is coming from the target star or a nearby star that is possibly an eclipsing binary diluting the TESS signal. All results from KeplerCam are also uploaded to ExoFOP promptly to encourage community collaboration and limit the duplication of efforts. This poster will summarize the CfA spectroscopic and photometric TESS follow-up efforts through the beginning of Year 5 of the TESS mission.