Jitter Correction Algorithms for theCOROTSatellite Mission: Validation with Test Bench Data andMOSTOn‐Orbit Photometry

We demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of photometric correction algorithms for satellite pointing jitter in the upcoming space mission COROT , which will study asteroseismology and search for exoplanets. Two algorithms based on model‐based estimation and decorrelation are tested in two ways: (1) with artificial light sources in the COROT CCD test bench, and (2) with on‐orbit photometry from the Canadian MOST ( Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars ) satellite. Both algorithms effectively correct for pointing jitter to yield the expected results based on the inputs. The test with MOST data on a multiperiodic pulsating star demonstrates that the model‐based estimation method recovers the oscillation signals better, while the decorrelation technique is more reliable if a poor model of the point‐spread function is applied to the data. Therefore, the two algorithms complement one another and should both be applied to COROT photometry.