The exoplanet section of the Meshtitsa Backyard Observatory site outlines how a modest 25 cm Newtonian, paired with a cooled ASI 533 MM Pro camera, is routinely turned into a precision photometer for measuring the tiny dips caused when distant worlds cross in front of their host stars. Working through a Johnson V or R filters and 30 s (2×2-binned) exposures, the system reaches a single-transit precision of roughly 0.8 % (≈8 mmag) under Bortle-4 skies—sensitive enough to capture the shallow signatures of hot-Jupiters and Neptune-class planets. 

Instead of spreading its time thinly across hundreds of targets, the observatory follows a focused strategy:

• Refining ephemerides. By revisiting published systems months or years after discovery, it checks whether their predicted mid-transit times still hold. Even a five-minute drift can jeopardise planned space-telescope observations, so ground-based updates are vital.

• Ground support for TESS and CHEOPS. Newly flagged “Objects of Interest” with promising TESS light-curves are logged in global coordination sheets; Meshtitsa selects events that fit its longitude and weather window, adds them to its nightly scripts, and submits light-curves to the AAVSO and the Exoplanet Transit Database (ETD).

• Model-driven reduction. Raw FITS frames are calibrated, differentially photometrised, and then passed to AstroImageJ, where joint fits of transit shape, airmass, seeing, and meridian-flip terms yield depth, duration, and mid-time plus uncertainties. 

• Open data. Each processed observation—light-curve, finder chart, reduction notes—is uploaded to ETD within, and a summary is mirrored on the website so scientists can reuse the material. Small-telescope observers, when connected through shared databases and disciplined reduction practices, can still deliver professional-grade timing that keeps the ever-expanding list of known exoplanets on schedule for the world’s larger facilities.