The EXPLORER detector is operated by Italian ROG collaboration currently led by Eugenio Coccia. The detector is located in CERN near Geneva.

As far as we are aware this is the first ever all-sky search for continuous sources using data from a gravitational-wave detector.

The analysis has been performed by a team consisting of Pia Astone, Kaz Borkowski, Piotr Jaranowski, Andrzej Królak and Maciej Pietka and is carried out on the basis of Memorandum of Understanding between the ROG and Institute of Mathematics of Polish Academy of Sciences.

The search is run by a network of computers acquired through grants from Polish Science Committee (KBN), computers in ICM, computers at UwB and IMPAN (see Bulletin No 1).

The data analysis tools that we use in this search were described in the paper "Data analysis of gravitational-wave signals from spinning neutron stars. IV. An all-sky search". First results of our search are presented in All-sky upper limit for gravitational radiation from spinning neutron stars.

In September 2003 a workshop was held in the Banach Center in Warsaw entitled "Mathematics of Gravitation II" where results of the all-sky search were presented and discussed with members of the gravitational-wave community.

The above pictures are a flat representation of the heavenly sphere north (upper picture) and south (the lower one) of the celestial equator. They are given in the so called parallel projection (in which the radial distance is mapped as the cosine of declination). The right ascension coordinate, measured in hours (0 to 24), has the origin at the bottom (marked with a 0) of northern hemisphere and is there clockwise positive. On the southern hemisphere the top point concides with the origin of the right ascension, which is measured counterclockwise. The declination circles are drawn every 10 degrees, outermost circle or the celestial equator corresponding to 0 degrees. On these maps areas already searched in our project are shown by dark and light red dots. These two shades of red correspond respectively to odd and even numbered jobs (usually computers). In this particular projection the dots cluster to form straight strips. The same data superimposed on sky maps in different projection and in the galactic frame of coordinate reference are given on a separate page.
These maps are updated monthly.

More details on the progress of the search are given in our monthly bulletins:

    Another search based on our tools and carried out in Rome and Bologna on different data set after fast progress since March 2003 has been completed on May 14, 2003. Yet another similar undertaking has finished in August 2003. These were described in Astone et al. (2005).