We present the results of new multi-color CCD photometry for the contact binary XZ Leo, together with reasonable explanations for the period and light variations. Six new times of minimum light have been determined. A period study with all available timings confirms Qian's (2001) finding that the O-C residuals have varied secularly according to dP/dt = +8.20×10-8 d yr-l. This trend could be interpreted as a conservative mass transfer from the less massive cool secondary to the more massive hot primary in the system with a mass flow rate of about 5.37×10-8 M⊙ yr-l. By simultaneous analysis of our light curves and the previously published radial-velocity data, a consistent set of light and velocity parameters for XZ Leo is obtained. The small differences between the observed and theoretical light curves are modelled by a blue third light and by a hot spot near the neck of the primary component. Our period study does not support the tertiary light but the hot region which may be formed by gas streams from the cool secondary. The solution indicates that XZ Leo is a deep contact binary with the values of q=0.343, i=78°.8, Δ (T1-T2)=126 K, and f=33.6 %, differing much from those of Niarchos et al. (1994). Absolute parameters of XZ Leo are determined as follows: M1=1.84 M⊙, M2=0.63 M⊙, R1=1.75 R⊙, R2=1.10 R⊙, L1=7.19 L⊙, and L2=2.66 L⊙.

We completed four color light curves of the near-contact binary CN And during three nights from September to December 2004 using the 61-cm reflector and BV RI filters at Sobaeksan Observatory. We determined four new times of minimum light (two timings for primary eclipse, two for secondary). Newly obtained BV RI light curves and the radial velocity curves from Rucinski et a1. (2000) were simultaneously analyzed to derive the system parameters of CN And. We used the semi-detached mode 4 of the 2003-version of the Wilson-Devinney binary model, and interpreted the asymmetry of the light curve by introducing two spots; a cool spot on the primary component and a hot spot on the secondary component. New photometric parameters are not much different from those of Cicek et a1. (2005), and it is considered that the system is in the era of broken contact. From the orbital period study with all available timings including our data, we found a continous period decrease with a rate of Pobs = - -1.82 x 10-7 d yr-1 that can be explained with two possible mechanisms. We think the most likely cause of the period decrease is a thermal mass transfer from the primary to the secondary component, rather than angular momentum loss due to a magnetic stellar wind.

We have carried out photometric follow-up observations of bright transiting extrasolar planets using the CbNUOJ 0.6 m telescope. We have tested the possibility of obtaining high photometric precision by applying the telescope defocus technique, allowing the use of several hundred seconds in exposure time for a single measurement. We demonstrate that this technique is capable of obtaining a root-mean-square scatter of sub-millimagnitude order over several hours for a V ~10 host star, typical for transiting planets detected from ground-based survey facilities. We compared our results with transit observations from a telescope operated in in-focus mode. High photometric precision was obtained due to the collection of a larger amount of photons, resulting in a higher signal compared to other random and systematic noise sources. Accurate telescope tracking is likely to further contribute to lowering systematic noise by exposing the same pixels on the CCD. Furthermore, a longer exposure time helps reduce the effect of scintillation noise which otherwise has a significant effect for small-aperture telescopes operated in in-focus mode. Finally we present the results of modelling four light-curves in which a root-mean-square scatter of 0.70 to 2.3 milli-magnitudes was achieved.