Wayne Rosing

The Palomar Transient Factory: System Overview, Performance, and First Results

The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) is a fully-automated, wide-field survey aimed at a systematic exploration of the optical transient sky. The transient survey is performed using a new 8.1 square degree camera installed on the 48 inch Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory; colors and light curves for detected transients are obtained with the automated Palomar 60 inch telescope. PTF uses 80% of the 1.2 m and 50% of the 1.5 m telescope time. With an exposure of 60 s the survey reaches a depth of m_(g′) ≈ 21.3 and m_R ≈ 20.6 (5σ, median seeing). Four major experiments are planned for the five-year project: (1) a 5 day cadence supernova search; (2) a rapid transient search with cadences between 90 s and 1 day; (3) a search for eclipsing binaries and transiting planets in Orion; and (4) a 3π sr deep H-alpha survey. PTF provides automatic, real-time transient classification and follow-up, as well as a database including every source detected in each frame. This paper summarizes the PTF project, including several months of on-sky performance tests of the new survey camera, the observing plans, and the data reduction strategy. We conclude by detailing the first 51 PTF optical transient detections, found in commissioning data.

A Robotic Wide‐Angle Hα Survey of the Southern Sky

ABSTRACT We have completed a robotic wide‐angle imaging survey of the southern sky ( \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage[OT2,OT1]{fontenc} \newcommand\cyr{ \renewcommand\rmdefault{wncyr} \renewcommand\sfdefault{wncyss} \renewcommand\encodingdefault{OT2} \normalfont \selectfont} \DeclareTextFontCommand{\textcyr}{\cyr} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document} \landscape

A Wide-Angle Hα Image of the LMC

\delta =+15^{\circ }

LCOGT network observatory operations

\end{document} to −90°) at 656.3 nm wavelength, the Hα emission line of hydrogen. Each image of the resulting Southern Hα Sky Survey Atlas (SHASSA) covers an area of the sky 13° square at an angular resolution of approximately 0 \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepa...

Science Operations for LCOGT - a Global Telescope Network

We are conducting a wide-angle Hα survey of the southern sky at CTIO using a robotic CCD camera. The survey consists of 283 fields covering the sky from δ = −90° to δ = +10°, with the same centers as those in the IRAS Sky Survey Atlas. As of July 1, 1998, it was about 45% complete. When all the images are obtained and fully processed, the survey will be made available to the scientific community on the web and on CD-ROM.

A Robotic Wide-Angle H α Survey of the Southern Sky

We describe the operational capabilities of the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. We summarize our hardware and software for maintaining and monitoring network health. We focus on methodologies to utilize the automated system to monitor availability of sites, instruments and telescopes, to monitor performance, permit automatic recovery, and provide automatic error reporting. The same jTCS control system is used on telescopes of apertures 0.4m, 0.8m, 1m and 2m, and for multiple instruments on each. We describe our network operational model, including workloads, and illustrate our current tools, and operational performance indicators, including telemetry and metrics reporting from on-site reductions. The system was conceived and designed to establish effective, reliable autonomous operations, with automatic monitoring and recovery - minimizing human intervention while maintaining quality. We illustrate how far we have been able to achieve that.

Deployment status of the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope

The Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network comprises nine 1-meter and two 2-meter telescopes, all robotic and dynamically scheduled, at five sites spanning the globe. Instrumentation includes optical imagers and low-dispersion spectrographs. A suite of high-dispersion, high-stability spectrographs is being developed for deployment starting late this year. The network has been designed and built to allow regular monitoring of time-variable or moving objects with any cadence, as well as rapid response to external alerts. Our intent is to operate it in a totally integrated way, both in terms of scheduling and in terms of data quality. The unique attributes of the LCOGT network make it different enough from any existing facility that alternative approaches to optimize science productivity can be considered. The LCOGT network V1.0 began full science operations this year. It is being used in novel ways to undertake investigations related to supernovae, microlensing events, solar system objects, and exoplanets. The network’s user base includes a number of partners, who are providing resources to the collaboration. A key project program brings together many of these partners to carry out large projects. In the long term, our vision is to operate the network as a part of a time-domain system, in which pre-planned monitoring observations are interspersed with autonomously detected and classified events from wide-area surveys.

LCOGT sites and site operations

We have completed a robotic wide-angle imaging survey of the southern sky (δ = +15 to −90) at 656.3 nm wavelength, the Hα emission line of hydrogen. Each image of the resulting Southern H-Alpha Sky Survey Atlas (SHASSA) covers an area of the sky 13 square at an angular resolution of approximately 0.8 arcminute, and reaches a sensitivity level of 2 rayleigh (1.2 × 10 erg cm s arcsec) per pixel, corresponding to an emission measure of 4 cm pc, and to a brightness temperature for microwave free-free emission of 12 μK at 30 GHz. Smoothing over several pixels allows features as faint as 0.5 rayleigh to be detected. Subject headings: surveys—instrumentation: miscellaneous—techniques: image processing—ISM: structure—H II regions—cosmic microwave background Cottrell Scholar of Research Corporation Wide-Angle Hα Survey of the Southern Sky 2

LCOGT Telescope network capabilities

Our global network of telescopes is designed to provide maximally available optical monitoring of time variable sources, from solar system to extra-galactic objects, and ranging in brightness from about 7-20m. We are providing a distributed network with varied apertures but homogeneous instrumentation: optical imaging, with spectroscopic capabilities. A key component is a single centralized process that accepts (in real time) and schedules TAC approved observing requests across the network; then continuously updates schedules based on status, weather and other availability criteria. Requests range from occasional to continuous monitoring, at slow to high-speed cadences (imaging and fast photometry), and includes rapid response to targets of opportunity. Each node of the network must be fully autonomous, with software agents to control and monitor all functions, to provide auto-recovery as necessary, and to announce their status and capabilities up the control structure. Real-time monitoring or interaction by humans should be infrequent. Equipment is designed to be reliable over long periods to minimize hands-on maintenance, by local or LCOGT staff. Our first 1m deployment was to McDonald Obs. in April 2012. Eight more 1m telescopes are close to deployment to complete the Southern ring, scheduled by end-2012.

A global network of robotic telescopes

LCOGT is currently building and deploying a world-wide network of at least twelve 1-meter and twenty-four 0.4-meter telescopes to as many as 4 sites in the Southern hemisphere (Chile, South Africa, Eastern Australia) and 4 in the Northern hemisphere (Hawaii, West Texas, Canary Islands). Our deployment and operations model emphasizes modularity and interchangeability of major components, maintenance and troubleshooting personnel who are local to the site, and autonomy of operation. We plan to ship, install, and spare large units (in many cases entire telescopes), with minimal assembly on site.