in the Mediterranean

Transcription

1 PIRATE in the Mediterranean Ulrich Kolb 1, Robert Lucas 1, Vadim Burwitz 2 (1) picetl & OU Physics & Astronomy (2) MPE Garching

2 PIRATE The picetlrobotic Astronomical Telescope Explorer Ulrich Kolb, Robert Lucas, Vadim Burwitz

3 Longitude E 2 57' 06'' Latitude N 39 38' 38'' Altitude 203 m PIRATE site Observatori Astronomic de Mallorca (OAM) host observatory of SXR208

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5 PIRATE in the 3.5 m AllSky dome (Baader Planetarium) August 2009

6 Guider Celestron aperture 80mm focal length 600mm SBIG camera ST402 ME 765 x 510 9µm 40 arcmin field of view Mount: Paramount ME (German equatorial mount) Main telescope Celestron inch (35.6 cm) aperture focal length 3910 mm SBIG camera STL1001E 1024 x µm 22 arcmin field of view 8 position filter wheel PIRATE first light: July 2008

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8 Software control and access Use of commercial Windows PC based software ACP: automated observatory control uses VB or Java scripts to execute telescope pointing and guiding, image acquisition Observer submits commands via ACP web interface Communicates with The Sky: driver for mount Maxim DL: camera control and data analysis and auxiliary free software Selected data can be inspected for quality, but bulk is transferred to high-speed OU server during daytime, for fast download to student PCs for analysis PIRATE webpage is entry portal to PIRATE tools PIRATE wiki contains Manual and Observer s Log

9 Robotic telescopes everywhere! 106 Robotic Astronomical Telescope (RAT) Projects (May 2008)

10 108 Robotic Astronomical Telescope Projects (April 2009) aperture 0.25m % PIRATE 0.25 < aperture 0.50m % 0.50 < aperture 0.75m % 0.75 < aperture 1.00m % 1.00 < aperture 1.25m 7 4.0% aperture > 1.25m % Proposed 2 1.9% Funded 2 1.9% Under construction % Being commissioned % In operation % from Hessman 2009, MONET webpage

11 Description Gamma-Ray Bursts Service observations Photometric monitoring Education All-sky surveys Exoplanet searches Supernovae search Asteroids Spectroscopy Astrometry AGN, Quasars (Micro-)Lensing Other uses Number of Ref.'s Percentage 22.1% 15.0% 10.0% 14.3% 8.6% 7.9% 7.1% 5.7% 2.9% 2.9% 2.9% 0.7% 5.7%

12 M20 Horner & Holmes, April 2009 M81

13 Access modes for a robotic telescope Local from the control room next to the telescope Remote observing same functionality as local observing, but by remote access for experienced, responsible observers only Only for tutors or experienced students after extensive training. Application: individual students, research, project

14 A PIRATE observation of the transiting exoplanet XO-1 Data taken by PhD student Stefan Holmes (Kolb & Haswell) Hans Deeg

15 Access modes, continued Active Internet Observing (Direct Mode) "browser-based" remote-observing, from anywhere with a broadband internet connection requires some training more restricted as compared with the previous modes For small groups of students (<6) with limited training and supervision Application 3 rd level: S382 Astrophysics, module 2 (starts 02/2010) Selection, monitoring and classification of unclassified variable stars in the SuperWASP archive

16 lightcurve of the magnetic cataclysmic variable HU Aqr (30 sec exposures, 172 frames, clear filter) h orbital period, mag maximum brightness relative magnitude 1 mag hours since h UT (JD )

17 Access modes, continued Passive Internet Observing over-the-shoulder version of browser-based remote observing no control of the telescope is possible watch what others are doing For large groups of students (100?) Use Elluminate for communication and PiSim tool Application S382 Astrophysics 1 st and 2 nd level courses

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19 Access modes, continued Robotic Observing (Service Mode) users submit observing requests into a queue, telescope software executes observations automatically when conditions are suitable most efficient and advanced mode Advanced use (research) To complete direct mode runs when students retire...

20 Summary Robotic Astronomical Telescopes (RATs) are used widely in research, as well as in teaching (often in a school context) RATs are inspirational and versatile tools for astronomy (distance) teaching Provide practical, hands-on component Provide live data of a large number of diverse science targets, established as well as new sources PIRATE started as a picetl demonstration installation with off-the shelf components - see and PIRATE is being transformed into a powerful and versatile teaching tool for small and large student groups, with tailored software development PIRATE has also research applications

21 Acknowledgements and Open University Stefan Holmes (OU PhD student; exoplanet research) Samantha Rolfe (Leicester & OU summer student) John Rostron (St.Andrews & OU summer student) John Barker (OU AL) Carole Haswell (OU) Vanessa Stroud(OU PhD student) OAM staff Salvador Sanchez (Director)