Implementation and Operation of a Robotic Telescope on Skynet
2016; Institute of Physics; Volume: 128; Issue: 963 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1088/1538-3873/128/963/055002
ISSN1538-3873
AutoresA. B. Smith, D. B. Caton, R. L. Hawkins,
Tópico(s)Astronomy and Astrophysical Research
ResumoWe describe the implementation of a remotely operated telescope on the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network, a system developed and run by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Our telescope, operated by Appalachian State University at its Dark Sky Observatory, runs robotically on this queue-scheduled system, automatically taking calibration images and acquiring program images, and responding to Internet commands to image the afterglow of accessible Gamma-Ray Burst events. We describe the process of implementing a Skynet-run telescope from our client-side view, and offer advice for others who might consider putting telescopes on Skynet. The implementation has proven very successful, obtaining over a hundred thousand images over the past six years, of various targets for research and educational purposes, and has responded to several GRB observation requests with several afterglow detections.
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