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Remote Operations and Nightly Automation of the Red Buttes Observatory

2016; Institute of Physics; Volume: 128; Issue: 968 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1088/1538-3873/128/968/105005

1538-3873

David C. Kasper, Tyler G. Ellis, Rex R. Yeigh, Henry A. Kobulnicky, Hannah Jang‐Condell, Mark Kelley, Gerald J. Bucher, James S. Weger,

Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation

We have implemented upgrades to the University of Wyoming's Red Buttes Observatory (RBO) to allow remote and autonomous operations using the 0.6 m telescope. Detailed descriptions of hardware and software components provide sufficient information to guide upgrading similarly designed telescopes. We also give a thorough description of the automated and remote operation modes with intent to inform the construction of routines elsewhere. Because the upgrades were largely driven by the intent to perform exoplanet transit photometry, we discuss how this science informed the automation process. A sample exoplanet transit observation serves to demonstrate RBO's capability to perform precision photometry. The successful upgrades have equipped a legacy observatory for a new generation of automated and rapid-response observations.