Swarthmore Home :: Swarthmore College€¦ · Created Date: 9/18/2019 10:46:25 AM
Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las...
-
Upload
charlotte-harris -
Category
Documents
-
view
222 -
download
0
Transcript of Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las...
![Page 1: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera
• John E. Gaustad• Swarthmore College
• Wayne Rosing• Las Cumbres
Observatory
![Page 2: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
SHASSASouthern H-Alpha Sky Survey Atlas
![Page 3: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Survey Properties
• Coverage: declination +15 to -90• Image size: 13 x 13 degrees• Image resolution: 0.8 arcminutes• Images to cover the sky: 283• Sensitivity: 2 rayleigh (50X better than POSS)• Purpose:
– study structure of ISM – set limits on free-free contribution to microwave
foreground
![Page 4: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
We difference line and continuum images:
![Page 5: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
![Page 6: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Equipment
• 50 mm f/1.6 Canon lens
• Spectrasource CCD camera, TE cooled
• 1024x1024 TI chip, 12 micron pixels
• Filters: 3 nm H-, 6 nm dual-band cont.
• Byers German mount
• 10-foot dome from Technical Innovations
• Two PCs, Win95, Visual Basic & IDL
![Page 7: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Location: Cerro Tololo (Chile)
![Page 8: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
![Page 9: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
![Page 10: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Lessons Learned
![Page 11: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
It Will Take Longer Than You Think
• Dec ’92 DVB “We ought to do a survey.”• ’93-’96 Pilot study• Apr ’96 Pilot study paper published• Jul ’94 First NSF proposal rejected• Jul ’95 JG met WR at Pittsburg AAS• May ’96 Second NSF proposal funded• Nov ’97 First observations at CTIO• Oct ’00 Observations completed• Nov’01 Survey published in PASP
![Page 12: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Robotic is Good
• Robots don’t need much space– But the people who set them up do – plan
plenty of space for people to move around while installing and repairing
• Robots don’t get bored
• Robots don’t have to be paid – relatively cheap project
![Page 13: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
SHASSA Project Cost• Las Cumbres Obs. 40,000• Dudley Observatory 10,000• Fund for Astr. Res. 5,000• AAS 3,000• Keck NE Ast. Cons. 15,000• Swarthmore College 27,000• NSF-9529057 54,000• NSF-9900622 48,000• NASA-JPL 15,000• TOTAL $217,000
• Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper2 million
• Two-micron All Sky Survey20 million
• Sloan Digital Sky Survey 100 million
• Microwave Anisotropy Probe 180 million
• SHASSA 0.2 million• = 1 deci-wham• = 1 centi-2mass• = 2 milli-sloan• = 1 milli-map
![Page 14: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Humans Are Useful
• A truly unattended instrument is costly• Location at an established facility gives
– easy access during setup and testing– logistic support, power, network access, etc.– local staff able to make minor repairs, reboot
computers, etc.– human judgments on weather and safety
(communicated by email to the robot)– camaraderie with other scientists
![Page 15: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Perfection is Unattainable
• There is no such thing as an uninterruptible power supply
• Computers do fail:– add cooling fans to power supplies and CPUs– record data redundantly on separate disks
• Learn when to say “this is good enough” – rely on humans for the rest
![Page 16: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Keep It Simple
• Use a simple shelter, such as a roll-off roof, not a dome
• Use separate computers for telescope control, camera control, and communications, so these tasks don’t interfere with each other
• Use a computer system compatible with the local network
• Invest in accurate telescope drives, so guiding and focusing is not an issue
![Page 17: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Test, Test, Test
• Pre-deploy a trial computer at the remote site for a few months, in order to identify power supply, network reliability, and communications problems
• Integrate and operate the ENTIRE system at home before deploying to a remote site
• Allocate a month or more for initial installation and testing at the remote site
![Page 18: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Do a Pilot Study
• Helps to clarify scientific goals
• Identifies technical problems
• If it ends up with publishable results, establishes credibility with funding agencies
![Page 19: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Benefits of Amateur-Professional Collaboration
![Page 20: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Point of View of Amateur
• Professionals provided– knowledge of scientific goals– credibility with funding agencies, observatory
directors, journal editors– project management– data reduction skills– experience in writing scientific papers
![Page 21: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Point of View of Professional
• Amateur provided– high-quality instrumentation– technical expertise– engineering time– enthusiasm, confidence, and dedication
• This meant the project could be done at much lower cost to funding agencies than would otherwise be possible.
![Page 22: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Would We Do It Again?
Yes!
But with more realistic expectations of
time and effort involved.
In fact, we are now repeating the survey at
the wavelengths of [SII] and [OIII] lines
![Page 23: Surveying the Southern Sky with a Robotic Camera John E. Gaustad Swarthmore College Wayne Rosing Las Cumbres Observatory.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022062314/56649de35503460f94ada39d/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
http://amundsen.swarthmore.edu/SHASSA