ABSTRACT. We introduce PIRATE, a new remotely operable telescope facility for use in research and education, constructed from off-the-shelf hardware, operated by The Open University. We focus on the PIRATE Mark 1 operational phase, in which PIRATE was equipped with a widely used 0.35 m Schmidt-Cassegrain system (now replaced with a 0.425 m corrected Dall-Kirkham astrograph). Situated at the Observatori Astronòmic de Mallorca, PIRATE is currently used to follow up potential transiting extrasolar planet candidates produced by the SuperWASP North experiment, as well as to hunt for novae in M31 and other nearby galaxies. It is operated by a mixture of commercially available software and proprietary software developed at the Open University. We discuss problems associated with performing precision time-series photometry when using a German Equatorial Mount, investigating the overall performance of such off-the-shelf solutions in both research and teaching applications. We conclude that PIRATE is a cost-effective research facility, and it also provides exciting prospects for undergraduate astronomy. PIRATE has broken new ground in offering practical astronomy education to distance-learning students in their own homes.

Biomarker molecules, such as amino acids, are key to discovering whether life exists elsewhere in the Solar System. Raman spectroscopy, a technique capable of detecting biomarkers, will be on board future planetary missions including the ExoMars rover. Generally, the position of the strongest band in the spectra of amino acids is reported as the identifying band. However, for an unknown sample, it is desirable to define multiple characteristic bands for molecules to avoid any ambiguous identification. To date, there has been no definition of multiple characteristic bands for amino acids of interest to astrobiology. This study examined l-alanine, l-aspartic acid, l-cysteine, l-glutamine and glycine and defined several Raman bands per molecule for reference as characteristic identifiers. Per amino acid, 240 spectra were recorded and compared using established statistical tests including ANOVA. The number of characteristic bands defined were 10, 12, 12, 14 and 19 for l-alanine (strongest intensity band: 832 cm-1), l-aspartic acid (938 cm-1), l-cysteine (679 cm-1), l-glutamine (1090 cm−1) and glycine (875 cm-1), respectively. The intensity of bands differed by up to six times when several points on the crystal sample were rotated through 360 °; to reduce this effect when defining characteristic bands for other molecules, we find that spectra should be recorded at a statistically significant number of points per sample to remove the effect of sample rotation. It is crucial that sets of characteristic Raman bands are defined for biomarkers that are targets for future planetary missions to ensure a positive identification can be made.

This paper is one in a series reporting results from small telescope observations of variable young stars. Here, we study the repeating outbursts of three likely Be stars based on long-term optical, near-infrared, and mid-infrared photometry for all three objects, along with follow-up spectra for two of the three. The sources are characterised as rare, truly regularly outbursting Be stars. We interpret the photometric data within a framework for modelling light curve morphology, and find that the models correctly predict the burst shapes, including their larger amplitudes and later peaks towards longer wavelengths. We are thus able to infer the start and end times of mass loading into the circumstellar disks of these stars. The disk sizes are typically 3 – 6 times the areas of the central star. The disk temperatures are ∼40 %, and the disk luminosities are ∼10 % of those of the central Be star, respectively. The available spectroscopy is consistent with inside-out evolution of the disk. Higher excitation lines have larger velocity widths in their double-horned shaped emission profiles. Our observations and analysis support the decretion disk model for outbursting Be stars.

<p>Multi-AXis (MAX)-DOAS instruments record spectra of scattered sun light under different elevation angles. From such measurements tropospheric vertical column densities (VCDs) and vertical profiles of different atmospheric trace gases and aerosols can be determined for the lower troposphere. These measurements allow a simultaneous observation of multiple trace gases (e.g. HCHO, CHOCHO, NO<sub>2</sub>, etc.) with the same measurement setup. Since November 2018, a MAX-DOAS instrument is operated at the Bayfordbury Observatory, which is located approximately 30 km north of London. This measurement site is operated by the University of Hertfordshire and equipped with an AERONET station, a LIDAR and multiple instruments to measure meteorological quantities and solar radiation. Depending on the prevailing wind direction the air masses at the measurement site can be dominated by the pollution of London (SE to SW winds) or rather pristine air (northerly winds). Therefore, this measurement site is well suited to study the influence of anthropogenic pollution on the atmospheric composition and chemistry at a rather pristine location in the vicinity of London, a major European capital with 9.8 million inhabitants and 4 major international airports.</p><p>In this study, trace gas and aerosol profiles are retrieved using the MAinz Profile Algorithm MAPA (Beirle et al., 2018) with a focus on tropospheric formaldehyde (HCHO) which plays an important role in tropospheric chemistry. The HCHO results are combined with the results of other trace species such as NO<sub>2</sub>, CHOCHO and aerosols in order to identify different chemical regimes and pollution levels.</p>

<p>Multi-AXis (MAX)-Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements use spectra of scattered sun light recorded under different elevation angles. Such measurements allow the retrievals of tropospheric vertical column densities (VCDs) and aerosol optical depths (AODs) as well as vertical profiles of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols for the lower troposphere. Further, this kind of measurement enables the simultaneous observation of multiple trace gases, e.g. formaldehyde (HCHO), glyoxal (CHOCHO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>), with one measurement setup. Together with international partners, we run several long-term MAX-DOAS measurements at different places around the globe and conducted intensive measurement campaigns at various locations. These campaign data sets include both stationary and mobile (car and ship MAX-DOAS) measurements. For our measurements self-built so-called Tube MAX-DOAS instruments were used which cover a wavelength range of approximately 302 to 465 nm with a FWHM of around 0.65 nm.</p><p>In the presented study, we focus on measurements of tropospheric formaldehyde which is mainly secondarily produced by reactions from precursor substances. However, in small amounts it can also be emitted directly by anthropogenic and biogenic activities. Further, HCHO plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry. As secondarily produced HCHO is an intermediate product of basic oxidation cycles of other hydrocarbons (also referred to as volatile organic compounds (VOCs)) observations of HCHO can be used as an indicator for VOCs. Since our measurements were taken at different places with different underlying meteorological and environmental conditions, our large data set allows to gain insights into the contributions from different sources and chemical processes covering various geographic and environmental conditions. Here, it is important to note that compared to satellite instruments, MAX-DOAS instruments have a much higher sensitivity to boundary layer HCHO (by a factor of 10 or more).</p><p>In this presentation we try to identify different pollution levels, source contributions and chemical regimes of formaldehyde by combining HCHO VCDs, surface values and profiles with the same properties of other trace species such as NO<sub>2</sub>, CHOCHO and aerosols. The results will be compared for four measurement sites, namely the stations at Mainz/Germany, Bayfordbury/United Kingdom, Mohali/India and the Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) measurement site/Brasil.</p>