Astro-COLIBRI: a new platform for real-time multi-messenger astrophysics

Abstract

In recent decades, astronomy and astrophysics have experienced several fundamental changes. On one hand, there has been a significant increase in the observation of transient phenomena, which are short-lived events such as supernova explosions, fast radio bursts, and gamma-ray bursts. In addition, the detection of a growing number of different cosmic messengers provides researchers with crucial information about these objects. For example, the detection of high-energy neutrinos and gravitational waves regularly complements traditional astronomical observations in the electromagnetic spectrum. This trend is expected to intensify in the coming years with the commissioning of a wide variety of next-generation observatories, which will enable more in-depth studies of the transient sky.To enhance our understanding and optimize the observations of these phenomena, we have developed the Astro-COLIBRI platform. It is freely available to amateur and professional astronomers in the form of a smartphone application (iOS and Android), a web interface (https://astro-colibri.com), an API (https://astro-colibri.science), and a chatbot 'Astro-COLIBRI GPT', among many other features. Astro-COLIBRI serves as a central access point for information on astrophysical sources and transient events, allowing a wide network of observers to track and receive real-time alerts.Here we highlight the key features of Astro-COLIBRI, with a particular emphasis on recent innovations. These include a discussion forum that facilitates user interactions and our strengthened collaboration with various networks of amateur astronomers.

tilepy: rapid tiling strategies in mid/small FoV observatories

“…Figure 2: Tilepy observation plan displayed in the Astro-COLIBRI web frontend (https:astro-colibri.com)[9] …”