Taos Ii: The Robotic Operations

Abstract

In this work, we present the general procedure for the robotic observations of the Transneptunian Automated Occultation Survey (TAOS II). The project aims to detect small TNOs (Transneptunian Objects) by serendipitous stellar occultations. To do so TAOS II will operate three 1.3 m telescopes equipped with CMOS cameras which are able to read about 10,000 stars in multiple subapertures at a 20 Hz cadence. At such rates, it will be possible to identify diffraction features in the lightcurves, helping us to estimate a distance and object size to each occultation event. TAOS II is installed in the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional in San Pedro Mártir, Ensenada, México (OAN-SPM). The site has good observing conditions, typically with around 260 useful nights per year. Here, we describe the different process to be performed in a typical observing night: system start up and shut down, monitoring observing conditions, acquisition of calibration images, field selection, pointing, camera synchronization, determination of aperture sizes and positions, and high speed image acquisition.

SAINT (Small Aperture Imaging Network Telescope)—A Wide-Field Telescope Complex for Detecting and Studying Optical Transients at Times from Milliseconds to Years

“…In the second observation mode, we are talking about the longest possible registration of the radiation of a certain object in anticipation of changes in its characteristics (intensity, spectrum, polarization, etc.). An outstanding example of this kind of TAOS II program is the search for trans-Neptunian planets by their occultations of 10,000 stars, whose long-term simultaneous monitoring of high temporal resolution (exposure-50 ms) in individual subapertures is carried out using three telescopes with a diameter of 1.3 m [21]. Another classic example is the monitoring of UV Cet-type stars to study their flare activity using the largest telescopes.…”