Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · astro-ph/0209477

A Distributed Control System for Rapid Astronomical Transient Detection

J. Wren·K. Borozdin·S. Brumby·D. Casperson·M. Galassi·K. McGowan·D. Starr·W. T. Vestrand·R. White·P. Wozniak
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The Rapid Telescope for Optical Response (RAPTOR) program consists of a network of robotic telescopes dedicated to the search for fast optical transients. The pilot project is composed of three observatories separated by approximately 38 kilometers located near Los Alamos, New Mexico. Each of these observatories is composed of a telescope, mount, enclosure, and weather station, all operating robotically to perform individual or coordinated transient searches. The telescopes employ rapidly slewing mounts capable of slewing a 250 pound load 180 degrees in under 2 seconds with arcsecond precision. Each telescope consists of wide-field cameras for transient detection and a narrow-field camera with greater resolution and sensitivity. The telescopes work together by employing a closed-loop system for transient detection and follow-up. Using the combined data from simultaneous observations, transient alerts are generated and distributed via the Internet. Each RAPTOR telescope also has the capability of rapidly responding to external transient alerts received over the Internet from a variety of ground-based and satellite sources. Each observatory may be controlled directly, remotely, or robotically while providing state-of-health and observational results to the client and the other RAPTOR observatories. We discuss the design and implementation of the spatially distributed RAPTOR system.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

J. Wren, K. Borozdin, S. Brumby, D. Casperson, M. Galassi, K. McGowan, D. Starr, W. T. Vestrand, R. White, P. Wozniak. 2002-09-23. A Distributed Control System for Rapid Astronomical Transient Detection. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.459507

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Frame covariance of CMBR lensing in the exact 1+3 covariant radiation hierarchy

The exact $1+3$ covariant Boltzmann hierarchy for the cosmic microwave background contains acceleration, shear and vorticity couplings whose coefficients grow linearly in $\ell$. We show that all are the multipole form of the aberration operator in the photon Liouville equation. Under a change of threading, this operator shifts by the along-ray generator of a Lorentz boost. The acceleration coupling of $\ell$ to $\ell\pm1$ and the shear coupling of $\ell$ to $\ell\pm2$ are therefore frame-covariant descriptions of the same operator, related by an algebraic, pointwise relabelling of direction. With emitter and observer frames fixed, the observed sky is independent of the intermediate threading at every $\ell$. We derive this in $1+3$ covariant and gauge-invariant variables without constructing second-order gauge-invariant variables. The $O(ε^2\ell)$ content is gravitational lensing, as known in metric variables. Linearisation about a Friedmann--Lemaître--Robertson--Walker background removes these couplings, requiring lensing to be reinstated from the geodesic equation. Keeping the threading arbitrary makes frame covariance explicit and places observer aberration in the same operator. In the Newtonian threading we compute both halves of the deflection: the equivalence-principle contribution enters through aberration, while the spatial-curvature contribution arises from free streaming on perturbed spatial sections and reduces to the same operator. The lensing efficiency follows from the direction derivative. The angular-power-spectrum contribution is quartic in the potential: for a deflection statistically independent of the source, the two fourth-order terms carrying $\ell^2$ cancel where the spectrum is smooth on the deflection scale, and lensing redistributes power without adding ensemble variance.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2026

Cosmic Conundrums with Quantum Corrections

Darh energy was discovered over 25 years ago and we do not have an explanation of it. Dark matter comprises 95% of matter in the universe and we still don't know what it is. The Webb telescope has been finding fully formed galaxies with massive black holes millions of times the mass of the sun in the early universe and we don't have any explanation. A quantum density limitation will be used to solve these and other outstanding problems.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2026

On binary pulsars and the force of gravity

The energy-momentum budget of the astrophysical systems can be studied by the exact local conservation equation derived by Landau and Lifshitz. We show that a similar equation is valid for the Einstein-Cartan gravity. We reanalyze a binary pulsar system using the Landau-Lifshitz conservation equation and show that the orbital period change rate can be completely understood as a curvature backreaction process. Taking into account the detailed theoretical and observational research of relativistic binary pulsar systems, especially the system of Hulse and Taylor, we conclude that general relativity and astrophysical observations rule out the existence of gravitational radiation. We comment upon the LIGO GW events and their alternative explanation, as well as the recent pulsar timing arrays data.

astro-ph↗