Automated System for Synoptic Photometry and Spectroscopy

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

9305721 Honeycutt A new telescope will be installed and equipped with advanced instrumentation for automated photometry and spectroscopy. Information on the time variability of astronomical objects is often critical to understanding the nature and evolution of stars and galaxies. This new telescope will provide a way to acquire data on a variety of time scales in an efficient manner that does not require the astronomer's presence at the telescope. This is a new capability for stellar spectroscopy whose feasibility has only recently been demonstrated. The objects to be studied include cataclysmic variable stars (CVs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Members of the CV class include dwarf novae and novae. This new telescope will provide a long-term photometric and spectroscopic monitoring of several kinds of CVs. Such observations bear critically on poorly-understood evolutionary relations between the numerous CV types. The optical variability of AGNs and other kinds of high energy source will also be monitored with the new telescope. These observations will be correlated with measures at other wavelengths and with particle detector experiments. The methods to be employed in this work are charge-coupled-device (CCD) photometry and CCD echelle spectroscopy. The instrumentation will be carefully matched to the telescope and to the detectors to provide optimized sensitivity. The completed telescope will also be used extensively for student training in astronomical research, in astronomical techniques, and in low-light-level instrumentation. ***