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Building the Sonoma State University Robotic Telescope
Gordon G. SpearDepartment of Physics and Astronomy
Sonoma State University
I am here to represent...
Those people who want to build a robotic telescope
Those people who have a telescope and want to make it robotic
Those people who we want to participate in a scalable and sustainable automated telescope network
What is a robotic telescope?
A robotic telescope consists of a computer controlled telescope and CCD camera with an integrated control system.
A robotic telescope must be scriptable so that a sequence of observations can be automated.
Scriptable telescope mount
Point to arbitrary RA and DEC to within a few arcminutes. Track to within a few arcseconds for up to several minutes. Avoid wrapping cables around mount. Successfully move through “trouble spots” on the sky.
– meridian, zenith, pole
Know the horizon limits for the mount. Always capable of moving to a safe home position.
Scriptable CCD camera
Control camera settings– including exposure time– including camera temperature
Control position of filter wheel Save images for later recovery Take dark frames Take flat field frames
Further capabilities required for a robotic telescope system
Power on/off Open/close roof and/or adjust dome Verify focus Synchronize telescope with sky Verify field and/or adjust telescope pointing Generate log of all saved images
Proposed categories for robotic telescopes
Manual Telescope (MT) Computer Controlled Telescope (CT) Robotic Telescope (RT)
– manual mode (RT-M)– remote accessibility (RT-R)– real time interactivity (RT-I)– autonomous (RT-A)
Some established robotic telescope systems
The Bradford Telescope The University of Iowa Telescope The Fairborn Observatory The Hanna City Robotic Observatory The URSA System (under construction)
The Fairborn Telescope Farm
The Hanna City Robotic Observatory
URSA Undergraduate Research Studies in Astronomy
An example of a robotic system that has been built from scratch
Claud Lacy, University of Arkansas
•The URSA welcome screen
•The URSA observation request page
•The URSA observing model
http://telescope.uark.edu
Active testing will begin fall 2001. Routine use by students will begin sometime in 2002.
How can I get one of these cool robotic telescope systems?
A Robotic Telescopic Model
What should the ideal robotic telescope model provide?
Control for telescopes, CCD cameras, and other instrumentation that is scriptable. ASCOM is an excellent example.
A universal web interface that is easy to use and to understand. RTML is an excellent example.
A central engine for accepting requests, establishing priorities, scheduling observations, archiving data, and advising users of completed observations.
Central Controller
observing list
observing log
DATA to
happy observerdata archive
camera commands
telescope commands
TELESCOPE
CAMERA data
What are the available options for building a robotic telescope?
Hire a commercial engineering firm. Purchase an off-the-shelf system. Upgrade an existing system using
interoperable components. Build a new system independently from
scratch.
Some possible commercial sources for robotic telescopes
Optical Guidance Systems (OGS) Software Bisque Meade (?) Celestron (??)
Possible resources for building robotic telescopes Software Bisque Comsoft (PC-TCS) DC-3 Dreams (Astronomer’s Control Program) ASCOM ATIS Jeff Medkiff’s robotic astronomy site RTML The Robotic Telescope Resource Site at SSUO this conference
The SSU Observatory and its Telescopes
So, where is the SSU observatory anyway?
The Epoch Telescope
The ST-7 CCD camera on the Epoch telescope
Close-up of the ST-7
The C14 telescope ...and some computers
In the command seatfor the Epoch telescope...
This is currently where the “robot”
that makes
everything happen must sit.
Science at SSUO
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) Eclipsing Binaries (EBs) Galactic Anti-Center Variable Star Survey
(GACVSS) Photometric Detection/Confirmation of
Extrasolar Planets
The Epoch Telescope at SSU
10-inch f/5 Newtonian Fork mount with DC servo motors Friction roller drive Up to 60 watts per axis Slew speed about 6° per second Points to within 1-3 minutes of arc Tracks unguided for up to 5 minutes
The Epoch Telescope Software
Servostar Runs under DOS
– Convenient user interface screen– Internal database plus planets– Enter RA and DEC– Resync, Slew, Guide, etc.
Drivers available for UNIX Source code currently unavailable!
The future of Epoch…(Information provided by Kevin Medlock.)
Servostar is about to be rewritten for Windows. The code will be made available as open source. The designs for the servo motor controller boards
will be made freely available. Upgraded versions of the controller boards for up to
200 watts per axis will also be available. Controller boards will be available for purchase at
modest cost. The future looks bright!
All we need now is the money and we will build one of those cool robotic telescope systems!
More Information
An online version of this presentation plus more detailed information is available from the Robotic Telescope Resource Resource Site.
http://phys-astro.sonoma.edu/observatory/roboscope
This website contains URLs and direct links to all the resources mentioned in this presentation. This website will be maintained to reflect current developments for robotic telescope systems.
