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Apparatus to search for optical flashes of astronomical origin

 of the sky. Apparatus to search for optical flashes of astronomical origin. Grzegorz Wrochna, Lech Mankiewicz, Rafał Sałański. Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB). Short (0.1-100s) pulses of gamma rays from point-like sources in the sky Brighter than whole rest of the sky Extragallactic origin

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Apparatus to search for optical flashes of astronomical origin

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  1.  of the sky Apparatus to search for optical flashes of astronomical origin Grzegorz Wrochna, Lech Mankiewicz, Rafał Sałański

  2. Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) • Short (0.1-100s) pulses of gamma rays from point-like sources in the sky • Brighter than whole rest of the sky • Extragallactic origin • The greatest catalysms ever observed

  3. GRB origin • Hotest topic in astronomy • Hypothesis: • collision of black holes • collision of neutron stars • collapse of rotating star • quark star formation or collapse new physics?

  4. Optical counterparts of GRBs • ~100 GRB/year discoverd by satellites • Only <30 afterglows observed by telescopes on Earth: • low precision of satellite information • small field and high inercy of telescopes

  5. The only optical flash of GRB observed so far

  6. ROTSE with =10 cm

  7. Optical flashes • Need for search • GRB study • exists many undocumented reports • „new window” of astronomy

  8. „ of the sky” project • Inspired by particle physics experiments • Full sky monitoring • Large data flow • Real time analysis, on-line data reduction, multi-level trigger

  9. Technical data • Lenses: f=50mm, f/2 • pixel size ~15m • pixel coverage: 1 arc min • CCD coverage: 35 x 35 • 16 CCD covers ~full hemisphere down to ~20 above horizon

  10. Example CCD sensor CCD 442A by Fairchild Imaging

  11. Data aquisition • 16 CCD cameras,each 2048x2048 pixels • 14 bit ADC converter • 16 * 4M * 2 bytes = 128 MB • transfer > 25 MB/s

  12. Interface options • IEEE 1394 Firewire (50 MB/s) • USB 2.0 (60 MB/s) • direct LVDS connectionto a dedicated PCI card

  13. Simple model

  14. Data processing • Image reading • Comparison of images • Recognition of changes • Data storage

  15. Software prototyping • Mechanical steering • CCD steering • Data processing • System reporting Computers’function:

  16. Prototyping • Program steering via internet • Notification via internet • Backup function System function:

  17. Site • Polish observatory at Las Campanas, Chile • high altitude, clean atmosphere, no clouds • power, ethernet, permament human supervision

  18. Plans • Algorithms development with existing ASAS device • Software prototyping • Single camera prototype - fall 2002

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