Suchergebnisse

A database containing star measurements from the period 2006–2009 taken by the Pi of the Sky detector located in Las Campanas Observatory in Chile contains more than 2 billion measurements of almost 17 million objects. All measurements are available on the Pi of the Sky web site through a dedicated interface, which also allows users to download selected data. Accurate analysis of Pi of the Sky data is a real challenge, because of a number of factors that can influence the measurements. Possible sources of errors in our measurements include: reading the chip with the shutter open, strong and varying sky background, passing planets or planetoids, and clouds and hot pixels. In order tofacilitate the analysis of variable stars we have developed a system of dedicated filters to remove bad measurements or frames. The spectral sensitivity of the detector is taken into account by appropriate corrections based on the spectral type of reference stars. This process is illustrated by an analysis of the BG Ind system, where we have been able to reduce the systematic uncertainty to about 0.05 magnitudo.

Pi of the Sky is a system of robotic telescopes designed for observations of short timescale astrophysical phenomena, e.g. prompt optical GRB emissions. The apparatus is designed to monitor a large fraction of the sky with 12–13 m range and time resolution of the order of 1–10 seconds. In October 2010 the first unit of the new Pi of the Sky detector system was successfully installed in the INTA El Arenosillo Test Centre in Spain. We also moved our prototype detector from Las Campanas Observatory to San Pedro de Atacama Observatory in March 2011. The status and performance of both detectors is presented.