Bibcode
Keel, W. C.; Oswalt, Terry; Mack, Peter; Henson, Gary; Hillwig, Todd; Batcheldor, Daniel; Berrington, Robert; De Pree, Chris; Hartmann, Dieter; Leake, Martha; Licandro, J.; Murphy, Brian; Webb, James; Wood, Matt A.
Bibliographical reference
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Pacific, Volume 129, Issue 971, pp. 015002 (2017).
Advertised on:
1
2017
Citations
46
Refereed citations
38
Description
We describe the remote facilities operated by the Southeastern
Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA) , a consortium of colleges
and universities in the US partnered with Lowell Observatory, the
Chilean National Telescope Allocation Committee, and the Instituto de
Astrofísica de Canarias. SARA observatories comprise a 0.96 m
telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona; one of 0.6 m aperture on Cerro Tololo,
Chile; and the 1 m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope at the Roque de los
Muchachos, La Palma, Spain. All are operated using standard VNC or
Radmin protocols communicating with on-site PCs. Remote operation offers
considerable flexibility in scheduling, allowing long-term observational
cadences difficult to achieve with classical observing at remote
facilities, as well as obvious travel savings. Multiple observers at
different locations can share a telescope for training, educational use,
or collaborative research programs. Each telescope has a CCD system for
optical imaging, using thermoelectric cooling to avoid the need for
frequent local service, and a second CCD for offset guiding. The Arizona
and Chile telescopes also have fiber-fed echelle spectrographs.
Switching between imaging and spectroscopy is very rapid, so a night can
easily accommodate mixed observing modes. We present some sample
observational programs. For the benefit of other groups organizing
similar consortia, we describe the operating structure and principles of
SARA, as well as some lessons learned from almost 20 years of remote
operations.
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