Deployment status of the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope

摘要

Our global network of telescopes is designed to provide maximally available opticalmonitoring of time variable sources, from solar system to extra-galactic objects, and rangingin brightness from about 7-20m. We are providing a distributed network with varied aperturesbut homogeneous instrumentation: optical imaging, with spectroscopic capabilities. A keycomponent is a single centralized process that accepts (in real time) and schedules TACapproved observing requests across the network; then continuously updates schedules basedon status, weather and other availability criteria. Requests range from occasional to continuousmonitoring, at slow to high-speed cadences (imaging and fast photometry), and includes rapidresponse to targets of opportunity. Each node of the network must be fully autonomous, withsoftware agents to control and monitor all functions, to provide auto-recovery as necessary,and to announce their status and capabilities up the control structure. Real-time monitoring orinteraction by humans should be infrequent. Equipment is designed to be reliable over longperiods to minimize hands-on maintenance, by local or LCOGT staff. Our first 1m deploymentwas to McDonald Obs. in April 2012. Eight more 1m telescopes are close to deployment tocomplete the Southern ring, scheduled by end-2012.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.