Search results for "Optical telescope"
showing 10 items of 17 documents
Zvaigžņotā Debess: 2009, Pavasaris (203)
2009
Contents: E.R.Mustel, President of the Astronomical Council of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Congratulations to Editorial Board of “Zvaigžņotā debess” ; Z.Alksne. Gould’s Belt ; I.Daube. At the Radioastrophysical Observatory of the Latvian Academy of Sciences ; Z.Alksne, A.Alksnis. Lopsided Galaxies ; A.Alksnis. HII Region Gum 29 – a Stellar Nursery ; D.Docenko. On Collision of Asteroid 2008 TC3 with the Earth ; V.Lapoška. On „Leap Second” ; I.Vilks, M.Gills. Beginning of the International Year of Astronomy in Paris: Impressions by Latvian Delegates ; J.Jaunbergs. Equatorial Ridge on Iapetus ; M.Sudārs. Space Shuttle Is Not Likely to Retire Next Year ; I.Vilks. Planet Satellite Names in Lat…
GLITP optical monitoring of QSO 0957+561: VR light curves and variability
2003
The GLITP collaboration observed the first gravitational lens system (QSO 0957+561) from 2000 February 3 to 2000 March 31. The daily VR observations were made with the 2.56-m Nordic Optical Telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma (Spain). We have derived detailed and robust VR light curves of the two components Q0957+561A and Q0957+561B. In spite of the excellent sampling rate, we have not found evidence in favor of true daily variability. With respect to variability on time-scales of several weeks, we measure VR gradients of about -0.8 mmag/day in Q0957+561A and + 0.3 mmag/day in Q0957+561B. The gradients are very probably originated in the far source, thus adopting this …
New VR magnification ratios of QSO 0957+561
2004
We present VR magnification ratios of QSO 0957+561, which are inferred from the GLITP light curves of Q0957+561A and new frames taken with the 2.56m Nordic Optical Telescope about 14 months after the GLITP monitoring. From two photometric approaches and a reasonable range for the time delay in the system (415-430 days), we do not obtain achromatic optical continuum ratios, but ratios depending on the wavelength. These new measurements are consistent with differential extinction in the lens galaxy, the Lyman limit system, the damped Ly-alpha system, or the host galaxy of the QSO. The possible values for the differential extinction and the ratio of total to selective extinction in the V band …
A fast algorithm for muon track reconstruction and its application to the ANTARES neutrino telescope.
2011
An algorithm is presented, that provides a fast and robust reconstruction of neutrino induced upward-going muons and a discrimination of these events from downward-going atmospheric muon background in data collected by the ANTARES neutrino telescope. The algorithm consists of a hit merging and hit selection procedure followed by fitting steps for a track hypothesis and a point-like light source. It is particularly well-suited for real time applications such as online monitoring and fast triggering of optical follow-up observations for multi-messenger studies. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated with Monte Carlo simulations and various distributions are compared with that obtained …
Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory for detecting the early photons from gamma-ray bursts
2011
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous transient events with short intense flashes that have been detected in random directions in the sky once or twice per day. Their durations have been measured in seconds, especially short GRBs with duration of < 2 sec. The Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) space mission aims to detect the earliest moments of an explosion which presents the nature of GRBs, resulting into the enhancement of GRB mechanism understanding. The UFFO consists of a couple of wide Field-of-View (FOV) trigger telescopes, a narrow-FOV Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) for the fast measurement of the UV-optical photons from GRBs, and a gamma-ray monitor for energy measurement.…
Calibration of the RPC charge readout in the ARGO-YBJ experiment
2012
""The charge readout of Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) is implemented in the ARGO-YBJ experiment to measure the charged particle density of the shower front up to 10^4\\\/m^2, enabling the study of the primary cosmic rays with energies in the ''knee'' region. As the first time for RPCs being used this way, a telescope with RPCs and scintillation detectors is setup to calibrate the number of charged particles hitting a RPC versus its charge readout. Air shower particles are taken as the calibration beam. The telescope was tested at sea level and then moved to the ARGO-YBJ site for coincident operation with the ARGO-YBJ experiment. The charge readout shows good linearity with the particle de…
A Study of Gravitational Lens Chromaticity using Ground-based Narrow Band Photometry
2011
We present observations of wavelength-dependent flux ratios for four gravitational lens systems (SDSS~J1650+4251, HE~0435$-$1223, FBQ 0951+2635, and Q~0142$-$100) obtained with the Nordic Optical Telescope. The use of narrowband photometry, as well as the excellent seeing conditions during the observations, allows us to study their chromatic behavior. For SDSS~J1650+4251, we determine the extinction curve of the dust in the $z_L=0.58$ lens galaxy and find that the 2175 \AA \ feature is absent. In the case of HE~0435$-$1223, we clearly detect chromatic microlensing. This allows us to estimate the wavelength-dependent size of the accretion disk. We find an R-band disk size of $r^{R}_s=13\pm5$…
Slewing mirror telescope of the UFFO-pathfinder: first report on performance in space
2017
To observe the early optical emissions from gamma ray bursts (GRBs), we built the Slew Mirror Telescope. It utilizes a 150 mm motorized mirror to redirect incoming photons from astrophysical objects within seconds and to track them as compensating satellite movements. The SMT is a major component of the UFFO-pathfinder payload, which was launched on April 28, 2016, onboard the Lomonosov satellite. For the first time, the slewing mirror system has been proven for the precision tracking of astrophysical objects during space operation. We confirmed that the SMT has 1.4 seconds of response time to the X-gamma-ray trigger, and is able to compensate for satellite drift and to track astrophysical …
Time calibration of the ANTARES neutrino telescope
2011
The ANTARES deep-sea neutrino telescope comprises a three-dimensional array of photomultipliers to detect the Cherenkov light induced by upgoing relativistic charged particles originating from neutrino interactions in the vicinity of the detector. The large scattering length of light in the deep sea facilitates an angular resolution of a few tenths of a degree for neutrino energies exceeding 10 TeV. In order to achieve this optimal performance, the time calibration procedures should ensure a relative time calibration between the photomultipliers at the level of ~1 ns. The methods developed to attain this level of precision are described.
FRAM—The Robotic Telescope for the Monitoring of the Wavelength Dependence of the Extinction: Description of Hardware, Data Analysis, and Results
2010
FRAM-F/(Ph)otometric Robotic Atmospheric Monitor is one of the atmospheric monitoring instruments at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. FRAM is an optical telescope equipped with CCD cameras and photometer, and it automatically observes a set of selected standard stars. Primarily, FRAM observations are used to obtain the wavelength dependence of the light extinction. FRAM telescope is also able to observe secondary astronomical targets, and namely the detection of optical counterparts of gamma-ray bursts has already proven to be successful. Finally, a wide-field CCD camera of FRAM can be used for rapid monitoring of atmospheric conditions along the track of particularly interesting …