_______________RIT Observatory

Data Pipeline & Automation Project: Summer Research

______________________

Presented by:

Kevin Beaulieu & Dustin Crabtree

CIS South Pole Involvement

• CARA has pioneered the operation of telescopes in Antarctica.

– Advantage» Dry, cold weather ideal for IR astronomy

– Disadvantages: » Harsh climate results in few astronomers begging to visit Antarctica.

» Few understand how to process the data obtained.

– Solution: RIT CIS in 1999 built a pipeline to provide uniform data products to the world astronomy community

– However the pipeline was far from efficient…

Motivations for RIT Observatory Project

• Objective of Summer Based on the CIS Astronomy Pipeline Project – RIT Observatory Data Pipeline and Automation Project serves as a local

‘model’ for South Pole astronomy

– Ultimate Goals: • 1. Images obtained remotely with ease

• 2. Data reduction accurate and timely

• 3. Find and report “roadblocks” in process

• 4. Apply lessons learned from this experience (and the 1999 SPIREX/Abu program) to a next generation IR telescope

How it relates to Imaging Science...

• Imaging Science:– The body of knowledge resulting from our ability to

detect and display information in visual formats.

• We have all necessary components in process:

• Input, System, Output

– Imaging System Analysis Goals:» Improve efficiency of system

» Provide user with automatic tools with minimal maintenance and user intervention

RIT Observatory Facility

• 10” Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope mounted on Astro Pier

• 5-meter Ash Dome

RIT Observatory Facility

• CCD camera– 1530 x 1020 pixels

– FOV: 0.4 degrees

– Four filters: B, V, R, I

– 2nd smaller array:– used for tracking

– read out in “binned” mode

• CCDops Software

– Image Capture• Interface connecting

Dell computer to telescope

Automation Project(Ideal)

Dome Automation

• Assisted in Dome Circuitry Analysis– Circuitry housed in a NEMA protective

box

– Became familiar with PSpice™ Schematics© software

TASS Mark IV Data Pipeline

• The pipeline is designed for use with the Mark IV prototype camera used by the Amateur Sky Survey, but has been adapted for use by the RIT Observatory

• The pipeline processes an entire data set automatically. The Data Reduction Pipeline operates through several steps in order to reduce the data:

• Reference Catalogue -

• Dark Image -

• Flat Field Image

• Image Cleaning

• Find and Measure Stars

• Astrometry -

Astronomical Image Acquisition

• Participated in several nights at the Observatory for image acquisition

• Assembled a well-documented binder for future reference– Motives for Researching Selected Objects– Brief Description of Data Pipeline– Separate Sections for Each Night’s Observations

» Meticulous Logs

» Sample Images

» Plots- Julian Date Vs. Magnitude, Julian Date Vs. Background, Julian Date Vs. Full Width at Half Max

Motives for Researching Selected Objects

• ST Virgo- Variable StarVariable Star

• Berkeley 87- Star ClusterStar Cluster

• 2001 KP41- AsteroidAsteroid

• 756 Lilliana- AsteroidAsteroid

• WZ Sagittae- Cataclysmic Variable Binary Star SystemCataclysmic Variable Binary Star System

• Unknown- Eclipsing Binary Star SystemEclipsing Binary Star System

ST Virgo

• Focus of Research in June/Early July• Pulsating Variable StarPulsating Variable Star

• Objective:– Selected as a target to learn more about the entire image

acquisition and data reduction processes– “Roadblocks” in Observatory Automation Project noted as

astronomical data was collected and analyzed

ST Virgo Data• Proof of Variability

Magnitude Vs. ID Number

ST Virgo Data• June 28, 2001: Cloud Cover Example

Magnitude Vs. ID Number Sky Vs. ID Number

Berkeley 87

• Star ClusterStar Cluster• Objective:

– Used as a target while the Observatory’s 10-inch Meade telescope Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope was tested for slew accuracy

– COMPLETE automation will require telescope to accurately move from one object to another

WZ Sagittae(sah-JIT-ee)

• Cataclysmic Variable Binary Star SystemCataclysmic Variable Binary Star System

• Objective:– Help in a global effort to determine its period during a

RARE SUPER-OUTBURST display

» Theory: By analyzing the light curves, humps are found in the plots that suggest that the larger secondary star is transferring mass to the smaller, yet denser white dwarf.

WZ Sge Light Curve from 2001 Super-Outbursts

(from )

WZ Sge Data: Magnitude Vs. Julian Date

July 26 August 4

August 7

Unknown Eclipsing Binary Star System

• We noticed that a star within the FOV of WZ Sge was changing brightness over the course of his shift at the Observatory.

– Collecting and analyzing data (plotting light curves) to find out more

Unknown System’s Light Curve

Magnitude Vs. Phase

Challenges

• Telescope and Camera Automation• Dome Control

» Weather- open, close

» Alignment with telescope

• Telescope DOES NOT have a memory

• Need automatic focus

• Data Pipeline – Automating reduction process (as soon as data arrives in

archive)

– Data Storage Limits

Conclusion

• RIT Observatory summer research has been a start to building the local ‘model’ for the South Pole.

• Experimental Design:• Creation of a pilot software package is underway.

• Data Acquisition:• The Dome Automation Project will continue into the fall of

2001.

• Data Reduction:• Most of the major problems of the Data Pipeline have been

addressed.

• Archiving:• A universally accessible storage area for raw/cleaned images and

processed data has been created.a