instrumentation; liquid mirror telescope; Optical telescope; Astronomy and Astrophysics; Space and Planetary Science
Abstract :
[en] The 4m international liquid mirror telescope (ILMT) installation activities have recently been completed at the Devasthal observatory (Uttarakhand, India). The ILMT will perform continuous observation of a narrow strip of the sky (∼ 27′) passing over the zenith in the SDSS g′, r′ and i′ bands. In combination with a highly efficient 4 k × 4 k CCD camera and an optical corrector, the images will be secured at the prime focus of the telescope using the time delayed integration technique. The ILMT will reach ∼ 22.5 mag (g′-band) in a single scan and this limiting magnitude can be further improved by co-adding the nightly images. The uniqueness of the one-day cadence and deeper imaging with the ILMT will make it possible to discover and study various galactic and extra-galactic sources, specially variable ones. Here, we present the latest updates of the ILMT facility and discuss the preparation for the first light, which is expected during early 2022. We also briefly explain different steps involved in the ILMT data reduction pipeline.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Kumar, Brajesh ; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital, India
Negi, Vibhore; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital, India ; Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India
Ailawadhi, Bhavya; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital, India ; Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India
Mishra, Sapna; Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Ganeshkhind, India
Pradhan, Bikram ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de physique > Optique - Hololab ; Indian Space Research Organization, Antariksh Bhavan, Bengaluru, India
Misra, Kuntal; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital, India
Hickson, Paul; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Surdej, Jean ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) ; Astronomical Observatory Institute, Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
Language :
English
Title :
Upcoming 4m ILMT facility and data reduction pipeline testing
The authors thank the members of the ILMT team who provided their sincere support for this project which will see its first light soon. The authors also thank the referee for insightful suggestions.
Borra E. F., Content R., Drinkwater M. J., Szapiel S. 1989, ApJL, 346, L41 DOI: 10.1086/185574
Borra E. F., Content R., Girard L., et al. 1992, ApJ, 393, 829 DOI: 10.1086/171550
Borra E. F. 1995, CaJPh, 73, 109
Claeskens J. C., Jean C., Surdej J. 2001, in Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Vol. 239, Microlensing 2000: A New Era of Microlensing Astrophysics, eds. Menzies J. W., Sackett P. D., 373
Finet F. 2013, PhD thesis, University of Liège, Belgium
Gibson B. K. 1991, JRASC, 85, 158
Gibson B. K., Hickson P. 1991, in Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Vol. 21, The Space Distribution of Quasars, ed. Crampton D., 80
Gibson B. K., Hickson P. 1992, MNRAS, 258, 543 DOI: 10.1093/mnras/258.3.543
Hickson P., Borra E. F., Cabanac R., et al. 1994a, ApJL, 436, L201 DOI: 10.1086/187667
Hickson P., Walker G. A., Borra E. F., Cabanac R. 1994b, in Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, Vol. 2199, Advanced Technology Optical Telescopes V, ed. Stepp L. M., 922
Hickson P., Richardson E. H. 1998, PASP, 110, 1081 DOI: 10.1086/316230
Hickson P., Racine R. 2007, PASP, 119, 456 DOI: 10.1086/517619
Hickson P., Pfrommer T., Cabanac R., et al. 2007, PASP, 119, 444 DOI: 10.1086/517621
Jean C., Claeskens J. F., Surdej J. 2001, in Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Vol. 237, Gravitational Lensing: Recent Progress and Future Go, eds. Brainerd T. G., Kochanek C. S., 423
Kumar B. 2014, PhD thesis, University of Liège, Belgium
Kumar B., Surdej J., Hickson P., et al. 2015, in Astronomical Society of India Conference Series, Vol. 12, Astronomical Society of India Conference Series, 149
Kumar B., Pandey K. L., Pandey S. B., et al. 2018a, MNRAS, 476, 2075
Kumar B., Pandey S. B., Pandey K. L., Anapuma G. C., Surdej J. 2018b, Bulletin de la Societe Royale des Sciences de Liège, 87, 80
Kumar B., Omar A., Maheswar G., et al. 2018c, Bulletin de la Societe Royale des Sciences de Liège, 87, 29
Lang D., Hogg D. W., Mierle K., Blanton M., Roweis S. 2010, AJ, 139, 1782 DOI: 10.1088/0004-6256/139/5/1782
Mailly E. 1872, De l’astronomie dans l’Academie royale de Belgique. Rapport seculaire (1772-1872), 99
Mandal A. K., Pradhan B., Surdej J., et al. 2020, JoAA, 41, 22
Pfrommer T., Hickson P. 2012, in Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, Vol. 8447, Adaptive Optics Systems III, eds Ellerbroek B. L., Marchetti E., Véran J.-P., 844719
Pfrommer T., Hickson P. 2014, A&A, 565, A102 DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201423460
Pradhan B., Delchambre L., Hickson P., et al. 2018, Bulletin de la Societe Royale des Sciences de Liege, 87, 88 DOI: 10.25518/0037-9565.7525
Sagar R., Kumar B., Omar A., Pandey A. K. 2012, in Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, Vol. 8444, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IV, eds Stepp L. M., Gilmozzi R., Hall H. J., 84441T
Sagar R., Kumar B., Omar A. 2019, Curr. Sci., 117, 365 DOI: 10.18520/cs/v117/i3/365-381
Surdej J., Absil O., Bartczak P., et al. 2006, in Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, Vol. 6267, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, ed. Stepp L. M., 626704
Surdej J., Hickson P., Borra H., et al. 2018, Bulletin de la Societe Royale des Sciences de Liège, 87, 68 DOI: 10.25518/0037-9565.7498
