[en] The 4m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is a zenith-pointing
optical observing facility at ARIES Devasthal observatory (Uttarakhand, India).
The first light preparatory activities of the ILMT were accomplished in April
2022 followed by on-sky tests that were carried out at the beginning of May
2022. This telescope will perform a multi-band optical (SDSS $g'$, $r'$ and
$i'$) imaging of a narrow strip (~$22'$) of sky utilizing the time-delayed
integration technique. Single-scan ILMT images have an integration time of 102
sec and consecutive-night images can be co-added to further improve the
signal-to-noise ratio. An image subtraction technique will also be applied to
the nightly recorded observations in order to detect transients, objects
exhibiting variations in flux or position. Presently, the facility is in the
commissioning phase and regular operation will commence in October 2022, after
the monsoon. This paper presents a discussion of the main preparation
activities before first light, along with preliminary results obtained.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Kumar, Brajesh; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India.
Kumar, Hitesh; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India.
Singh Dangwal, Khushal; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India.
Rawat, Himanshu; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India.
Misra, Kuntal; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India.
Negi, Vibhore; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India. ; Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur 273009, India.
Kumar Jaiswar, Mukesh; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India.
Dukiya, Naveen; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India.
Ailawadhi, Bhavya; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital - 263001, India. ; Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur 273009, India
Hickson, Paul; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
Surdej, Jean ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) ; Astronomical Observatory Institute, Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, ul. Sloneczna 36, 60-286 Poznan, Poland.
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