Grid Integration of Robotic Telescopes

TL;DR

This paper discusses the integration of robotic telescopes into a grid network, highlighting the architecture, protocols, and user interfaces developed to enhance astronomical observations.

Contribution

It introduces a grid-based network architecture for robotic telescopes and presents three user interfaces, advancing collaborative astronomical research.

Findings

Successful implementation of a robotic telescope network

Development of grid protocols for telescope coordination

User interfaces enabling efficient telescope operation

Abstract

Robotic telescopes and grid technology have made significant progress in recent years. Both innovations offer important advantages over conventional technologies, particularly in combination with one another. Here, we introduce robotic telescopes used by the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam as ideal instruments for building a robotic telescope network. We also discuss the grid architecture and protocols facilitating the network integration that is being developed by the German AstroGrid-D project. Finally, we present three user interfaces employed for this purpose.