Puoko-nui: a flexible high-speed photometric system

TL;DR

Puoko-nui is a versatile high-speed photometric system utilizing a CCD, GPS timing, and flexible software, demonstrated through two operational instruments for precise astronomical observations.

Contribution

The paper introduces a portable, high-precision photometry system with customizable hardware and software, suitable for various telescopes and observational needs.

Findings

Successful deployment of two instruments at different observatories.

Demonstrated high time precision in astronomical photometry.

Effective online analysis and display capabilities.

Abstract

We describe a portable CCD-based instrumentation system designed to efficiently undertake high time precision fast photometry. The key components of the system are (1) an externally triggered commercial frame-transfer CCD, (2) a custom GPS-derived time source, and (3) flexible software for both instrument control and online analysis/display. Two working instruments that implement this design are described. The New Zealand based instrument employs a Princeton Instruments (PI) 1k x 1k CCD and has been used with the 1 m telescope at Mt John University Observatory, while the other uses a newer 1k x 1k electron-multiplying CCD supplied by PI and is based at the University of Texas at Austin. We include some recent observations that illustrate the capabilities of the instruments.