Remote Operations and Nightly Automation of The Red Buttes Observatory

TL;DR

This paper details the upgrades to the Red Buttes Observatory enabling remote and autonomous operations, focusing on hardware, software, and automation tailored for exoplanet transit photometry, demonstrating improved observational capabilities.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive guide to upgrading similar telescopes for remote and automated use, with detailed descriptions and a case study on exoplanet transit observations.

Findings

Successful remote and autonomous operation of the telescope.

High-precision photometry achieved during exoplanet transit observation.

Framework established for rapid-response astronomical observations.

Abstract

We have implemented upgrades to the University of Wyoming's Red Buttes Observatory (RBO) to allow remote and autonomous operations using the 0.6 m telescope. Detailed descriptions of hardware and software components provide sufficient information to guide upgrading similarly designed telescopes. We also give a thorough description of the automated and remote operation modes with intent to inform the construction of routines elsewhere. Because the upgrades were largely driven by the intent to perform exoplanet transit photometry, we discuss how this science informed the automation process. A sample exoplanet transit observation serves to demonstrate RBO's capability to perform precision photometry. The successful upgrades have equipped a legacy observatory for a new generation of automated and rapid-response observations.