Commissioning and First Observations with Wide FastCam at the Telescopio Carlos S\'anchez

TL;DR

Wide FastCam, a new instrument at the Telescopio Carlos Sánchez, enables rapid, wide-field observations with real-time image analysis, expanding capabilities beyond lucky imaging to larger fields of view.

Contribution

This paper introduces Wide FastCam, a novel instrument that combines fast imaging with a wide field of view, and reports on its commissioning and initial observations.

Findings

Successful commissioning of Wide FastCam at TCS

First observations demonstrate real-time data processing

Expanded field of view for fast imaging applications

Abstract

The FastCam instrument platform, jointly developed by the IAC and the UPCT, allows, in real-time, acquisition, selection and storage of images with a resolution that reaches the diffraction limit of medium-sized telescopes. FastCam incorporates a specially designed software package to analyse series of tens of thousands of images in parallel with the data acquisition at the telescope. Wide FastCam is a new instrument that, using the same software for data acquisition, does not look for lucky imaging but fast observations in a much larger field of view. Here we describe the commissioning process and first observations with Wide FastCam at the Telescopio Carlos S\'anchez (TCS) in the Observatorio del Teide.