The Remote Observatories of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA)

TL;DR

The paper details the operation, capabilities, and benefits of the SARA remote observatories, highlighting their flexible scheduling, collaborative potential, and technical setup over nearly two decades.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the SARA remote observatories' infrastructure, operational principles, and lessons learned from long-term remote astronomical observations.

Findings

Remote operation enables flexible scheduling and long-term observational campaigns.

Multiple users can share telescopes for training and collaborative research.

The observatories support rapid switching between imaging and spectroscopic modes.

Abstract

We describe the remote facilities operated by the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA), a consortium of colleges and universities in the US partnered with Lowell Observatory, the Chilean National Telescope Allocation Committee, and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. SARA observatories comprise a 0.96m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona; a 0.6m instrument on Cerro Tololo, Chile; and the 1m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain. All are operated using standard VNC or Radmin protocols communicating with on-site PCs. Remote operation offers considerable flexibility in scheduling, allowing long-term observational cadences difficult to achieve with classical observing at remote facilities, as well as obvious travel savings. Multiple observers at different locations can share a telescope for training, educational use, or collaborative research programs. Each telescope has a CCD system for optical imaging, using thermoelectric cooling to avoid the need for frequent local service, and a second CCD for offset guiding. The Arizona and Chile instruments also have fiber-fed echelle spectrographs. Switching between imaging and spectroscopy is very rapid, so a night can easily accommodate mixed observing modes. We present some sample observational programs. For the benefit of other groups organizing similar consortia, we describe the operating structure and principles of SARA, as well as some lessons learned from almost 20 years of remote operations.