Development of the Arizona Robotic Telescope Network

TL;DR

The paper describes the development of the Arizona Robotic Telescope Network (ARTN), aiming to automate and coordinate multiple telescopes for flexible, rapid, and follow-up astrophysical observations, especially in the LSST era.

Contribution

It introduces a system for adapting existing telescopes for automated, queued, and remote operations, including control software updates and staged implementation across facilities.

Findings

Kuiper 61'' telescope now controlled by RTS2 software

Successful remote operation of telescopes from Steward Observatory

Framework established for multi-telescope coordination and rapid response

Abstract

The Arizona Robotic Telescope Network (ARTN) project is a long term effort to develop a system of telescopes to carry out a flexible program of PI observing, survey projects, and time domain astrophysics including monitoring, rapid response, and transient/target-of-opportunity followup. Steward Observatory operates and shares in several 1-3m class telescopes with quality sites and instrumentation, largely operated in classical modes. Science programs suited to these telescopes are limited by scheduling flexibility and people-power of available observers. Our goal is to adapt these facilities for multiple co-existing queued programs, interrupt capability, remote/robotic operation, and delivery of reduced data. In the long term, planning for the LSST era, we envision an automated system coordinating across multiple telescopes and sites, where alerts can trigger followup, classification, and triggering of further observations if required, such as followup imaging that can trigger spectroscopy. We are updating telescope control systems and software to implement this system in stages, beginning with the Kuiper 61'' and Vatican Observatory 1.8-m telescopes. The Kuiper 61'' and its Mont4K camera can now be controlled and queue-scheduled by the RTS2 observatory control software, and operated from a remote room at Steward. We discuss science and technical requirements for ARTN, and some of the challenges in adapting heterogenous legacy facilities, scheduling, data pipelines, and maintaining capabilities for a diverse user base.