The Weizmann Fast Astronomical Survey Telescope (W-FAST): System Overview

TL;DR

The W-FAST observatory is a robotic, high-speed optical telescope system designed to explore rapid transient phenomena and stellar variability on sub-second timescales, with real-time data analysis capabilities.

Contribution

This paper introduces the W-FAST system, a novel high-frame-rate, wide-field optical observatory with real-time data processing for studying fast astronomical transients.

Findings

Detection of numerous satellite glints demonstrating system sensitivity

Real-time analysis of over 6 Gbps data stream

First results include observations of fast transient phenomena

Abstract

A relatively unexplored phase space of transients and stellar variability is that of second and sub-second time-scales. We describe a new optical observatory operating in the Negev desert in Israel, with a 55 cm aperture, a field of view of 2.6x2.6 deg (~7deg^2) equipped with a high frame rate, low read noise, CMOS camera. The system can observe at a frame rate of up to 90HZ (full frame), while nominally observations are conducted at 10-25Hz. The data, generated at a rate of over 6Gbits/s at a frame rate of 25Hz, are analyzed in real time. The observatory is fully robotic and capable of autonomously collecting data on a few thousand stars in each field each night. We present the system overview, performance metrics, science objectives, and some first results, e.g., the detection of a high rate of glints from geosynchronous satellites, reported in Nir et al. 2020.