The Robotic MAAO 0.7m Telescope System: Performance and Standard Photometric System

TL;DR

This paper presents the performance and capabilities of the robotic 0.7m telescope system at MAAO, demonstrating its effectiveness for standard photometry and transient observations under various weather conditions.

Contribution

Introduction of a fully robotic 0.7m telescope system at MAAO with performance metrics and potential for transient time-series observations.

Findings

Atmospheric extinction coefficients measured and characterized.

Limiting magnitudes reach BVRI=19.4-19.6 AB mag in 10 minutes.

System performance is comparable to similar facilities.

Abstract

We introduce a 0.7m telescope system at the Miryang Arirang Astronomical Observatory (MAAO), a public observatory in Miryang, Korea. System integration and a scheduling program enable the 0.7m telescope system to operate completely robotically during nighttime, eliminating the need for human intervention. Using the 0.7m telescope system, we obtain atmospheric extinction coefficients and the zero-point magnitudes by observing standard stars. As a result, we find that atmospheric extinctions are moderate but they can sometimes increase depending on the weather conditions. The measured 5-sigma limiting magnitudes reach down to BVRI=19.4-19.6 AB mag for a point source with a total integrated time of 10 minutes under clear weather conditions, demonstrating comparable performance with other observational facilities operating under similar specifications and sky conditions. We expect that the newly established MAAO 0.7m telescope system will contribute significantly to the observational studies of astronomy. Particularly, with its capability for robotic observations, this system, although its primary duty is for public viewing, can be extensively used for the time-series observation of transients.