India's First Robotic Eye for Time-domain Astrophysics: The GROWTH-India Telescope
Kumar, Harsh; Bhalerao, Varun; Anupama, G. C; Barway, Sudhanshu; Basu, Judhajeet; Deshmukh, Kunal; De, Kishalay; Dutta, Anirban; Fremling, Christoffer; Iyer, Hrishikesh; Jassani, Adeem; Joharle, Simran; Karambelkar, Viraj; Khandagale, Maitreya; Krishna, K Adithya; Kulkarni, Sumeet; Mate, Sujay; Patil, Atharva; Phanindra, D. V. S; Samantaray, Subham; Sharma, Kritti; Sharma, Yashvi; Shenoy, Vedant; Singh, Avinash; Srivastava, Shubham; Swain, Vishwajeet; Waratkar, Gaurav; Angchuk, D; Dorjay, Padma; Dorjai, T; Gyalson, T; Jorphail, S; Mahay, T. T; Norbu, Rigzin; Sharma, Tarun Kumar; Stanzin, Jigmet; Stanzin, Tsewang; Stanzin, Urgain
Date:
2022-09-01
Abstract:
We present the design and performance of the GROWTH-India telescope, a 0.7 m robotic telescope dedicated to time-domain astronomy. The telescope is equipped with a 4k back-illuminated camera that gives a 0fdg82 field of view and a sensitivity of mg' ∼ 20.5 in 5 minute exposures. Custom software handles observatory operations: attaining high on-sky observing efficiencies (≳80%) and allowing rapid response to targets of opportunity. The data processing pipelines are capable of performing point-spread function photometry as well as image subtraction for transient searches. We also present an overview of the GROWTH-India telescope's contributions to the studies of gamma-ray bursts, the electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave sources, supernovae, novae, and solar system objects.
Description:
Open Access
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