World’s First! “BOOTES” Robot Telescope Network Spanning Five Continents Finally Completed After 25 Years | Surrey Space Gate website

The Astrophysical Institute of Andalusia (IAA in English), a research institute of the government agency of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC in Spanish) on February 14, is a network of robotic telescopes「Bots（Impulse Control System and Transient Visual Detection）」Announced the deployment of BOOTES is the world’s first automated telescope network with observing stations on all five continents, with seven observing stations apparently spread across Spain (two), New Zealand, China, Mexico, South Africa and Chile.

Seven observing stations covering celestial events

“BOOTES”, which has the same Latin name for the constellation Bootes, has been around since the establishment of the first monitoring station (BOOTES-1) in Huelva, Spain in 1998, followed by BOOTES-7 in Atacama, Chile by the end of 2022. It’s been 25 years since then . The equipment installed in each monitoring station is not the same, for example, one of the monitoring equipment in BOOTES-1 “BOOTES-1A” is equipped with a 50mm wide-field lens and two CCD cameras. All of these tools are administered by the IAA.

The advantages of building a network of monitoring stations like BOOTES are:Capable of covering astronomical phenomena that occur across the skyIt is said that at a certain point. especially,Very effective for following observations of “gamma ray bursts” whose time and place cannot be predictedIt seems that

[▲ رسم بياني يوضح مواقع محطات المراقبة السبع التي تتكون منها بوتس (Credit: IAA-CSIC / UMA / INTA)]

Notes automation allows quick follow-up of notes

Like the robot arm installed on the International Space Station (ISS), in astronomical observation the wave of “automation” is said to be growing, with work being outsourced to machines that can operate more or less independently in space. After mid-year, the automation of tasks such as command transmission, remote control, and power supply by means of special power generation was considered. In particular, BOOTES is expected to notice the faint light (afterglow) that is observed after the detection of a gamma-ray burst, so quick follow-up observations are required. BOOTES automates the collection of data from monitoring equipment located around the world,Follow-up observations can be initiated in as little as 3 seconds, even for faintest objects and phenomena up to magnitude 21.It seems that.

[تم تثبيت “BOOTES-6” في جنوب إفريقيا في يوليو 2022 (Credit: bootesnetwork.com)]

Follow-up monitoring of gamma-ray bursts, the purpose of BOOTES

The main purpose of BOOTES is to be the most energetic explosion event in the universe.Illustration of gamma ray burstsHe is. In a gamma ray burst, a high-energy burst phenomenon occurs in a short period of time from several seconds to several thousand seconds, and then electromagnetic waves of a wide range of wavelengths ranging from X-rays to radio waves are emitted for a long time and gradually decay. Long gamma ray bursts, which last for a relatively long time, are thought to be associated with supernova explosions of massive stars, but short gamma ray bursts, which last for only a short time, remain a mystery.

Related: Gamma-ray burst ‘GRB 211211A’ upset predictions for its source.

In order to clarify the mystery of these gamma-ray bursts, BOOTES appears to be making follow-up observations of the electromagnetic waves generated after the explosion.At the same time as it monitors the light emitted by celestial bodies that cause gamma ray bursts, it also detects electromagnetic waves of a wide range of wavelengths.it’s called.

BOOTES can track and monitor celestial objects such as neutrino sources, gravitational wave sources, comets, asteroids, variable stars and supernovae, as well as space debris and other objects that might collide with satellites, and it looks like they will, too.

Since BOOTES made follow-up observations of five gamma-ray bursts detected by the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO) during its test phase, it has successfully observed several astronomical phenomena. In 2017, we will see a kilonova associated with the first gravitational wave “GW170817” in the history of observations. In 2020, we will see the high-speed radio burst “FRB 200428” generated in the Milky Way. It succeeded in the following – continue observing “GRB 200415A” which is supposed to be. With monitoring stations on all five continents, more results from BOOTES are expected in the future.

Related:[Space quiz]How many light years was the closest thing in observational history to the mysterious phenomenon “gamma ray burst”?

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Text / Misato Kadono