Astronomy:Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope

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Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope
First light1996
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The Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) is an automated telescope used in the search for supernovae.

The telescope had a first light in 1998, and is a noted robotic telescope.[1] It had first recorded data in August 1996, and was formally dedicated late that year.[2] It was used for the Lick Observatory Supernova Search.[2]

The KAIT is a computer-controlled reflecting telescope with a 76 cm mirror and a CCD camera to take pictures. It is located at the Lick Observatory near San Jose, California.

KAIT can take close to 100 images per hour and observe about 1000 galaxies a night.

The Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope is a robotic telescope designed to look for supernova.[2] The telescope uses 76 cm (30 inch) diameter mirror that feeds a CCD imager with 20 slot filter wheel.[2] The telescope is also supported by an electronic weather station, that can feed data to the robotic telescope control system.[2] Several computers run software that controls the telescope and take in the data from the sensors.[2]

The telescope's development was funded by the NSF at private donors since 1989, turning 30-inch (~760 mm) telescope in a computer controlled super nova huntress.[3] The telescope can also monitor the brightness of variable stars.[3]

Observations & research

KAIT discovered its first supernova in 1997, SN 1997bs.[2] The next year (1998) twenty supernova were found after improvements to the telescope, and in 1999 forty supernova were discovered.[2]

The telescope has been noted for discovering the supernova SN 1999em.[4] This super nova was in the spiral galaxy NGC 1637, and was observed later by telescope such as the VLT (4x8.2m).[4]

Another example of KAIT discovery was SN 1999ec, a type Ib supernova that was discovered in the interacting galaxy NGC 2207 on October 2, 1999.[5]

In 2011, KAIT was one of six telescopes used for the Lick AGN Monitoring Project.[6]

Between 1998 and 2013, KAIT had discovered 900 supernova.[7] In 2013, the supernova 2013ej was discovered by KAIT in the galaxy Messier 74; it was noted for being as bright as 10th magnitude.[7]

In 2014, KAIT helped determine the age of a supernova found in the galaxy M83, because it had images of that region of the sky from just a few days prior to its discovery, establishing it had not brightened at that time.[8]

In 2016, KAIT spotted the super nova SN 2016coj in NGC 4125, thought to be a Type Ia supernova.[9]

In 2019, KAIT was one of the telescopes whose data was used in a study on Blazars.[10]

Discoveries[11]

Year Supernovae Novae Dwarf Novae Comets
1998 20 4 2 1
1999 40 1 7 1
2000 38 2 0 0
2001 68 3 0 0
2002 82 2 0 0
2003 95 5 0 0
2004 83 0 0 0
2005 82 0 0 0
2006 84 0 0 0
2007 69 0 0 0
2008 77 0 0 0
2009 54 0 0 0
2010 51 0 0 0

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The 0.76 m KAIT telescope, adapted from [28."] (in en). https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-076m-KAIT-telescope-adapted-from-28_fig3_43170596. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Filippenko, Alexei V.; Li, W. D.; Treffers, R. R.; Modjaz, Maryam (2001). "2001ASPC..246..121F Page 121". IAU Colloq. 183: Small Telescope Astronomy on Global Scales 246: 121. Bibcode: 2001ASPC..246..121F. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Automated Supernova Searches To Begin At Lick Observatory" (in en). http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/1996-10/UoCS-ASST-211096.php. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Spiral Beauty Graced by Fading Supernova" (in en-us). https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1315/. 
  5. ↑ Jha, S. et al. (1999). "Supernova 1999ec in NGC 2207". IAU Circular 7269: 2. Bibcode: 1999IAUC.7269....2J. 
  6. ↑ A. Panncoast, et al. - The Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2011: Photometric Light Curves (2019) - American Astronomical Society
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Bright supernova in M74" (in en-US). 2013-07-29. https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/bright-supernova-in-m74/. 
  8. ↑ Science, Megan Gannon 2014-01-22T21:40:49Z; Astronomy (22 January 2014). "Exploding Star: New Supernova Discovery Is Closest in Years" (in en). https://www.space.com/24369-supernova-star-explosion-amateur-photos.html. 
  9. ↑ Lewis, Danny. "Spy Two Supernovae in June's Night Sky" (in en). https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/spy-two-supernovae-june-night-sky-180959400/. 
  10. ↑ Liodakis, Ioannis; Romani, Roger W.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Kocevski, Daniel; Zheng, WeiKang (2019-07-22). "Probing Blazar Emission Processes with Optical/Gamma-Ray Flare Correlations". The Astrophysical Journal 880 (1): 32. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab26b7. ISSN 1538-4357. Bibcode: 2019ApJ...880...32L. 
  11. ↑ "The KAIT Home Page". http://astron.berkeley.edu/~bait/kait.html. 

External links



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