Using Robotic Telescopes in College Undergraduate and Secondary School Education Environments R. L. Mutel Professor of Astronomy University of Iowa

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes2 Outline of Talk Web-based Robotic Telescope Systems available for Middle and High School Students Summary of operating robotic telescopes for education Examples of High School Student Astronomy Projects for Robotic Telescopes Robotic Telescopes for Undergraduate Education Astronomy Laboratory Projects Student Research Projects Advanced research example: Small Comet Search Curriculum Issues Virtual Astronomy: Is it really astronomy? Organizations and Web Resources

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes3 Robotic Telescopes in Education Primarily Middle and High School Level Hands-on Universe (U.C. Berkeley Hall of Science) Telescopes in Education (Mt. Wilson) Micro-Observatory (Harvard CfA) Examples of Student Projects Primarily College and University Level Nassau Station (CWRU) Iowa Robotic Observatory (Univ. Iowa) Student Projects Advanced Research Projects: Small Comets Example Project Rigel: A Complete Turn-key Robotic Observatory Is Virtual/Robotic Astronomy really Astronomy?

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes4 Hands-on Universe  Started in 1994  100+ High Schools Enrolled  Uses existing manual and automated telescopes  Complete curriculum available  Teacher training summer courses

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes5 HOU: Kuiper Belt Object Discovered by High School Students

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes6 Telescopes in Education (Mt. Wilson)  Started in 1995  380 High Schools Enrolled  Uses existing 6 in and 24 in telescopes on Mt. Wilson (S. California)  Complete users guide available on-line  Image acquisition and analysis uses ‘The Sky’ software (PC)

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes7  Started in 1996 at Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics  380 High Schools Enrolled  Uses weatherproof 6 inch telescopes in Massachusetts, Arizona, Hawaii, Australia)  Complete users guide available on-line  Image acquisition and analysis uses ‘The Sky’ software (PC)

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes8 Micro-Observatory Sample Project: Orbit of the Moon from Angular Size

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes9 Micro-Observatory Weather & Observing Queue

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes10 Micro-Observatory: Web-based Observing request

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes11 HOU Middle School Sample Curriculum: The Moon Our Closest Neighbor: the Moon A. The Image Processor (COMPUTER LAB) -- Students learn how to use the HOU Image Processing software while exploring characteristics of craters on the Moon. Image Processor functions: Open, Zoom, Pixels, Coordinates, Brightness (TERC/LHS) B. Crater Game (CLASSROOM) -- In this game, student get practice using their Image Processing software to determine diameters of craters. C. Moon Measure (COMPUTER LAB) -- Students measure the diameter of a crater and its circumference using Image Processing tools. D. Model Craters (CLASSROOM) To really see more of how craters appear, students make model Moon craters and see how the pattern of shadows associated with craters is affected by the angle of sunlight shining on them. Optional: Cratering Experiments. Students toss meteoroids (pebbles) into basins of flour to simulate crater formation. E. Moon Phases (CLASSROOM) With the Moon being a white polystyrene ball and the Sun being a bright light at the center of the room. Each students¹ head is the Earth. Students can also observe and record the real phases of the Moon over a period of a couple of weeks.

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes12 Telescopes in Education High School Curriculum Sample Project: Near-Earth Objects Based on published information in various magazines, journals, and other publications, students and interested amateurs will observe and image selected Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). A catalog of the selected NEOs will be created and updated. Catalog information will include object history, classification, orbital elements, photometric data, estimated size and mass, and other available data. Any changes in NEO magnitude, expected position, orbital characteristics, coma size, shape, etc. will become clear as catalog data are accumulated over repeated observations. The NEOs will be observed and imaged as frequently as possible. As the catalog is compiled, recorded data will be of interest to various professionals and organizations involved in NEO research, such as the Minor Planet Center (MPC). Proper data submission formats are provided by the various organizations. Observers will be informed how to alert the MPC to substantive or scientifically interesting short-term changes, such as "disconnection events," in a given NEO's characteristics.

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes13 Undergraduate Robotic Facilities: Nassau Station (CWRU) Located near Cleveland, Ohio Not fully operational (expected late 2001) Will support imaging, spectroscopy Web-based queue submission

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes14 Iowa Robotic Observatory (Arizona) 0.5 m Reflector, fully robotic Located near Sonoita, Arizona Operational in late 1998 Generates 10,000+ images per year Web-based queue submission Used by 600+ undergraduates, more than 200 web-registered users Occasionally use for MS thesis, other research

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes15 Critical List Asteroid 1978 SB8 V=17.8

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes16 “Collision” of Two Asteroids! 1147 Stratovos arrives from left, 2099 Opik moves in from North Note: There is a very faint third asteroid in these frames: can you find it?

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes17 Asteroid Rotation Curves Although there are 150,000+ catalogued asteroids, only ~1,500 have known rotational periods Observations of rotational period are important for determination of distribution of angular momentum in the solar system

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes18 Asteroid Rotation Curves: Observations Period 5.5 hrs

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes19 Monitoring Variable Stars (Dwarf Nova Cataclysmic Variable WZ Sge) V = 8.4 AAVSO Observers (40 days) AAVSO Observers (40 days)

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes20 Monitoring Variable Star and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) AGN OJ287: Light curve obtained by Poyner (British amateur astronomer Image of OJ287 with 10 in LX200

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes21 Light Curves of Short-Period Eclipsing Binaries: AB Andromeda AB And (V =11.0) P = 8.33 hrs IRO Observations AB And (V =11.0) P = 8.33 hrs IRO Observations

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes22 Optical Counterparts to Gamma Ray Bursts GRB detected by ROTSE (Jan 23, 1999) V=10 !

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes23 ROTSE: Optical Detection of GRB Telescope: 4” telephoto lens Camera: AP10 (2Kx2K) Jemez Mountains, New Mexico.

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes24 Amateur Astronomers detect a GRB afterglow! Frank Chalupka, Dennis Hohman and Tom Bakowski, Aquino (Buffalo NY Astronomy Club) -- pointed the club's 12-inch reflecting telescope at the nominal coordinates of the burst and accumulated data for two hours. Later when the images were calibrated and summed, there it was, a 20th-magnitude fireball just 7 arc seconds from a much brighter 17th-magnitude foreground star. V = 20 Gamma-ray detectors on the NEAR and Ulysses spacecraft first recorded the burst, labeled GRB000301C, on March 1, 2000

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes25 Detection of New Supernovae (M88)

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes26 Detection of Extra-Solar Planets: Doppler Effect HD89744 (F7V) P 256 days Mass 7M J HD89744 (F7V) P 256 days Mass 7M J

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes27 Detection of Extra-Solar Planets: Occultations

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes28 Detection of Extra-Solar Planets: Occultation of HD (V = 7.6) First detection by Henry et al (0.8 m, Fairborn Observatory, Tennessee State Univ.) Occultation is mag = 1. 58% STARE Light Curve)

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes29 Detection of Extra-Solar Planets: STARE Telescope (currently in Canary Islands) The current STARE telescope, as of July, 1999, is a field-flattened Schmidt working aperture of 4 in, (f/2.9). The telescope is coupled to a Pixelvision 2K x 2K CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) camera to obtain images with a scale of 10.8 arcseconds per pixel over a field of view 6.1 degrees square. Broad-band color filters (B, V, and R) that approximate the Johnson bands are slid between the telescope and camera. By taking exposures with different colored filters, the colors of stars in the field can be determined. This is necessary for accurate photometry.

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes30 Software for Astronomical Research Maxim DL (v. 3.0) Excellent for astrometry, photometry, image calibration, manipulation. Highly Recomended MIRA 6.1. Very good, not as user-friendly. Recommended CCDSoft. Newest version not tested. Pinpoint 2.1 Outstanding for astrometry.

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes31 Recommended Image Processing Software: Maxim DL (Beta version 3.0) Tools for Astrometry, Photometry

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes32 Sample faculty-student research project: “A Search for Small Comets using the IRO”

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes33

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes34 Small Comet Parameters (from Frank and Sigwarth 1993, Small comet Web site) Mass:~20,000 kg (steep mass spectrum -see next slide) Density:~0.1 x H 2 0 (F&S 93) Size: m (assuming density 0.1) Number density:(3 ± 1) · km -3 (M > 12,000 kg) Sigwarth 1989; FSC 90 Flux at Earth:1 every 3 seconds (10 7 per yr. = > 200 Tg-yr -1 ) Composition: Water ice with very dark carbonaceous mantle Albedo low (~0.02, F&S 93) Orbit:“Prograde, nearly parallel to ecliptic”, most q  0.9 AU (F&S 93) Speed:V ~10 km-sec -1 at 1 AU, 20 km -sec -1 before impact Origin:Hypothesized comet belt beyond Neptune Small Comet Parameters (from Frank and Sigwarth 1993, Small comet Web site) Mass:~20,000 kg (steep mass spectrum -see next slide) Density:~0.1 x H 2 0 (F&S 93) Size: m (assuming density 0.1) Number density:(3 ± 1) · km -3 (M > 12,000 kg) Sigwarth 1989; FSC 90 Flux at Earth:1 every 3 seconds (10 7 per yr. = > 200 Tg-yr -1 ) Composition: Water ice with very dark carbonaceous mantle Albedo low (~0.02, F&S 93) Orbit:“Prograde, nearly parallel to ecliptic”, most q  0.9 AU (F&S 93) Speed:V ~10 km-sec -1 at 1 AU, 20 km -sec -1 before impact Origin:Hypothesized comet belt beyond Neptune

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes35 IRO Small Comet Search: Observational Summary  The observations were made using the 0.5 m f/8 reflector of the Iowa Robotic Observatory between 24 September 1998 and 11 June  Observations were scheduled every month within one week of new moon. A total of 6,148 images were obtained, of which 2,718 were classified as category A (visual detection magnitude 16.5 or brighter in a 100 pixel trail).  Seeing conditions varied from arcsec (see histogram). For quality A images, seeing was < 3.5 arcsec.  All images were has thermal and bias corrections applied.  Images were recorded on CDROM and sent to the University of Iowa for analysis.  All images are available for independent analysis via anonymous ftp at node atf.physics.uiowa.edu. IRO Small Comet Search: Observational Summary  The observations were made using the 0.5 m f/8 reflector of the Iowa Robotic Observatory between 24 September 1998 and 11 June  Observations were scheduled every month within one week of new moon. A total of 6,148 images were obtained, of which 2,718 were classified as category A (visual detection magnitude 16.5 or brighter in a 100 pixel trail).  Seeing conditions varied from arcsec (see histogram). For quality A images, seeing was < 3.5 arcsec.  All images were has thermal and bias corrections applied.  Images were recorded on CDROM and sent to the University of Iowa for analysis.  All images are available for independent analysis via anonymous ftp at node atf.physics.uiowa.edu.

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes36 Search Geometry

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes37 Using synthetic trails to calibrate visual inspection  Synthetic comet trails were added to 520 search images with randomly chosen magnitudes and trail lengths.  Three observers independently inspected all images  Result: Visual detection threshold is ~0.9  per pixel, with a suggestion that longer trails can be detected slightly fainter, perhaps .  Synthetic comet trails were added to 520 search images with randomly chosen magnitudes and trail lengths.  Three observers independently inspected all images  Result: Visual detection threshold is ~0.9  per pixel, with a suggestion that longer trails can be detected slightly fainter, perhaps .

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes38 No detections: Mass-albedo constraints

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes40 18cm refractor, HPC-1 CCD camera, located on campus in Iowa City. ($50K) 50cm reflector, AP-8 camera, located in Sonoita, AZ. ($160K) 37cm reflector, AP-8 camera, spectrometer, located in Sonoita, AZ. ( appx. $100K) History of automated and robotic telescopes at the University of Iowa Project Goal: To provide a complete turn-key robotic Observatory for use in undergraduate astronomy teaching and research.

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes41 SubsystemSpecificationValue MountPointing error30 arcsec RMS full sky Tracking error< 0.01 arcsec per second OpticsSurface Error < 0.2 wave peak to valley < 0.06 RMS Point Spread Function > 88% of stellar photons within one pixel (24  ) at sensor edge ImagingField of View16.4 x 16.4 arcmin Pixel Resolution0.96 arcsec Sensitivity> 10:1 SNR 19 th magnitude star with clear filter in 60 seconds SpectroscopySpectral Resolution0.6 nm (0.3 nm pixels) Total Spectrum Coverage 300 – 1000 nm continuous Sensitivity>10:1 SNR on 6 th magnitude star in 10 sec (1nm resolution) Rigel Performance Specifications M101 (16’ x 16’)

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes42 Network Architecture Schedules images TCS data weather Shared Rigel Observatories

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes43 Data Rates Imaging per telescope 4 MB per 30sec = 133 kB/s Control,weather, real-time TV image, and scheduling 10KB/s Spectroscopy 0.1-1MB per min =2- 20 kB/s Totals 160 KB/s per telescope

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes44 OCAAS-compatible Remote Sites Local Site Astronomy Lab Room LAN Internet Image storage Web server Application server Image, schedule, monitor database transfer

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes45 Telescope Control Panel (on-site, real time observing) Automatic focus tool Axis calibration tool Audio messages Weather information and alerts

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes46 Gaussian fits with FWHM Differential photometry tool Automated WCS astrometric solution

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes47 Automatic asteroid ephemeris calculation Multiple image request with 1hr spacing Multiple filter with separate exposure times Manual position entry with specified user epoch Web-basedscheduleentry

21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes48 Internet guest observers Faculty, graduate student research projects Introductory Astronomy lab projects Astrophysics laboratory observing projects Web-based schedule status reports

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21 September 2001U.N.L. Robotic Telescopes51 Rigel Web site