1. The Catalina Real-time Transient Survey: The Catalina Real-time Transient Survey: An Open Optical Transient Survey Sept 19th, 2011 Andrew Drake, George Djorgovski, Ashish Mahabal, Roy Williams, Matthew Graham, Ciro Donalek (Caltech), Jose Prieto (Carnegie Obs), Marcio Catelan (PUC Chile), Edward Beshore, Steve Larson (LPL) Andrew Drake, George Djorgovski, Ashish Mahabal, Roy Williams, Matthew Graham, Ciro Donalek (Caltech), Jose Prieto (Carnegie Obs), Marcio Catelan (PUC Chile), Edward Beshore, Steve Larson (LPL) ajd@cacr.caltech.edu http://crts.calech.edu

2. The Catalina Surveys Catalina Real-time Transient Survey (CRTS) is a Caltech operated transient survey that started in Nov 2007 using from the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS). CSS is an NEO survey that began operation in March 2004. CSS operates three telescopes. Two in Tucson AZ & one in Siding Spring, Aus.

3. Observations All CSS observations are taken unfiltered. Observations 21 days/lunation. Cover up 2000 sq. deg/night. With 4 images. Mags ~19 – 21. Each telescope has an identical camera: –Spectral Instruments camera with Imager Labs thinned 4K 2 CCD. –14 second downloads

4. Catalina Sky Survey Discoveries

5. Catalina Sky Coverage Total Catalina coverage 33,000 sq deg. RA=0h RA=12h

6. Catalina Transient Survey The CRTS survey searches for highly varying astronomical sources (“optical transients”). The CRTS survey searches for highly varying astronomical sources (“optical transients”). Transients are found based on catalog comparisons Transients are found based on catalog comparisons CSS coadds, USNO-B, PQ, SDSS. CSS coadds, USNO-B, PQ, SDSS. Remove artifacts and asteroids by detection coincidence and motion. Remove artifacts and asteroids by detection coincidence and motion. All data is fully processed within minutes of observation. All data is fully processed within minutes of observation. All discoveries are made public instantly to enable rapid follow-up. All discoveries are made public instantly to enable rapid follow-up. Discover ~ 1 OT /10^6 measurements. Discover ~ 1 OT /10^6 measurements.

7. Transients CRTS has discovered ~4000 transients. CRTS has discovered ~4000 transients. CSS 0.7m telescope, 4ys ~2100 OTs MLS 1.5m telescope, 2yrs ~1600 OTs SSS 0.5m telescope, 1yr ~300 OTs CRTS transient discoveries include… CRTS transient discoveries include…

8. Main Transient Types Supernovae ( > 800 discovered) 2009+2010 twice number published by any other group (PTF, PanSTARRS, LOSS, etc.). Cataclysmic Variables (> 500 discovered) More than any past survey (eg. SDSS). UV Ceti stars (flare stars) ~100 discovered Blazars >100 discovered so far

9. 100’s more transient sources  AGN-disk SN (CSS100217).  Pair Instability SNe (SN 2009jh & SN 2007bi).  Young Stellar Objects (FU Ori, T Tauri)  High Proper Motion stars  Classical Novae (CSS081007)  Tidal disruption events (archival)  Extragalactic Luminous Blue Variables  Variable stars (LPV, RR Lyrae)

10. Discovery Locations Red=SN, Blue = CV, Green=Blazar, Magenta=Other Galactic Coords. SN red, CVs blue, blazars green, all others magenta.

11. Dwarf Nova type CVs Delta mags up to 8. Rise time ~1-2 days. Repeat time days to decades. Possible transient fog for LSST.

12. Flare Stars Flare of LHS-2397a 12 34

13. Discovery Notification Three layers of event distribution. Three layers of event distribution. 1) Real-time discovery (mins) VOEvents, SkyAlert, iPhone

14. Automated Event Distribution http://skyalert.org Discovery data -> VOEvent xml. Notices published to SkyAlert.org, etc. Automated discovery agents create a portfolio from VO services (SIMBAD, NED, etc.) & catalogs (SDSS, NVSS, etc.)

15. Discovery Notification Three layers of event distribution. Three layers of event distribution. 1) Real-time discovery (mins) VOEvents, VOEvents, SkyAlert 2) Human classified (mins-hrs) Event portfolios HTML, iPhone, Circulars, Twitter

16. Classified Events http://crts.caltech.edu Evaluation of past information Including: light curves, images, colours, nearby sources (eg. x-ray, radio, galaxies) -> classification. Info on classification also published as VOEvents to SkyAlert.org.

17. Discovery Notification Three layers of event distribution. Three layers of event distribution. 1) Real-time discovery (mins) VOEvents VOEvents 2) Human classified (mins-hrs) Event portfolios Event portfolios HTML, iPhone, Circulars, Twitter HTML, iPhone, Circulars, Twitter 3) Events of interest (mins-days) Portfolios + follow-up ATel, CBAT, VSNET

18. Extreme Supernovae Extremely long timescale SNe Extremely long timescale SNe Extremely bright SNe Extremely bright SNe SN associated with very faint galaxies SN associated with very faint galaxies

19. Long Lasting Supernova 2008iy Longest brightening supernova. Longest brightening supernova. Took ~400 days to brighten. Took ~400 days to brighten. ~20 times longer than a normal type Ia supernova. ~20 times longer than a normal type Ia supernova. Type IIn SN. Type IIn SN. Found in a galaxy ~500 times fainter than the Milky Way. Found in a galaxy ~500 times fainter than the Milky Way. Catelan et al. 2009, CBET#1780 Host galaxystar

20. Long Lasting Supernova 2008iy Spectra of 2008iy Black, Red P200 Cyan BTA 6m Green SMARTS

21. Long Lasting Supernova 2008iy Light curves of SN 2008iy

22. Shock breakout in SN2008iy Normalized flux curves of 2008iy comp. to stretched SN 2006gy and other SN. O O

23. 4yrs later still going strong. Keck spectrum of SN2008iy 1450 days after explosion! Drake et al. 2011 in prep.

24. CSS100217 Luminous SN IIn, TDE, or AGN variability? CSS light curve. CSS light curve.

25. CSS100217. SDSS NLS1 host galaxy spectrum

26. CSS100217 BPT emission diagram BPT emission diagram NLS1 variability NLS1 variability 1500 SDSS NLS1 (Zhou et al. 2006)

27. CSS100217 Follow-up spectra

28. CSS100217 Event light curve Event light curve Peak temp ~10^4K, weak radio, rapid var Peak temp ~10^4K, weak radio, rapid var => not TDE or AGN SN IIn spectra and SN light curve. SN IIn spectra (narrow + evolving broad Balmer features) and SN light curve. Peak mag = -23 with Ltot =1.3x10^52 erg => Most energetic and luminous SN known Drake et al. ApJ 2011.

29. SN Host Galaxies CRTS Lick Obs Supernova Search (LOSS) SN host galaxy mags.

30. Faint-galaxy Supernova SN 2008hp Type Ia supernova Type Ia supernova Found in very faint nearby galaxy. Found in very faint nearby galaxy. Redshift z=0.027 Redshift z=0.027 Host Mr=-12.4, ~7 mags (~600x) fainter than the supernova itself. Host Mr=-12.4, ~7 mags (~600x) fainter than the supernova itself. Very few stars, so expect few SNe. Very few stars, so expect few SNe. Host galaxy SDSS image

31. Releasing the CSS dataset Six years of data from each telescope. Six years of data from each telescope. 1.5 million 4x4k images. 1.5 million 4x4k images. History of 500 million discrete objects. History of 500 million discrete objects. cf. USNO-B 1 billion, SDSS dr7 ~400 million. 80 billion photometry points. 80 billion photometry points. cf. USNO-B 3.6 billion, SDSS dr7 2 billion, COROT 290 million. All CSS data is online & All CSS data is online & CRTS is making it all public. CRTS is making it all public.

32. Catalina Data Release During this workshop 1000 sq. deg. 120 < RA < 240, 11 < Dec < 20: http://nesssi.cacr.caltech.edu/cgi- bin/getcssconedbvao.cgi All CSS photometry will be released by November.

33. Transients Summary ~4000 unique optical transients: >800 SNe. >800 SNe. >500 CVs. >500 CVs. >100 Blazars. >100 Blazars. >100 Flare stars. >100 Flare stars. ~500 High amp vars, AGN, HPM stars, etc. ~500 High amp vars, AGN, HPM stars, etc.

34. CRTS Summary CRTS has discovered ~4000 optical transients. CRTS has discovered ~4000 optical transients. All CRTS discoveries are made public immediately (cf. PTF, PanSTARRS). All CRTS discoveries are made public immediately (cf. PTF, PanSTARRS). Discoveries include many extreme examples of supernovae. Discoveries include many extreme examples of supernovae. During this workshop 1000 sq deg of photometry (120 < RA < 240, 11 < Dec < 20) is available at: http://nesssi.cacr.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/getcssconedbvao.cgi During this workshop 1000 sq deg of photometry (120 < RA < 240, 11 < Dec < 20) is available at: http://nesssi.cacr.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/getcssconedbvao.cgi http://nesssi.cacr.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/getcssconedbvao.cgi CRTS will make all CSS photometry public by November. CRTS will make all CSS photometry public by November. http://crts.caltech.edu/ CRTS is supported by NSF Grant No. AST-0909182

35. Fin.

36. Publications CRTS Circulars (> 1500) CRTS Circulars (> 1500) twitter.com/skyalert Astronomer’s Telegrams (> 50) Astronomer’s Telegrams (> 50) www.astronomerstelegram.org CBETS (> 100) CBETS (> 100) www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/cbet/RecentCBETs.html VSNET Alerts (> 100) VSNET Alerts (> 100) www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/vsnet/ Journals (>25, mostly collaborative) Journals (>25, mostly collaborative) crts.caltech.edu/pub.html

37. Shock breakout in SN2008iy BeforeDuring BreakoutDifference

38. FU Ori Star CSS091110 CSS lightcurve

39. HPM Stars 2005-06-032007-03-14 2008-03-102009-04-18 2MASS J14442067-2019222 CSS lightcurve

40. Summary CRTS has so far discovered … CRTS has so far discovered …

41. Automated Detection Filtering Detection coincidence filtering. Detection coincidence filtering. Image artifact filtering. Image artifact filtering. CSS coadd source comparison. CSS coadd source comparison. Remove known MPC asteroids. Remove known MPC asteroids. Motion filtering of new asteroids. Motion filtering of new asteroids. Discovery rate is ~ 1 OT /10^6 measurements. Discovery rate is ~ 1 OT /10^6 measurements.

42. Event follow-up Supervised follow-up strategy: Photometry first Photometry first (2011) P60, NMSU, DAO, HTN, CSS 1m (2011) Spectroscopy only for transients appearing unusual (avoid common SN like Ia’s based on colour normal luminosities). Gemini N+S, Keck, P200, SMARTS, IGO, MDM. External follow-up: Foster follow-up of other transients by open publication and collaboration. Foster follow-up of other transients by open publication and collaboration.

43. Classification Review historical info. Broad light curve classes (CVs, SN, Vars, AGN). Broad light curve classes (CVs, SN, Vars, AGN). Comparison DSS, SDSS, PQ cats/images. Comparison DSS, SDSS, PQ cats/images. Datascope for: NED, SIMBAD, Downes, GCVS, FIRST, NVSS, 2MASS, ROSAT, Vernon, CGRABS, etc. Datascope for: NED, SIMBAD, Downes, GCVS, FIRST, NVSS, 2MASS, ROSAT, Vernon, CGRABS, etc. Combine elements to gain overall picture. Combine elements to gain overall picture.

44. Catalina Sky Coverage CSS Schmidt coverage ~23,000 sq deg

45. Long Lasting Supernova 2008iy Light curves of SN 2008iy LC of 2008iy comp. shifted & stretched SN 2006gy.