Ultracam camera control and data acquisition system

Steven M. Beard; Andrew J. A. Vick; David Atkinson; V. S. Dhillon; Thomas Marsh; Stewart McLay; Mark Stevenson; Chris Tierney

doi:10.1117/12.461354

13 December 2002 Ultracam camera control and data acquisition system

Steven M. Beard, Andrew J. A. Vick, David Atkinson, V. S. Dhillon, Thomas Marsh, Stewart McLay, Mark Stevenson, Chris Tierney

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4848, Advanced Telescope and Instrumentation Control Software II; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461354
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

Ultracam is a high speed, three channel CCD camera designed to provide imaging photometry at high temporal resolution, allowing the study of rapidly changing astronomical phenomena such as eclipses, rapidly flickering light curves and occultation events. It is designed to provide frame rates up to 500 Hz with minimum inter-frame dead time and to time-tag each frame to within 1 millisecond of UT. The high data rates that this instrument produces, together with its use as a visitor instrument at a number of observatories, have lead to a highly modular design. Each major service (camera, control, sequencing, data handlers, etc.) is a separate process that communicates using XML documents via HTTP transport, allowing the services to be redeployed or reconfigured with minimal effort. The use of XML and HTTP also allows a web browser to act as a front end for any of the services, as well as providing easy access to services from other control systems. The overall design allows for simple re-engineering for a variety of imaging systems, and is already expected to provide control of IR arrays for the UKIRT Wide-Field Camera project. The instrument has been successfully commissioned on the William Herschel Telescope.

Citation Download Citation

Steven M. Beard, Andrew J. A. Vick, David Atkinson, V. S. Dhillon, Thomas Marsh, Stewart McLay, Mark Stevenson, and Chris Tierney "Ultracam camera control and data acquisition system", Proc. SPIE 4848, Advanced Telescope and Instrumentation Control Software II, (13 December 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461354

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available