Software for autonomous astronomical observatories: challenges and opportunities in the age of big data

Piotr W. Sybilski; Rafał Pawłaszek; Stanisław K. Kozłowski; Maciej Konacki; Milena Ratajczak; Krzysztof G. Hełminiak

doi:10.1117/12.2055836

18 July 2014 Software for autonomous astronomical observatories: challenges and opportunities in the age of big data

Piotr W. Sybilski, Rafał Pawłaszek, Stanisław K. Kozłowski, Maciej Konacki, Milena Ratajczak, Krzysztof G. Hełminiak

Proceedings Volume 9152, Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy III; 91521C (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2055836
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2014, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

We present the software solution developed for a network of autonomous telescopes, deployed and tested in Solaris Project. The software aims to fulfil the contemporary needs of distributed autonomous observatories housing medium sized telescopes: ergonomics, availability, security and reusability. The datafication of such facilities seems inevitable and we give a preliminary study of the challenges and opportunities waiting for software developers. Project Solaris is a global network of four 0.5 m autonomous telescopes conducting a survey of eclipsing binaries in the Southern Hemisphere. The Project's goal is to detect and characterise circumbinary planets using the eclipse timing method. The observatories are located on three continents, and the headquarters coordinating and monitoring the network is in Poland. All four are operational as of December 2013.

Citation Download Citation

Piotr W. Sybilski, Rafał Pawłaszek, Stanisław K. Kozłowski, Maciej Konacki, Milena Ratajczak, and Krzysztof G. Hełminiak "Software for autonomous astronomical observatories: challenges and opportunities in the age of big data", Proc. SPIE 9152, Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy III, 91521C (18 July 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2055836

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