A telescope control and scheduling system for the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO)

Martin J. Dyer; Vik S. Dhillon; Stuart Littlefair; Danny Steeghs; Krzysztof Ulaczyk; Paul Chote; Duncan Galloway; Evert Rol

doi:10.1117/12.2311865

10 July 2018 A telescope control and scheduling system for the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO)

Martin J. Dyer, Vik S. Dhillon, Stuart Littlefair, Danny Steeghs, Krzysztof Ulaczyk, Paul Chote, Duncan Galloway, Evert Rol

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10704, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems VII; 107040C (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2311865
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) is a wide-field telescope project aimed at detecting optical counterparts to gravitational wave sources. The prototype instrument was inaugurated in July 2017 on La Palma in the Canary Islands. We describe the GOTO Telescope Control System (G-TeCS), a custom robotic control system written in Python which autonomously manages the telescope hardware and nightly operations. The system comprises of multiple independent control daemons, which are supervised by a master control program known as the "pilot". Observations are decided by a "just-in-time" scheduler, which instructs the pilot what to observe in real time and provides quick follow-up of transient events.

Conference Presentation

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Martin J. Dyer, Vik S. Dhillon, Stuart Littlefair, Danny Steeghs, Krzysztof Ulaczyk, Paul Chote, Duncan Galloway, and Evert Rol "A telescope control and scheduling system for the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO)", Proc. SPIE 10704, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems VII, 107040C (10 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2311865

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