Nathan W. Galliher, Thomas Procter, Nicholas M. Law, Hank Corbett, Ward S. Howard, Alan Vasquez Soto, Ramses Gonzalez, Lawrence Machia, Jonathan Carney, William J. Marshall
{"title":"ArgusSpec 原型:对大型阵列望远镜探测到的耀斑进行自主光谱跟踪","authors":"Nathan W. Galliher, Thomas Procter, Nicholas M. Law, Hank Corbett, Ward S. Howard, Alan Vasquez Soto, Ramses Gonzalez, Lawrence Machia, Jonathan Carney, William J. Marshall","doi":"10.1088/1538-3873/ad2c95","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ArgusSpec is a prototype autonomous spectroscopic follow-up instrument designed to characterize flares detected by the Argus Pathfinder telescope array by taking short exposure (30 s) broadband spectra (370–750 nm) at low resolutions (<italic toggle=\"yes\">R</italic> ∼ 150 at 500 nm). The instrument is built from consumer off-the-shelf astronomical equipment, assembled inside a shipping container, and deployed alongside the Argus Pathfinder at a dark sky observing site in Western North Carolina. In this paper, we describe the hardware design, system electronics, custom control software suite, automated target acquisition procedure, and data reduction pipeline. We present initial on-sky test data used to evaluate system performance and show a series of spectra taken of a small flare from AD Leonis. The $35k prototype ArgusSpec was designed, built, and deployed in under a year, largely from existing parts, and has been operating on-sky since 2023 March. With current hardware and software, the system is capable of receiving an observation, slewing, performing autonomous slit acquisition, and beginning data acquisition within an average of 32 s. With Argus Pathfinder’s 1 s cadence survey reporting alerts of rising sources within 2 s of onset, ArgusSpec can reach new targets well within a minute of the start of the event. As built, ArgusSpec can observe targets down to a 20<italic toggle=\"yes\">σ</italic> limiting magnitude of <italic toggle=\"yes\">m</italic>\n<sub>\n<italic toggle=\"yes\">V</italic>\n</sub> ≈ 13 at 30 s cadence with an optical resolution of <italic toggle=\"yes\">R</italic> ∼ 150 (at 500 nm). With automated rapid acquisition demonstrated, later hardware upgrades will be based on a clean-sheet optical design, solving many issues in the current system, significantly improving the limiting magnitude, and potentially enabling deep spectroscopy by the coaddition of data from an array of ArgusSpec systems. The primary science driver behind ArgusSpec is the characterization of the blackbody evolution of flares from nearby M-dwarfs. Large flares emitted by these stars could have significant impacts on the potential habitability of any orbiting exoplanets, but our current understanding of these events is in large part built on observations from a handful of active stars. 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Marshall\",\"doi\":\"10.1088/1538-3873/ad2c95\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"ArgusSpec is a prototype autonomous spectroscopic follow-up instrument designed to characterize flares detected by the Argus Pathfinder telescope array by taking short exposure (30 s) broadband spectra (370–750 nm) at low resolutions (<italic toggle=\\\"yes\\\">R</italic> ∼ 150 at 500 nm). The instrument is built from consumer off-the-shelf astronomical equipment, assembled inside a shipping container, and deployed alongside the Argus Pathfinder at a dark sky observing site in Western North Carolina. In this paper, we describe the hardware design, system electronics, custom control software suite, automated target acquisition procedure, and data reduction pipeline. We present initial on-sky test data used to evaluate system performance and show a series of spectra taken of a small flare from AD Leonis. The $35k prototype ArgusSpec was designed, built, and deployed in under a year, largely from existing parts, and has been operating on-sky since 2023 March. With current hardware and software, the system is capable of receiving an observation, slewing, performing autonomous slit acquisition, and beginning data acquisition within an average of 32 s. With Argus Pathfinder’s 1 s cadence survey reporting alerts of rising sources within 2 s of onset, ArgusSpec can reach new targets well within a minute of the start of the event. As built, ArgusSpec can observe targets down to a 20<italic toggle=\\\"yes\\\">σ</italic> limiting magnitude of <italic toggle=\\\"yes\\\">m</italic>\\n<sub>\\n<italic toggle=\\\"yes\\\">V</italic>\\n</sub> ≈ 13 at 30 s cadence with an optical resolution of <italic toggle=\\\"yes\\\">R</italic> ∼ 150 (at 500 nm). 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引用次数: 0
摘要
ArgusSpec 是一个自主光谱跟踪仪器原型,旨在通过以低分辨率(500 nm 处 R ∼ 150)拍摄短时间曝光(30 秒)宽带光谱(370-750 nm)来描述 Argus 探路者望远镜阵列探测到的耀斑。该仪器使用现成的天文设备,组装在一个集装箱内,与阿格斯探路者一起部署在北卡罗来纳州西部的一个暗天观测点。在本文中,我们将介绍硬件设计、系统电子设备、定制控制软件套件、自动目标获取程序和数据缩减管道。我们介绍了用于评估系统性能的初始星空测试数据,并展示了从 AD Leonis 拍摄的一系列小型耀斑光谱。耗资 3.5 万美元的原型 ArgusSpec 在不到一年的时间内完成了设计、制造和部署,主要是利用现有部件,自 2023 年 3 月以来一直在星上运行。由于 Argus Pathfinder 的 1 秒周期巡天会在开始后 2 秒内报告上升源警报,ArgusSpec 可以在事件开始后一分钟内到达新目标。目前,ArgusSpec 能以 30 秒的频率观测到 mV ≈ 13 的 20σ 极限量级目标,光学分辨率为 R ∼ 150(500 纳米)。在演示了自动快速采集之后,以后的硬件升级将以简洁的光学设计为基础,解决目前系统中的许多问题,显著提高极限量级,并有可能通过对 ArgusSpec 系统阵列中的数据进行叠加来实现深度光谱分析。ArgusSpec 背后的主要科学驱动力是鉴定附近 M 型矮星耀斑的黑体演化。这些恒星发射的大型耀斑可能会对任何环绕系外行星的潜在宜居性产生重大影响,但我们目前对这些事件的了解在很大程度上是建立在对少数活跃恒星的观测基础上的。ArgusSpec 将对夜空中的大量耀斑进行定性分析,建立一个包含各种质量和年龄恒星的最极端事件的光谱库。
The ArgusSpec Prototype: Autonomous Spectroscopic Follow-up of Flares Detected by Large Array Telescopes
ArgusSpec is a prototype autonomous spectroscopic follow-up instrument designed to characterize flares detected by the Argus Pathfinder telescope array by taking short exposure (30 s) broadband spectra (370–750 nm) at low resolutions (R ∼ 150 at 500 nm). The instrument is built from consumer off-the-shelf astronomical equipment, assembled inside a shipping container, and deployed alongside the Argus Pathfinder at a dark sky observing site in Western North Carolina. In this paper, we describe the hardware design, system electronics, custom control software suite, automated target acquisition procedure, and data reduction pipeline. We present initial on-sky test data used to evaluate system performance and show a series of spectra taken of a small flare from AD Leonis. The $35k prototype ArgusSpec was designed, built, and deployed in under a year, largely from existing parts, and has been operating on-sky since 2023 March. With current hardware and software, the system is capable of receiving an observation, slewing, performing autonomous slit acquisition, and beginning data acquisition within an average of 32 s. With Argus Pathfinder’s 1 s cadence survey reporting alerts of rising sources within 2 s of onset, ArgusSpec can reach new targets well within a minute of the start of the event. As built, ArgusSpec can observe targets down to a 20σ limiting magnitude of mV ≈ 13 at 30 s cadence with an optical resolution of R ∼ 150 (at 500 nm). With automated rapid acquisition demonstrated, later hardware upgrades will be based on a clean-sheet optical design, solving many issues in the current system, significantly improving the limiting magnitude, and potentially enabling deep spectroscopy by the coaddition of data from an array of ArgusSpec systems. The primary science driver behind ArgusSpec is the characterization of the blackbody evolution of flares from nearby M-dwarfs. Large flares emitted by these stars could have significant impacts on the potential habitability of any orbiting exoplanets, but our current understanding of these events is in large part built on observations from a handful of active stars. ArgusSpec will characterize large numbers of flares from across the night sky, building a spectroscopic library of the most extreme events from a wide variety of stellar masses and ages.
期刊介绍:
The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP), the technical journal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), has been published regularly since 1889, and is an integral part of the ASP''s mission to advance the science of astronomy and disseminate astronomical information. The journal provides an outlet for astronomical results of a scientific nature and serves to keep readers in touch with current astronomical research. It contains refereed research and instrumentation articles, invited and contributed reviews, tutorials, and dissertation summaries.