[▲ “BOOTES-3” in New Zealand (Credit: IAA-CSIC/NIWA)]
The Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucía (abbreviated IAA in English), a research institute of the State Agency Spanish Research Council (abbreviated CSIC in Spanish) on February 14, a network of robotic telescopes「BOOTES（Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System）」announced that the deployment of BOOTES is the world’s first robotic telescope network with observation stations on all five continents, with seven observation stations apparently deployed in Spain (two), New Zealand, China, Mexico, South Africa and Chile.
Seven observation stations cover celestial events
“BOOTES”, which has the same name as the Latin name for the constellation Bootes, has been in place since the first observation station (BOOTES-1) was established in Huelva, Spain in 1998, followed by BOOTES-7 in Atacama, Chile, at the end of 2022. 25 years have passed since then. The equipment installed in each observation station is not the same, for example, one of the observation equipment in BOOTES-1 “BOOTES-1A” is equipped with a 50 mm wide-field lens and two CCD cameras. All these instruments are managed by the IAA.
The advantages of building a network of observation stations like BOOTES are:Capable of covering astronomical phenomena occurring all over the skyIt is said to be at a point. especially,Extremely effective for follow-up observations of “gamma-ray bursts” that cannot be predicted when and where they will occurseems to be
[▲ A diagram showing the locations of the seven observation stations that make up BOOTES (Credit: IAA-CSIC/UMA/INTA)]
Automation of observations enables quick follow-up observations
Like the robot arm installed on the International Space Station (ISS), it is said that in the field of astronomical observation, a wave of “automation” is surging, in which work is entrusted to machines that can act autonomously to some extent in place of humans. After the middle of the year, automation of tasks such as command transmission, remote control, and power supply by private power generation was considered. In particular, BOOTES is expected to observe the faint light (followingglow) that is observed following the detection of a gamma-ray burst, so rapid follow-up observations are required. BOOTES automates the aggregation of data from observation equipment located around the world,Follow-up observations can be started in as little as 3 seconds, even for faint objects and phenomena as low as 21st magnitude.It seems that.
[▲ “BOOTES-6” installed in South Africa in July 2022 (Credit: bootesnetwork.com)]
Follow-up observation of gamma-ray bursts, the purpose of BOOTES
The main purpose of BOOTES is to be the most energetic explosion event in the universe.Elucidation of gamma-ray burstsis. In a gamma-ray burst, a high-energy explosion phenomenon occurs in a short period of time from several seconds to several thousand seconds, and then electromagnetic waves with a wide range of wavelengths ranging from X-rays to radio waves are emitted for a long time and gradually decay. Long gamma-ray bursts, which last for a relatively long time, are thought to be associated with supernova explosions of massive stars, but short gamma-ray bursts, which last only for a short time, are still a mystery.
Related: Gamma-ray burst “GRB 211211A” that overturned predictions of its source
In order to elucidate the mystery of these gamma-ray bursts, BOOTES seems to carry out follow-up observations of the electromagnetic waves generated following the explosion.At the same time as observing the light emitted by celestial bodies that cause gamma-ray bursts, it also detects electromagnetic waves of a wide range of wavelengths.It’s called.
BOOTES can track and monitor celestial bodies such as neutrino sources, gravitational wave sources, comets, asteroids, variable stars and supernovae, as well as space debris and other objects that may collide with artificial satellites. It seems that it will also be done.
Since BOOTES conducted follow-up observations of five gamma-ray bursts detected by the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO) during the test phase, it has successfully observed various astronomical phenomena. In 2017, we will see the kilonova associated with the first gravitational wave “GW170817” in the history of observation, in 2020 we will see the high-speed radio burst “FRB 200428” generated in the Milky Way galaxy, and in 2021 we will see a huge flare emitted by a neutron star. Succeeded in the follow-up observation of “GRB 200415A” which is supposed to be. With observation stations on all five continents, more results are expected from BOOTES in the future.
Related:[Space quiz]How many light years away was the closest thing in the history of observation to the mysterious phenomenon “gamma ray burst”?
Source
Text / Misato Kadono