Three years of ULTRASPEC at the Thai 2.4-m telescope: Capabilities and scientific highlights
Ram Kesh Yadav,
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand 260 Moo 4, Donkaew, Maerim, Chiangmai, 50180 Thailand,
kesh@narit.or.th
Andrea Richichi,
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand 260 Moo 4, Donkaew, Maerim, Chiangmai, 50180 Thailand and INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
Puji Irawati,
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand 260 Moo 4, Donkaew, Maerim, Chiangmai, 50180 Thailand
Vikram Singh Dhillon,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK
Thomas R. Marsh,
Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Boonrucksar Soonthornthum,
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand 260 Moo 4, Donkaew, Maerim, Chiangmai, 50180 Thailand
Abstract
High temporal resolution observations enable the study of rapid phenomena such as the flux varia¬tions in binary system objects, e.g. cataclysmic variables, compact binary systems, the flux variations in young star clusters, stellar occultations and more. The 2.4-m Thai National Telescope (TNT) is ideally suited for this niche research, being the largest facility in Southeast Asia and being equipped with ULTRASPEC, a high-speed imager based on a low-noise frame transfer electron-multiplying CCD. In the sub-window mode, ULTRASPEC can record uninterrupted sequences with frame rates as fast as few milliseconds. We present some of the key results obtained in the area of high time resolution with ULTRASPEC. We also present the results of a recent worldwide campaign to observe the current series of lunar occultations of Aldebaran (α Tauri) carried out in close collaboration with the Devasthal facilities, the out-of-eclipse variations on the post common-envelope system J1021+1744, and pre-main-sequence variables in young open cluster Stock 8.
Keywords : astronomy, astrophysics, instrumentation, observatories
Pour citer cet article
Ram Kesh Yadav, Andrea Richichi, Puji Irawati, Vikram Singh Dhillon, Thomas R. Marsh & Boonrucksar Soonthornthum, «Three years of ULTRASPEC at the Thai 2.4-m telescope: Capabilities and scientific highlights», Bulletin de la Société Royale des Sciences de Liège [En ligne], Volume 87 - Année 2018, Actes de colloques, First Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy & Astrophysics (BINA) workshop - November 2016 - Nainital, India, 102 - 107 URL : https://popups.uliege.be/0037-9565/index.php?id=7542.
