The ESO Science Archive offers powerful interfaces through which any user can browse and download its content. The most recent developments [18,19,20,22] consist of the web-based archive science portal and a programmatic interface providing Virtual Observatory (VO) access to the Science Archive. The underlying databases offer a rich set of scientifically characterizing and VO-based metadata to facilitate data discovery [1, 15, and 23 in turn based on 2,5,6,8]. The query results provide access to the identified files together with related ancillary files and information (e.g., previews, weight-maps, data documentation, calibration reference files, etc.). Specific to the programmatic interface, users can explore the structure and content of the archive databases and scientific catalogue tables [4,21], and then write their own queries [3], for an empowered data discovery experience. When downloading the data, users can select the cutout service [16] to retrieve selected spatial and/or spectral subsets instead of the entire datasets. Authentication and authorization allow privileged users to extend their query and download capabilities beyond what is possible to anonymous users. The adoption of Virtual Observatory (VO) standards and technologies has been at the core of the development of the described interfaces. Here below we present the interfaces, and then an analysis of the costs and benefits of utilizing VO technologies in the ESO archive, as well as the lessons learned in the process.
In recent years, we developed two very high speed single photon photometers, Aqueye and Iqueye, as prototypes for “quantum” photometers for the Extremely Large Telescopes of the next decade. These instruments, based on single photon avalanche photodiodes and a 4-fold split-pupil concept, have been successfully used to obtain data of the highest quality on optical pulsars. Subsequently, we performed an attempt to utilize the Orbital Angular Momentum and associated Optical Vorticity to achieve high performance stellar coronagraphy. Presently, we are making a synergic effort in building Aqueye Plus, a new instrument for the 1.8 m telescope of the Asiago - Cima Ekar Observatory, which combines both functions, namely high speed simultaneous multicolor photon counting photometry and stellar coronagraphy. The innovative capability of Aqueye Plus is to take advantage of the two parallel outputs (NIM and TTL) of the four high time accuracy photon counting sensors. The NIM output preserves the best timing capability, while the TTL output drives a deformable 32-element mirror in a sort of quadrant detector to correct for defocus and tip/tilt aberrations of the stellar image on the phase mask discontinuity. This paper describes the Aqueye Plus instrument main characteristics and its foreseen performance.
L. Abe, J.-P. Rivet, A. Agabi, E. Aristidi, D. Mekarnia, I. Goncalves, T. Guillot, M. Barbieri, N. Crouzet, F. Fressin, F.-X. Schmider, Y. Fantei-Caujolle, J.-B. Daban, C. Gouvret, S. Peron, P.-Y. Petit, A. Robini, M. Dugue, E. Bondoux, T. Fruth, A. Erikson, H. Rauer, F. Pont, A. Alapini, S. Aigrain, J. Szulagyi, P.-E. Blanc, A. Le Van Suu
The ASTEP program is dedicated to exo-planet transit search from the Concordia Station located at Dome C, Antarctica.
It comprises two instruments: a fixed 10cm refractor pointed toward the celestial South Pole, and a 400mm Newton
telescope with a 1x1 degree field of view. This work focuses on the latter instrument. It has been installed in November
2009, and has been observing since then during the two polar winters 2010 and 2011. After presenting the main science
observing programs, we review the telescope installation, performance, and describe its operating conditions as well as
the data reduction and handling strategy. The resulting lightcurves are generally very stable and of excellent quality, as
shown by continuous observations of WASP-19 that we present here.
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