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arXiv · 2012.02685

The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO)

Martin J. Dyer·Danny Steeghs·Duncan K. Galloway·Vik S. Dhillon·Paul O'Brien·Gavin Ramsay·Kanthanakorn Noysena·Enric Pallé·Rubina Kotak·Rene Breton·Laura Nuttall·Don Pollacco·Krzysztof Ulaczyk·Joseph Lyman·Kendall Ackley
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Abstract

The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) is a wide-field telescope project focused on detecting optical counterparts to gravitational-wave sources. GOTO uses arrays of 40 cm unit telescopes (UTs) on a shared robotic mount, which scales to provide large fields of view in a cost-effective manner. A complete GOTO mount uses 8 unit telescopes to give an overall field of view of 40 square degrees, and can reach a depth of 20th magnitude in three minutes. The GOTO-4 prototype was inaugurated with 4 unit telescopes in 2017 on La Palma, and was upgraded to a full 8-telescope array in 2020. A second 8-UT mount will be installed on La Palma in early 2021, and another GOTO node with two more mount systems is planned for a southern site in Australia. When complete, each mount will be networked to form a robotic, dual-hemisphere observatory, which will survey the entire visible sky every few nights and enable rapid follow-up detections of transient sources.

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Martin J. Dyer, Danny Steeghs, Duncan K. Galloway, Vik S. Dhillon, Paul O'Brien, Gavin Ramsay, Kanthanakorn Noysena, Enric Pallé, Rubina Kotak, Rene Breton, Laura Nuttall, Don Pollacco, Krzysztof Ulaczyk, Joseph Lyman, Kendall Ackley. 2020-12-04. The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561008

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