The Automated Palomar 60 Inch Telescope

Abstract

We have converted the Palomar 60-inch telescope (P60) from a classical night assistant-operated telescope to a fully robotic facility. The automated system, which has been operational since September 2004, is designed for moderately fast (t <~ 3 minutes) and sustained (R <~ 23 mag) observations of gamma-ray burst afterglows and other transient events. Routine queue-scheduled observations can be interrupted in response to electronic notification of transient events. An automated pipeline reduces data in real-time, which is then stored on a searchable web-based archive for ease of distribution. We describe here the design requirements, hardware and software upgrades, and lessons learned from roboticization. We present an overview of the current system performance as well as plans for future upgrades.