The STELLA robotic observatory on Tenerife

Abstract

The STELLA project is made up of two 1.2m robotic telescopes to simultaneously monitor stellar activity using a high-resolution spectrograph on one telescope, and an imaging instrument on the other telescope. The STELLA Echelle spectrograph (SES) along with the building has been in operation successfully since 2006, and is producing spectra covering the visual wavelength range between 390 and 900 nm at a resolution of 55 000. The stability of the spectrograph over the entire two year span, measured by monitoring 15 radial velocity standard stars, is 30 to 150 m/s rms. The Wide-field stellar imager and photometer (WIFSIP) was put into operation in 2010, when the SES-lightfeed was physically moved to the second telescope. We describe the final instrument conguration in use now, and on the efficiency of the robotic scheduling in use at the observatory.