Autonomous Observing and Control Systems for PAIRITEL, a 1.3m Infrared\n Imaging Telescope

Abstract

The Peters Automated Infrared Imaging Telescope (PAIRITEL) is the first\nmeter-class telescope operating as a fully robotic IR imaging system. Dedicated\nin October 2004, PAIRITEL began regular observations in mid-December 2004 as\npart of a 1.5 year commissioning period. The system was designed to respond\nwithout human intervention to new gamma-ray burst transients: this milestone\nwas finally reached on November 9, 2005 but the telescope had a number of\nsemi-automated sub-10 minute responses throughout early commissioning. When not\noperating in Target of Opportunity mode, PAIRITEL performs a number of queue\nscheduled transient monitoring campaigns. To achieve this level of automation,\nwe have developed communicating tools to connect the various sub-systems: an\nintelligent queue scheduling database, run-time configurable observation\nsequence software, a data reduction pipeline, and a master state machine which\nmonitors and controls all functions within and affecting the observatory.\n