Time-series CCD photometer The study of pulsating white dwarfs requires a special kind of instrument capable of high speed imaging. When studying phenomena that change rapidly, we do not have the luxury of increasing our exposure time to improve the signal. Our instrument must be highly efficient even with short exposures. We also need high timing precision to determine the beginning and duration of each exposure accurately. Most CCD cameras cannot obtain data continuously -- there is a dead time between exposures when the detector is busy reading out the previous image. The time required varies from a few seconds to a few minutes. We need an instrument with essentially zero dead time, so we can record the rapidly variable phenomena without interruption. Most observatories do not provide high-speed imaging systems which satisfy these special requirements. We are raising funds to build a high speed CCD imaging instrument, based on a commercial CCD camera, optimized to observe pulsating white dwarfs and other dynamic phenomena. The design is based on an existing system, known as Argos, at McDonald Observatory. The portable nature of this instrument will allow us to send it wherever it is needed for Whole Earth Telescope observations (particularly at Asian longitudes), and eventually duplicate it where funds are available.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 08:29:44 +0000
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