Processing Images from the Zwicky Transient Facility

Authors

  • Russ R. Laher IPAC
  • Frank J. Masci IPAC
  • Steve Groom IPAC
  • Benjamin Rusholme IPAC
  • David L. Shupe IPAC
  • Ed Jackson IPAC
  • Jason Surace IPAC
  • Dave Flynn IPAC
  • Walter Landry IPAC
  • Scott Terek IPAC
  • George Helou IPAC
  • Ron Beck IPAC
  • Eugean Hacopians Anre Technologies Inc.
  • Umaa Rebbapragada Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
  • Brian Bue Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
  • Roger M. Smith Caltech Optical Observatories, California Institute of Technology
  • Richard G. Dekany Caltech Optical Observatories, California Institute of Technology
  • Adam A. Miller Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, Northwestern University,
  • S. B. Cenko Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Eric Bellm Department of Astronomy, University of Washington
  • Maria Patterson Department of Astronomy, University of Washington
  • Thomas Kupfer Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
  • Matthew Graham Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
  • Mansi M. Kasliwal Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
  • Thomas A. Prince Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
  • Shrinivas R. Kulkarni Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology

Keywords:

Asteroids, Stars, Variables, Binaries, Supernovae, Cataclysmic Variables, Galactic, Active Nuclei, Techniques, Image Processing, Photometric Methods, Observational, Data Analysis

Abstract

The Zwicky Transient Facility is a new robotic-observing program, in which a newly engineered 600-MP digital camera with a pioneeringly large field of view, 47 square degrees, will be installed into the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope at the Palomar Observatory. The camera will generate 1 petabyte of raw image data over three years of operations. In parallel related work, new hardware and software systems are being developed to process these data in real time and build a long-term archive for the processed products. The first public release of archived products is planned for early 2019, which will include processed images and astronomical-source catalogs of the northern sky in the g and r bands. Source catalogs based on two different methods will be generated for the archive: aperture photometry and point-spread-function fitting.

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Published

2018-10-16

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2018): Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education (RTSRE) Proceedings

Section

Articles