PROMPT Telescopes
Six robotic telescopes for rapid gamma-ray burst afterglow observations.
PROMPT stands for Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetry Telescopes. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is building this array of six 0.41-meter telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Its main goal is to catch gamma-ray burst afterglows quickly and in multiple wavelengths at once, sometimes when the bursts are only tens of seconds old. The system can measure redshifts using the dropout technique, and for bright enough afterglows it can produce unusually detailed early-time spectral flux distributions and extinction curves. PROMPT also enables rapid follow-up observations at larger facilities, such as the UNC-led 4.1-meter SOAR Telescope, and serves as an educational platform for undergraduate and high school students across North Carolina.
Each telescope is a Ritchey-Chrétien design from RC Optical Systems, mounted on a Paramount ME mount from Software Bisque that can slew at 9 degrees per second, and housed in a clamshell dome by Astro Haven. Five of the telescopes use Apogee Alta U47+ cameras with E2V CCDs that read out in under two seconds. The sixth telescope is being equipped with a liquid-nitrogen-cooled Micro-Cam from Rockwell Scientific for near-infrared imaging. Every mirror and camera coating is tuned for a different wavelength range, including one telescope optimized for the u-band. While other filters are available, PROMPT automatically observes gamma-ray burst locations in ugriz simultaneously. The R-band telescope also measures polarization, using a polarimeter designed and built at UNC’s Goodman Laboratory for Astronomical Instrumentation.
The system is managed by "Skynet," a prioritized queue scheduler developed at UNC-Chapel Hill. Skynet runs in LabView on a computer at UNC’s Morehead Observatory, communicates with a MySQL database, and commands "Terminator" programs at each telescope. Images are automatically sent back to a 6.5-terabyte RAID 5 array with tape backup at Morehead. Users can submit jobs and retrieve data from anywhere through a PHP-enabled web server linked to the MySQL database. Gamma-ray bursts receive top priority and are added to the queue automatically via a socket connection.
- Number of telescopes
- 6
- Aperture
- 0.41 m
- Telescope type
- Ritchey-Chrétien
- Mount
- Paramount ME by Software Bisque (9°/sec slew rate)
- Dome
- Clamshell dome by Astro Haven
- Location
- Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), Chile
- Builder
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lore & Background
PROMPT consists of six 0.41-m Ritchey-Chrétien telescopes by RC Optical Systems on rapidly slewing (9°/sec) Paramount ME mounts by Software Bisque, each under a clamshell dome by Astro Haven. Five of these telescopes use rapid-readout (<2 sec) Alta U47+ cameras by Apogee, which make use of E2V CCDs. The sixth is being outfitted with an LN2-cooled Micro-Cam by Rockwell Scientific for NIR imaging. Each mirror and camera coating combination has been optimized for a different wavelength range, including a u-band optimized telescope. Although other filters are available, PROMPT automatically observes GRB localizations in ugriz simultaneously. The R-band telescope will additionally measure polarizations. The polarimeter was designed and built at UNC's Goodman Laboratory for Astronomical Instrumentation.
PROMPT is under the control of 'Skynet,' a prioritized queue scheduling system being developed at UNC-Chapel Hill. Skynet is written in LabView and runs on a computer at UNC's Morehead Observatory. Skynet interacts with a MySQL database and commands 'Terminator' programs at each telescope. Images are automatically transferred back to a 6.5 terabyte RAID 5 with tape backup at Morehead Observatory. Users can submit jobs and retrieve data from any location via a PHP-enabled web server that interacts with the MySQL database. However, GRBs receive top priority and are automatically added to the queue via a socket connection.
Reader's Guide
PROMPT's significance lies in its ability to perform rapid and simultaneous multiwavelength observations of gamma-ray burst afterglows, some when they are only tens of seconds old. In addition to measuring redshifts by dropout, and early-time SFDs and extinction curves of sufficiently bright afterglows in unprecedented detail, PROMPT facilitates quick response observations at larger observatories such as the UNC-led 4.1-m SOAR Telescope. The system also serves as a platform for undergraduate and high school education throughout the State of North Carolina. Its automated queue scheduling system, Skynet, prioritizes GRBs automatically via a socket connection, ensuring rapid response. The combination of six optimized telescopes, rapid-readout cameras, and a polarimeter allows for detailed early-time studies of gamma-ray burst afterglows that were previously unattainable.
Did You Know?
- Five of the six telescopes use rapid-readout (<2 sec) Alta U47+ cameras by Apogee with E2V CCDs.
- The R-band telescope will additionally measure polarizations using a polarimeter built at UNC's Goodman Laboratory for Astronomical Instrumentation.
- PROMPT is controlled by Skynet, a prioritized queue scheduling system written in LabView and running at UNC's Morehead Observatory.
More in Optical Telescopes 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced