Abstract

Our project aims to identify the physical nature of gamma-ray burst (GRB) emission via measurement of the optical spectral shape of this emission during the prompt phase, usually lasting only 60 sec. These measurements require a fast-moving optical telescope and instrumentation to respond autonomously to real-time GRB alerts. The Nazarbayev University Transient Telescope at AssyTurgen Astrophysical Observatory (NUTTelA-TAO) has a 0.7 m aperture, and can point anywhere above the local horizon in 8 seconds. We receive GRB Alerts via internet socket connection to the Gamma Coordinates Network (GCN) at the telescope site. We measure the GRB prompt optical emission with the Burst Simultaneous Three-Channel Imager (BSTI), which incorporates 3 EMCCD cameras, at Sloan g', r', and i' bands, for simultaneous high time-resolution imaging as fast as a few hundred millisecond per frame. We describe our automated control system software, including the overall control algorithm, control of the telescope, control and actuation systems for the enclosure roof, control of the instrument, and inputs from weather and other sensors. The software system is based on the GNU data language (GDL) in a Linux environment, selected for ease of writing and de-bugging software, familiarity to the project scientists, and image analysis capabilities. We give system performance results obtained during the early commissioning period.

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