Abstract
A high-speed photometer, "OPTIMA" short for Optical Pulsar Timing Analyzer, has been designed as a sensitive, portable detector to observe optical pulsars and other highly variable sources. The detector contains eight fiber fed avalanche photodiode single photon counters, a GPS timing receiver, a CCD camera for target acquisition and a computerized control unit. The central fibers are configured as a hexagonal bundle around the target fiber, while one fiber is located at a distance of ~1' as a monitor for the night sky background. Recently a rotating polarization filter and a 4-color prism spectrograph have been added to the system as optional equipment. Since January 1999 OPTIMA has been used on different telescopes to measure detailed lightcurves and polarization of the Crab Pulsar, in a search for optical emission from the Geminga pulsar, and for the timing of cataclysmic variables and X-ray transients.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callSimilar Papers
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
