RoboNet-1.0 was a prototype global network of UK-built 2-metre

robotic telescope A robotic telescope is an astronomical telescope and detector system that makes observations without the intervention of a human. In astronomical disciplines, a telescope qualifies as robotic if it makes those observations without being operated ...

s, the largest of their kind in the world, comprising the Liverpool Telescope on La Palma (Canary Islands), the

Faulkes Telescope North The Faulkes Telescope North is a clone of the Liverpool Telescope, and is located at Haleakala Observatory in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is a f/10 Ritchey-Chrétien telescope. The telescope is owned and operated by LCOGT. This telescope and ...

on Maui (Hawaii), and the

Faulkes Telescope South The Faulkes Telescope South is a clone of the Liverpool Telescope and is located at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. It is a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope. It was designed to be operated remotely with the aim of encourag ...

in Australia, managed by a consortium of ten UK universities under the lead of Liverpool John Moores University. For the technological aims of integrating a global network to act effectively as a single instrument, and maximizing the scientific return by applying the newest developments in

e-Science E-Science or eScience is computationally intensive science that is carried out in highly distributed network environments, or science that uses immense data sets that require grid computing; the term sometimes includes technologies that enable dist ...

, RoboNet adopted the intelligent-agent architecture devised and maintained by the

eSTAR project The eSTAR project was a multi-agent system that aimed to implement a heterogeneous network of robotic telescopes for automated observing, and ground-based follow-up to transient events. The project is a joint collaboration between the Astrophysi ...

. With the flexible scheduling and short response time of robotic telescopes being ideal for

time-domain astronomy Time-domain astronomy is the study of how astronomical objects change with time. Though the study may be said to begin with Galileo's ''Letters on Sunspots'', the term now refers especially to variable objects beyond the Solar System. This may be ...

, RoboNet-1.0 had two major science goals that critically depend on these requirements: the determination of origin and nature of

gamma-ray bursts In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most energetic and luminous electromagnetic events since the Big Bang. Bursts can last from ten milli ...

, and the detection of cool

extra-solar planets An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

by means of

gravitational microlensing Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon due to the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects that range from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronomers ...

. Apart from their science use, the telescopes forming the RoboNet-1.0 have also been made available for two educational programmes, the Faulkes Telescope Project and the National Schools‘ Observatory. The RoboNet microlensing programme, led by the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, engages in a common campaign with the

PLANET A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

collaboration since 2005. With the official end of RoboNet-1.0 in October 2007, and the earlier acquisition of the two Faulkes Telescopes by

Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) is a network of astronomical observatories run by a non-profit private operating foundation directed by the technologist Wayne Rosing. Its offices are in Goleta, California. The telescopes are located at both northe ...

, the microlensing programme is carried on as RoboNet-II. Starting in 2008, RoboNet-II has been using the expert system for microlensing anomaly detection that is being provided by the Automated Robotic Terrestrial Exoplanet Microlensing Search (ARTEMiS). RoboNet-II aims at obtaining a first census of cool terrestrial exoplanets.

Research highlights

RoboNet data have contributed to the detection of several

(in the order of announcement of their discovery) *

OGLE-2005-BLG-071L OGLE-2005-BLG-071L is a distant, magnitude 19.5 galactic bulge star located in the constellation Scorpius, approximately 11,000 light years away from the Solar System. The star is probably a red dwarf with a mass 43% of that of the Sun. ...

b *

OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb (known sometimes as Hoth by NASA) is a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting OGLE-2005-BLG-390L, a star from Earth near the center of the Milky Way, making it one of the most distant planets known. On January 25, 2006, Probing Len ...

(the most Earth-like planet at the time of its discovery) * OGLE-2005-BLG-169Lb * OGLE-2006-BLG-109Lb and OGLE-2006-BLG-109Lc (a pair similar to Jupiter and Saturn in the Solar system) * OGLE-2007-BLG-368Lb a cold Neptune-Mass planet * MOA-2009-BLG-319Lb a massive planet orbiting an M dwarf * MOA-2009-BLG-387Lb * MOA-2009-BLG-266Lb a cold, ~10 Earth Mass planet

References

''AN , 330, 1, 4 (2009)'' - RoboNet-II: Follow-up observations of microlensing events with a robotic network of telescopes''MNRAS, 396, 2087–2102 (2009)'' - A Metric and Optimisation Scheme for Microlens Planet Searches
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External links

RoboNet homepageeSTAR homepageARTEMiS homepageLJMU Astrophysics Research InstituteUniversity of St Andrews Astronomy GroupLas Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT)''The Sky at Night'' episode on RoboNet (August 2007)Microlensing Observations in AstrophysicsBurst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System (BOOTES) Robotic Telescope Network
Robotic telescopes