''The Astronomer's Telegram'' (''ATel'') is an internet-based short-notice publication service for quickly disseminating information on new astronomical observations.
Examples include
gamma-ray bursts,
,
supernovae
A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original ob ...
,
novae, or X-ray transients, but there are no restrictions on content matter. Telegrams are available instantly on the service's website, and distributed to subscribers via email digest within 24 hours.
''The Astronomer's Telegram'' was launched on 17 December 1997 by Robert E. Rutledge
with the goal of rapidly (<1 s) sharing information of interest to astronomers. Telegrams are sent out daily by email, but especially time sensitive events can be transmitted instantly.
Since 2013, information is also broadcast over Twitter and Facebook.
To publish, astronomers request credentials. Credentials are issued to professional astronomers and graduate students, after verification by personal contact.
Once credentials have been supplied and telegrams authorized, astronomers can publish telegrams directly, with no further editing.
As of August 2019, over 13000 telegrams have been published.
History
While working at
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrische Physik in Garching, Bob Rutledge began the site after his experience in using the web in 1995-6 as an aid in the discovery and characterization (by multiple scientists working informally and collaboratively) of the
Bursting Pulsar, GRO J1744-28. Operations began in earnest at the department of astronomy of
UC Berkeley where Rutledge was a visiting post-doctoral scholar with Prof.
Lars Bildsten.
The service received international attention following a March 20, 2018 when
Peter Dunsby submitted a report of a "very bright optical transient near the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae". Forty minutes later he posted again apologizing, saying that the object in question was "identified as Mars". ''The Astronomer's Telegram'' editors presented Dunsby with a
tongue-in-cheek award as discoverer of Mars.
Dunsby later described the incident to ''Newsweek'' as "an honest mistake arising from simply not checking what else was in my camera frame, during an automated astrophotography session and of very little consequence in the scheme of things. The world needs to smile more, so that’s something good that has come out of this episode.”
Current operations
''The Astronomer's Telegram'' currently has an editor in chief, an editor and a co-editor. The ''ATel'' service is free, both for publishers and readers of the telegrams. ''The Astronomer's Telegram''s editors remind users to report discoveries of supernovae or comets to the
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams as well.
See also
*
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
The Astronomer's Telegramofficial site
Telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...