ULTRACAM operations
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
ULTRACAM is a digital camera capable of taking (and storing) up to 500 red, green and blue images per second. The instrument was built in just under 3 years by a consortium from the Universities of Sheffield, Warwick and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh, using a £300,000 grant awarded by PPARC. ULTRACAM saw 'first light' on 16 May 2002 on the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on La Palma, and first light on the 8.2-m Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile on 4 May 2005. To date, ULTRACAM has been awarded a total of 92 nights of time on these telescopes for projects as varied as white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, asteroseismology, pulsars, black-hole/neutron-star X-ray binaries, eclipsing binary stars, gamma-ray bursts, cataclysmic variables, extrasolar planets, active galactic nuclei, Kuiper Belt objects and Saturn's moon Titan. This grant proposal requests funding for the proper maintenance and operation of ULTRACAM, as well as a modest programme of minor upgrades, thereby ensuring that ULTRACAM maintains its position as the world's premier instrument for high-speed optical astrophysics. As well as maximising the return on PPARC's original investment, this money will also allow us to continue to offer ULTRACAM to others in the UK and astronomical community who wish to use it.
Organisations
Publications
Littlefair S
(2008)
Optical variability of the ultracool dwarf TVLM 513-46546: evidence for inhomogeneous dust clouds ?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Marsh T
(2020)
Optical, X-ray, and ?-ray observations of the candidate transitional millisecond pulsar 4FGL J0427.8-6704
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mathioudakis M
(2006)
The periodic variations of a white-light flare observed with ULTRACAM
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
McAllister M
(2019)
The evolutionary status of Cataclysmic Variables: eclipse modelling of 15 systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Meza E
(2019)
Lower atmosphere and pressure evolution on Pluto from ground-based stellar occultations, 1988-2016
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mhlahlo N
(2007)
The discovery of a persistent quasi-periodic oscillation in the intermediate polar TX Col Discovery of a persistent QPO in IP TX Col
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Misra R
(2019)
Puzzling blue dips in the black hole candidate Swift J1357.2 - 0933, from ULTRACAM, SALT, ATCA, Swift, and NuSTAR
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Munoz-Darias T
(2007)
Echoes from the companion star in Sco X-1
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Muñoz-Darias T
(2007)
Echoes from the companion star in Sco X-1
Nieder L
(2020)
Discovery of a Gamma-Ray Black Widow Pulsar by GPU-accelerated Einstein@Home
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Nieder L
(2019)
Detection and Timing of Gamma-Ray Pulsations from the 707 Hz Pulsar J0952-0607
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pala A
(2019)
Evidence for mass accretion driven by spiral shocks onto the white dwarf in SDSS J123813.73-033933.0
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Roques F
(2006)
Exploration of the Kuiper Belt by High-Precision Photometric Stellar Occultations: First Results
in The Astronomical Journal
Schaffenroth V
(2021)
A quantitative in-depth analysis of the prototype sdB+BD system SDSS J08205+0008 revisited in the Gaia era
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schwarz R
(2009)
Hunting high and low: XMM monitoring of the eclipsing polar HU Aquarii
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Silvotti R
(2010)
Search for p -mode oscillations in DA white dwarfs with VLT-ULTRACAM I. Upper limits to the p -modes ?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Unda-Sanzana E
(2009)
The not-so-extreme white dwarf of the CV GD 552
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Unda-Sanzana E
(2008)
GD 552: a cataclysmic variable with a brown dwarf companion?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Van Den Besselaar E
(2007)
DE Canum Venaticorum: a bright, eclipsing red dwarf-white dwarf binary
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Van Den Besselaar E
(2007)
DE CVn: A Bright, Eclipsing Red Dwarf - White Dwarf Binary
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Vuckovic M
(2007)
An old puzzle in a new light: PG 1336-018
in Communications in Asteroseismology
Vuckovic M
(2007)
The binary properties of the pulsating subdwarf B eclipsing binary PG 1336-018 (NY Virginis)
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wang L
(2019)
The Pre-He White Dwarf in the Post-mass Transfer Binary EL CVn
in The Astronomical Journal
Wild J
(2020)
Spectroscopic and photometric periods of six ultracompact accreting binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zalucha A
(2007)
The 2003 November 14 occultation by Titan of TYC 1343-1865-1
in Icarus