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 every 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 STFC. ULTRACAM saw 'first light' in 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 in May 2005. To date, ULTRACAM has been awarded a total of 147 nights of time on these telescopes to study white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, pulsars, black-hole/neutron-star X-ray binaries, gamma-ray bursts, cataclysmic variables, eclipsing binary stars, extrasolar planets, flare stars, ultra-compact binaries, active galactic nuclei, asteroseismology and occultations by Solar System objects (Titan, Pluto, the moons of Uranus and Kuiper Belt Objects). 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 status as the world's premier instrument for high-speed optical astrophysics. As well as maximising the return on STFC's original investment, this money will also allow us to continue to offer ULTRACAM to others in the astronomical community who wish to use it.
Organisations
Publications
Dhillon V
(2009)
Optical pulsations from the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 1048.1-5937
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Bentley S
(2009)
A stellar flare during the transit of the extrasolar planet OGLE-TR-10b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Copperwheat C
(2009)
ULTRACAM observations of two accreting white dwarf pulsators
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Durant M
(2009)
Multiwavelength spectral and high time resolution observations of SWIFT J1753.5-0127: new activity?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Unda-Sanzana E
(2009)
The not-so-extreme white dwarf of the CV GD 552
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Schwarz R
(2009)
Hunting high and low: XMM monitoring of the eclipsing polar HU Aquarii
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Vuckovic M
(2010)
Multicolour photometry of EO Ceti (PB 8783)
in Astrophysics and Space Science
Silvotti R
(2010)
V391 Peg: Identification of the two main pulsation modes from ULTRACAM u'g'r' amplitudes
in Astronomische Nachrichten
Beuermann K
(2010)
Two planets orbiting the recently formed post-common envelope binary NN Serpentis
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Gandhi P
(2010)
Rapid optical and X-ray timing observations of GX 339-4: multicomponent optical variability in the low/hard state Optical and X-ray timing of GX 339-4
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Shahbaz T
(2010)
Observations of the quiescent X-ray transients GRS 1124-684 (=GU Mus) and Cen X-4 (=V822 Cen) taken with ULTRACAM on the VLT
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Parsons S
(2010)
Precise mass and radius values for the white dwarf and low mass M dwarf in the pre-cataclysmic binary NN Serpentis
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Copperwheat C
(2010)
Physical properties of IP Pegasi: an eclipsing dwarf nova with an unusually cool white dwarf
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Parsons S
(2010)
Orbital period variations in eclipsing post-common-envelope binaries Eclipsing PCEBs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Copperwheat C
(2011)
SDSS J0926+3624: the shortest period eclipsing binary star The shortest period eclipsing binary star
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tulloch S
(2011)
On the use of electron-multiplying CCDs for astronomical spectroscopy Astronomical spectroscopy with EMCCDs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Osborn J
(2011)
Conjugate-plane photometry: reducing scintillation in ground-based photometry Conjugate-plane photometry
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Durant M
(2011)
High time resolution optical/X-ray cross-correlations for X-ray binaries: anticorrelations and rapid variability X-ray binaries: optical/X-ray cross-correlations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
De Cia A
(2011)
Probing gamma-ray burst environments with time variability: ULTRASPEC fast imaging of GRB 080210? ULTRASPEC fast imaging of GRB 080210
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dhillon V
(2011)
A search for optical bursts from the rotating radio transient J1819-1458 with ULTRACAM - II. Simultaneous ULTRACAM-Lovell Telescope observations A search for optical bursts from RRAT J1819
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dhillon V
(2011)
The first observation of optical pulsations from a soft gamma repeater: SGR 0501+4516 Optical pulsations from SGR 0501+4516
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Copperwheat C
(2011)
The photometric period in ES Ceti The photometric period in ES Ceti
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Savoury C
(2011)
Cataclysmic variables below the period gap: mass determinations of 14 eclipsing systems Short-period CVs below the period gap
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description | We have used this grant to operate ULTRACAM on the 3.5m New Technology Telescope and the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope. ULTRACAM is a high-speed astronomical camera which has helped increase our understanding of the dead remnants of stars: white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes. |
Exploitation Route | Our findings provide the observational underpinning of theories of the structure and evolution of binary stars containing white dwarf, neutron stars and black holes. |
Sectors | Education |
URL | http://www.vikdhillon.staff.shef.ac.uk/ultracam/ |
Description | Advanced Grant |
Amount | € 3,500,000 (EUR) |
Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 01/2014 |
End | 12/2018 |