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
Bentley S
(2009)
A stellar flare during the transit of the extrasolar planet OGLE-TR-10b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Beuermann K
(2010)
Two planets orbiting the recently formed post-common envelope binary NN Serpentis
in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Bonnet-Bidaud J
(2020)
Fast quasi-periodic oscillations in the eclipsing polar VV Puppis from VLT and XMM-Newton observations
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Burdge K
(2020)
A Systematic Search of Zwicky Transient Facility Data for Ultracompact Binary LISA-detectable Gravitational-wave Sources
in The Astrophysical Journal
Burton J
(2012)
z '-BAND GROUND-BASED DETECTION OF THE SECONDARY ECLIPSE OF WASP-19b
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Casewell S
(2020)
WD1032 + 011, an inflated brown dwarf in an old eclipsing binary with a white dwarf
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Clark C
(2021)
Einstein@Home discovery of the gamma-ray millisecond pulsar PSR J2039-5617 confirms its predicted redback nature
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Copperwheat C
(2009)
ULTRACAM observations of two accreting white dwarf pulsators
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Copperwheat C
(2011)
The photometric period in ES Ceti The photometric period in ES Ceti
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
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
(2009)
Optical pulsations from the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 1048.1-5937
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Dhillon V
(2011)
The first observation of optical pulsations from a soft gamma repeater: SGR 0501+4516
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
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
Doressoundiram A
(2013)
Ground-based exploration of the outer Solar system by serendipitous stellar occultations?
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
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
Föhring D
(2019)
Atmospheric scintillation noise in ground-based exoplanet photometry
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
Hynes R
(2019)
Optical and X-ray correlations during the 2015 outburst of the black hole V404 Cyg
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kurtz D
(2013)
Hot DAVs: a probable new class of pulsating white dwarf stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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
McAllister M
(2019)
The evolutionary status of Cataclysmic Variables: eclipse modelling of 15 systems
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 |