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Single object observations: Large telescopes vs. multiple small telescopes
Sagi Ben-Ami, Eran Oded Ofek
A significant fraction of large-telescope observing time is devoted to single-object spectroscopy and photometry. We compare the cost-effectiveness of different telescope architect…
The Large Array Survey Telescope-Pipeline. II. Image Subtraction and Transient Detection
R. Konno, E. O. Ofek, A. Krassilchtchikov +16
Context. The Large Array Survey Telescope (LAST) is a wide-field visual-band survey designed to explore the variable and transient sky with high cadence. Its raw data stream is aut…
Science with a large field-of-view polarization survey: The Large Array Survey Telescope Polarization Node (LAST-P)
V. Barbosa Martins, N. Jordana Mitjans, S. Garrappa +14
Optical polarimetry provides information on the geometry of the emitting region, the magnetic field configuration and the properties of dust in astrophysical sources. Current state…
Towards sub-milliarcsecond astrometric precision using seeing-limited imaging
Noam Segev, Eran O. Ofek, Yossi Shvartzvald +21
The Earth's atmospheric turbulence degrades the precision of ground-based astrometry. Here, we discuss these limitations and propose that, with proper treatment of systematics and…
X-Sifter: detecting transients in X-ray data using the optimal Poisson matched filter
Maayane T. Soumagnac, Eran O. Ofek, Shachar S. Israeli +2
We present X-sifter, a software package designed for near-optimal detection of sources in X-ray images and other forms of photon images in the Poisson-noise regime. The code is bas…
Accurate photometric calibration by fitting the system transmission
S. Garrappa, E. O. Ofek, S. Ben-Ami +10
Transforming the instrumental photometry of ground-based telescopes into a calibrated physical flux in a well-defined passband is a major challenge in astronomy. Along with the int…
An efficient observational strategy for the detection of the Oort cloud
Eran O. Ofek, Sarah A. Spitzer, Guy Nir
The Oort cloud is presumably a pristine relic of the Solar System formation. Detection of the Oort cloud may provide information regarding the stellar environment in which the Sun…
HighSpec: A High-Resolution Spectrograph for the MAST Telescope Array
Yahel Sofer Rimalt, Sagi Ben-Ami, Eran Ofek +13
We present the updated design of HighSpec, a high-resolution spectrograph designed for the Multi Aperture Spectroscopic Telescope (MAST). HighSpec offers…
TRANSLIENT: Detecting Transients Resulting from Point Source Motion or Astrometric Errors
O. Springer, E. O. Ofek, B. Zackay +10
Detection of moving sources over complicated background is important for several reasons. First is measuring the astrophysical motion of the source. Second is that such motion resu…
The Large Array Survey Telescope -- Pipeline. I. Basic image reduction and visit coaddition
E. O. Ofek, Y. Shvartzvald, A. Sharon +18
The Large Array Survey Telescope (LAST) is a wide-field telescope designed to explore the variable and transient sky with a high cadence and to be a test-bed for cost-effective tel…
ULTRASAT: A wide-field time-domain UV space telescope
Y. Shvartzvald, E. Waxman, A. Gal-Yam +41
The Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT) is scheduled to be launched to geostationary orbit in 2026. It will carry a telescope with an unprecedentedly large field o…
The Large Array Survey Telescope -- System Overview and Performances
E. O. Ofek, S. Ben-Ami, D. Polishook +38
The Large Array Survey Telescope (LAST) is a wide-field visible-light telescope array designed to explore the variable and transient sky with a high cadence. LAST will be composed…
The Large Array Survey Telescope -- Science Goals
S. Ben-Ami, E. O. Ofek, D. Polishook +20
The Large Array Survey Telescope (LAST) is designed to survey the variable and transient sky at high temporal cadence. The array is comprised of 48 F/2.2 telescopes of 27.9cm apert…
A reduction procedure and pipeline for the detection of trans-Neptunian objects using occultations
Guy Nir, Eran O. Ofek, Barak Zackay
Kuiper belt objects smaller than a few kilometers are difficult to observe directly. They can be detected when they randomly occult a background star. Close to the ecliptic plane,…
The scientific payload of the Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT)
Sagi Ben-Ami, Yossi Shvartzvald, Eli Waxman +45
The Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT) is a space-borne near UV telescope with an unprecedented large field of view (200 sq. deg.). The mission, led by the Weizma…
Sensor characterization for the ULTRASAT space telescope
Benjamin Bastian-Querner, Nirmal Kaipachery, Daniel Küsters +31
The Ultraviolet Transient Astronomical Satellite is a scientific space mission carrying an astronomical telescope. The mission is led by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel…
Design of the ULTRASAT UV camera
Arooj Asif, Merlin Barschke, Benjamin Bastian-Querner +34
The Ultraviolet Transient Astronomical Satellite (ULTRASAT) is a scientific UV space telescope that will operate in geostationary orbit. The mission, targeted to launch in 2024, is…
The Weizmann Fast Astronomical Survey Telescope (W-FAST): System Overview
Guy Nir, Eran O. Ofek, Sagi Ben-Ami +8
A relatively unexplored phase space of transients and stellar variability is that of second and sub-second time-scales. We describe a new optical observatory operating in the Negev…
Measuring time delays: II. Using observations of the unresolved flux and astrometry
Ofer M. Springer, Eran O. Ofek
Lensed quasars and supernovae can be used to study galaxies' gravitational potential and measure cosmological parameters. The typical image separation of objects lensed by galaxies…
Measuring time delays: I. Using a flux time series that is a linear combination of time-shifted light curves
Ofer M. Springer, Eran O. Ofek
(Abridged) Several phenomena in astrophysics generate light curves with time delays. Among these are reverberation mapping, and lensed quasars. In some systems, the measurement of…
Seeing-limited imaging sky surveys -- small vs. large telescopes
Eran O. Ofek, Sagi Ben-Ami
(Abridged) Typically large telescope construction and operation costs scale up faster than their collecting area. This slows scientific progress, making it expensive and complicate…
A high-rate foreground of sub-second flares from geosynchronous satellites
Guy Nir, Eran O. Ofek, Sagi Ben-Ami +3
The Weizmann Fast Astronomical Survey Telescope (W-FAST) is a 55cm optical survey telescope with a high cadence (25Hz) monitoring of the sky over a wide field of view (~7deg^2). Th…
Palomar Gattini-IR: Survey overview, data processing system, on-sky performance and first results
Kishalay De, Matthew J. Hankins, Mansi M. Kasliwal +24
(Abridged) Palomar Gattini-IR is a new wide-field, near-infrared robotic time domain survey operating at Palomar Observatory. Using a 30 cm telescope mounted with a H2RG detector,…
The Zwicky Transient Facility: Surveys and Scheduler
Eric C. Bellm, Shrinivas R. Kulkarni, Tom Barlow +11
We present a novel algorithm for scheduling the observations of time-domain imaging surveys. Our Integer Linear Programming approach optimizes an observing plan for an entire night…