Speaker
Description
The Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE, http://www.rotse.net/) was a network of 4 robotic telescopes, designed to respond to alerts of transient events, particular fast transients like gamma-ray bursts. I will discuss the project to refurbish the ROTSE IIIc facility, situated at the HESS site in Namibia, which was de-commissioned in 2013. Of the 3 other ROTSE III systems, in Turkey, USA and Australia, only the Turkish facility is still operating. The refurbishment project was initiated by AfAS in 2022 and is now also supported through the DARA programme and at SAAO and UFS, with the primary purpose to provide a research facility for use by the AfAS community. I will review the capabilities and potential science cases for ROTSE and provide an update on the status of the project, which is expected to be operational during 2025.
| Stream | Science |
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