Abstract
The 1.0 metre f/4 fast-slew Zadko Telescope was installed in June 2008
approximately seventy kilometres north of Perth at Yeal, in the Shire of
Gingin, Western Australia. Since the Zadko Telescope has been in
operation it has proven its worth by detecting numerous Gamma Ray Burst
afterglows, two of these being the most distant `optical transients'
imaged by an Australian telescope. Other projects include a contract
with the European Space Agency (ESA) to image potentially hazardous near
Earth asteroids (2019), monitoring space weather on nearby stars (2019),
and photometry of a transit of Saturn's moon Titan (2018). Another
active Zadko Telescope project is tracking Geo-stationary satellites and
attempting to use photometry to classify various space debris (defunct
satellites). The Zadko Telescope's importance as a potential tool for
education, training, and public outreach cannot be underestimated, as
the global awareness of the importance of astronomy (and space science)
as a context for teaching science continues to increase. An example of
this was the national media coverage of its contribution to the
discovery of colliding neutron stars in 2017, capturing the imagination
of the public. In this proceeding, I will focus on the practical aspects
of managing a robotic Observatory, focusing on the sustainability of the
Observatory and the technical management involved in hosting different
commercial projects. I will review the evolution of the Observatory,
from its early, single instrument, state to its current multi-telescope
and multi-instrument capabilities. I will finish by outlining the future
of the Observatory and the site.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica serie de conferenza |
| Volume | 53 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2020 |