Project area/S
- Physics of the Diffuse Universe and The Evolving Universe
Project Details
The SPIRIT 6 telescope.
The ICRAR SPIRIT program offers a suite of robotic optical telescopes for educational and scientific use. All telescopes are located at the Mardella Observatory south of Perth. The latest addition to the SPIRIT family, the SPIRIT 6 telescope, is a 1-meter optical telescope, which offers plenty of opportunities to explore the night sky. See this link for more details: https://www.icrar.org/spirit-6/
We are looking for a passionate student to help setting up an observational campaign for search of variable objects in the sky, such as asteroids, variable stars, novea and supernovae. The work will be focused on collecting data with different filters and identifying variable objects. Observations will be carried-out mainly remotely. There should be opportunity for at least one site visit as well. Most of the project will be focused on the reduction and characterization of data quality. Depending on the student’s interest, the project will be tailored towards different kind of astronomical objects.
Student Attributes
Academic Background
Basic knowledge of astronomy.
Computing Skills
Basic python knowledge (e.g., ability to read and write files and to make basic plots).
Training Requirement
Ability to handle astronomical data and to understand basics of astronomy observational techniques.
Project Timeline
| Week 1 | Inductions and project introduction |
| Week 2 | Initial presentation and planning of SPIRIT 6 observations |
| Week 3 | Developing a pipeline for the reduction and inspection of the data |
| Week 4 | Developing a pipeline for the reduction and inspection of the data |
| Week 5 | Complete pipeline testing with data obtained from SPIRIT |
| Week 6 | Search for transient objects |
| Week 7 | “ |
| Week 8 | “ |
| Week 9 | Final presentation |
| Week 10 | Final report |
