The Zadko Telescope: A Southern Hemisphere Telescope for Optical Transient Searches, Multi-Messenger Astronomy and Education

• Published in: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 2010, Vol.27 (3), p.331-339
• Main Authors: Coward, D. M., Todd, M., Vaalsta, T. P., Laas-Bourez, M., Klotz, A., Imerito, A., Yan, L., Luckas, P., Fletcher, A. B., Zadnik, M. G., Burman, R. R., Blair, D. G., Zadko, J., Boër, M., Thierry, P., Howell, E. J., Gordon, S., Ahmat, A., Moore, J. A., Frost, K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: asteroids; bursts; gamma rays; instrumentation; minor planets; miscellaneous; telescopes
• ISSN: 1323-3580; 1448-6083
• DOI: 10.1071/AS09078

The new 1 m f/4 fast-slew Zadko Telescope was installed in June 2008 about 70 km north of Perth, Western Australia. It is the only metre-class optical facility at this southern latitude between the east coast of Australia and South Africa, and can rapidly image optical transients at a longitude not monitored by other similar facilities. We report on first imaging tests of a pilot program of minor planet searches, and Target of Opportunity observations triggered by the Swift satellite. In 12 months, 6 gamma-ray burst afterglows were detected, with estimated magnitudes; two of them, GRB 090205 (z = 4.65) and GRB 090516 (z = 4.11), are among the most distant optical transients imaged by an Australian telescope. Many asteroids were observed in a systematic 3-month search. In September 2009, an automatic telescope control system was installed, which will be used to link the facility to a global robotic telescope network; future targets will include fast optical transients triggered by high-energy satellites, radio transient detections, and LIGO gravitational wave candidate events. We also outline the importance of the facility as a potential tool for education, training, and public outreach.