astronomy

RoboNet

RoboNet is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand RoboNet rather than just read about it. In short: RoboNet-1.0 was a prototype global network of UK-built 2-metre robotic telescopes, the largest of their kind in the world, comprising the Liverpool Telescope on La Palma (Canary Islands), the Faulkes Telescope North on Maui (Hawaii), and the Faulkes Telescope South in Australia, managed by a consortium of ten UK universities under the lead of Liverpool John Moores University. For the technological aims of integratin…

Key takeaways

RoboNet belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect RoboNet to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of RoboNet from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

RoboNet-1.0 was a prototype global network of UK-built 2-metre robotic telescopes, the largest of their kind in the world, comprising the Liverpool Telescope on La Palma (Canary Islands), the Faulkes Telescope North on Maui (Hawaii), and the Faulkes Telescope South in Australia, managed by a consortium of ten UK universities under the lead of Liverpool John Moores University. For the technological aims of integrating a global network to act effectively as a single instrument, and maximizing the scientific return by applying the newest developments in e-Science, RoboNet adopted the intelligent-agent architecture devised and maintained by the eSTAR project. With the flexible scheduling and short response time of robotic telescopes being ideal for time-domain astronomy, RoboNet-1.0 had two major science goals that critically depend on these requirements: the determination of origin and nature of gamma-ray bursts, and the detection of cool extra-solar planets by means of gravitational microlensing. Apart from their science use, the telescopes forming the RoboNet-1.0 have also been made available for two educational programmes, the Faulkes Telescope Project and the National Schools‘ Observatory. The RoboNet microlensing programme, led by the University of St Andrews, engages in a common campaign with the PLANET collaboration since 2005. With the official end of RoboNet-1.0 in October 2007, and the earlier acquisition of the two Faulkes Telescopes by Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, the microlensing programme is carried on as RoboNet-II. Starting in 2008, RoboNet-II has been using the expert system for microlensing anomaly detection that is being provided by the Automated Robotic Terrestrial Exoplanet Microlensing Search (ARTEMiS). RoboNet-II aims at obtaining a first census of cool terrestrial exoplanets.

Research highlights RoboNet data have contributed to the detection of several extra-solar planets (in the order of announcement of their discovery)

OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb (the most Earth-like planet at the time of its discovery) OGLE-2005-BLG-169Lb OGLE-2006-BLG-109Lb and OGLE-2006-BLG-109Lc (a pair similar to Jupiter and Saturn in the Solar System) OGLE-2007-BLG-368Lb a cold Neptune-Mass planet MOA-2009-BLG-319Lb a massive planet orbiting an M dwarf MOA-2009-BLG-387Lb MOA-2009-BLG-266Lb a cold, ~10 Earth Mass planet

References AN , 330, 1, 4 (2009) - RoboNet-II: Follow-up observations of microlensing events with a robotic network of telescopes MNRAS, 396, 2087–2102 (2009) - A Metric and Optimisation Scheme for Microlens Planet Searches

External links RoboNet homepage eSTAR homepage ARTEMiS homepage LJMU Astrophysics Research Institute Archived 2012-03-02 at the Wayback Machine University of St Andrews Astronomy Group Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) The Sky at Night episode on RoboNet (August 2007) Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System (BOOTES) Robotic Telescope Network

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with RoboNet

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what RoboNet claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to RoboNet before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about RoboNet ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of RoboNet

In research: RoboNet appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses RoboNet in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: RoboNet is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Robotic telescopes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for RoboNet outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study RoboNet in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what RoboNet means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain RoboNet out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is RoboNet in simple terms?

Why does RoboNet matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study RoboNet?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on RoboNet.