Current gravitational wave instruments such as the LIGO and VIRGO collaborations can only detect the passage of gravitational waves through the local spacetime, and are unable to trace the source of the events that send out the gravitational waves. To fill in this gap between gravitational wave astronomy and optical signals in the electromagnetic spectrum, an international collaboration of scientists have developed a new telescope known as Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO). The instrument is made up of two identical arrays located on opposite sides of the planet, one located at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia, and the other located Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma island in the Canary Islands.
The antipodal placement of the two arrays is to cover the entire sky at once. Most gravitational waves emerge from the violent interactions between massive objects such as black holes and neutron stars. While some of the gravitational waves detected by the VIRGO and LIGO collaborations have been linked to known optical sources, there have been none identified for some others events. The visual clues from these events are extremely fleeting, which is where GOTO comes into the picture. Events flagged by GOTO are expected to be observed by other astronomical assets on Earth and in space. GOTO is expected to act as an intermediary between gravitational wave instruments such as the LIGO and VIRGO collaborations, and other, more targetable multi-wavelength observatories that can follow up and investigate the optical source of an event.
Astronomer Martin Dyer says, “Gravitational waves are created when two black holes or neutron stars in close orbit – each tens of times heavier than the sun – violently collide. The detection of gravitational waves is like knowing that a truck has passed by feeling the rumble in a road’s surface and trying to work out where it came from based on that alone. This telescope will be crucial for scientists across the world in order to broaden our understanding of the universe. Having access to the telescope will allow our astronomers at the University of Sheffield to accelerate and enhance their pioneering research in this important area of physics.”
Principle investigator on GOTO, Danny Steeghs says “There are fleets of telescopes all over the world available to look towards the skies when gravitational waves are detected, in order to find out more about the source. But as the gravitational wave detectors are not able to pinpoint where the ripples come from, these telescopes do not know where to look. If the gravitational wave observatories are the ears, picking up the sounds of the events, and the telescopes are the eyes, ready to view the event in all the wavelengths, then GOTO is the bit in the middle, telling the eyes where to look.”
Within the domes are telescope mount systems, each made up of eight 40 centimetre telescopes. Two of these arrays are now operational in La Palma, with a total of 16 telescopes capable of scanning the entire sky every few days. The team is preparing the site in Australia, which will also have two domes with 16 telescopes. The GOTO instruments are designed to perform their tasks autonomously, focusing on particular regions of the sky when there is an alert for a gravitational wave detection.
Steeghs says, “The hope is to catch the event quickly, then follow it as it fades, and also to trigger an alert to other, bigger telescopes so they can all collect more information and we can build a really detailed picture of these astronomical phenomena. It is a really dynamic and exciting time. In astronomy we are used to studying events which are millions of years old and aren’t going anywhere – this is a fast-paced, very different way of working where every minute counts.”
The GOTO instrument is expected to be an important enabler in the new era of multi-messenger astronomy, where the same event is observed by multiple astronomical instruments around the world, and in space.
International Conference on Gravitational Waves
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