Status of Boyden observatory and equipment for optical counterpart studies of high energy sources

Abstract

The status of the Boyden observatory and equipment will be evaluated for use in optical counterpart studies of high energy sources. Optical systems include the 1.5~m Boyden telescope which has recently received system and equipment upgrades to the photometer, specifically a new sCMOS camera system. Additionally a state of the art spectro-polarimeter has been commissioned and is in final testing and initial observing phases. Besides the 1.5~m telescope, there is also robotic telescope systems, e.g. Watcher and BOOTES-6. Watcher, was primarily for follow-up of gamma ray bursts, but has also been used for optical counterpart and survey studies, and target-of-opportunity events. BOOTES-6, or Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System, is a new telescope system that allows for much faster target acquisition for Gamma-ray bursts events, but is also available for optical studies of transient phenomena or optical counterpart studies. With these optical systems, various multi-wavelength studies and collaborative efforts are envisioned for the Observatory