Rapid and Deep Observations of Gamma-ray Bursts Using the AEOS Burst Camera
Abstract
The AEOS Burst Camera (ABC) is designed to obtain rapid and deepobservations of gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical counterparts. The AEOS Burst Camera is currently installed on the 3.67 m Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) telescope at the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing (AMOS) site, located at 10,000 ft in Haleakala, Hawaii. The ABC has been operational for about three years. The response time of the ABC is on the order of a few minutes. The ABC has a 6 arc-minute field of view and a removable blazed transmission grating which provides low-resolution spectral information. The spectral information will allow us to test various GRB afterglow models. Recent observations of GRB optical afterglows with the AEOS Burst Camera are discussed. There have been 5 GCN circulars generated from the ABC, two of which where detections of optical afterglows. In particular, GRB060116 was detected by the ABC, and it was a very dim and red GRB.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #208
- Pub Date:
- June 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AAS...208.5402F