Deutsche Version
Many of the most fascinating objects in astronomy show variations on very short time scales. These class of objects include compact objects like pulsars, black hole candidates and cataclysmic variables, which exhibit continuous variations on time scales of milliseconds to seconds. Further more a wide variaty of single events like flares, bursts and eclipses by satellites with typical time scales below seconds are of special interest. The large collecting power of photons of the VLT enables astronomers for the very first time to study these objects on their characteristic time scales of milliseconds to seconds. FoRS with its spectral resolution, polarimetric capabilites and its various observing modes is well suited for such observations besides the sofar missing high time resolution.
This drawback can be resolved by implementation of a new high-time resolution mode (HIT) within FoRS. The new controller development at ESO (Cumani 1996, Cumani et al. 1997) opens the possiblility to operate scientific CCDs in a contiuous readout mode with a low readout noise (less than 3 electrons) on time scales up to 1ms.
Started in October 1997.
ESO Press Release 17/99 "A Powerful Twin Arrives".
Cumani,C., Mantel,K.H., 1999: ``Phase resolved high speed photometry and spectroscopy of Pulsars'', in Proc. of the 4th ESO CCD workshop, (in press).
Mantel,K.H., 1997: ``High time resolution mode for FORS'' [zipped PS-file 27386 bytes], VLT Instrument Consortium Document No. VLT-TRE-VIC-13110-0044, in ``FORS Progress Report'', No. 15.
Cumani,C., 1996: ``ACE and FIERA'', in Proc. of the ESO Workshop ``Optical Detectors for Astronomy'', Garching, 8-10 October 1996.
Cumani,C., Donaldsen,R., 1997: ``FIERA CCD Controller Software Functional Specifications'', ESO Doc.No. VLT-SPE-ESO-13640-1266, issue 1.0, 16-04-97.
This project is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Science and Technology with ID-Nos. 052HD50A, 052GO20A and 052MU104.
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