The Palomar Transient Factory

We are conducting a new census of the time variable sky. The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) employs the venerable 48" Oschin Telescope outfit with a 100 megapixel digital camera to monitor about 1/10 of the sky above San Diego County. With repeat visits spaced minutes to days, we can identify and catalog time variable objects. We conduct follow-up imaging of all transient sources (objects that were not previously detected) and often obtain spectroscopic data as well. PTF began science operations in the spring of 2009, and since then we have found and spectroscopically classified over 350 supernovae. For this talk, I will discuss the design of PTF and highlight some of the main discoveries we have made in our first year of operation.


Dr. Robert Quimby

Postdoctoral Scholar in Astronomy, California Institute of Technology

2006 PhD, Astronomy, University of Texas, Austin
2004 BA, Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley

2010 Robert J. Trumpler Award, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
2008 Robert S. Hyer Award, Texas Section of the American Physical Society
2007 Gruber Prize in Cosmology (Supernova Cosmology Project Team Share)

More information can be found here.

"What's Up?" in this month will be presented by Jim Benet

Pre-meeting Slide Show
Club Announcements