Optimising observing strategies for monitoring animals using drone-mounted thermal infrared cameras

The proliferation of relatively affordable off-the-shelf drones offers great opportunities for wildlife monitoring and conservation. Similarly the recent reduction in cost of thermal infrared cameras also offers new promise in this field, as they have the advantage over conventional RGB cameras of being able to distinguish animals based on their body heat and being able to detect animals at night. However, the use of drone-mounted thermal infrared cameras comes with several technical challenges. In this paper we address some of these issues, namely thermal contrast problems due to heat from the ground, absorption and emission of thermal infrared radiation by the atmosphere, obscuration by vegetation, and optimizing the flying height of drones for a best balance between covering a large area and being able to accurately image and identify animals of interest. We demonstrate the application of these methods with a case study using field data, and make the first ever detection of the critically endangered riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis) in thermal infrared data. We provide a web-tool so that the community can easily apply these techniques to other studies (http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/~aricburk/uav_calc/)

VISTA Variables in the <i>Vía Láctea</i> (VVV): Halfway Status and Results

The VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey is one of six near-infrared ESO public surveys, and is now in its fourth year of observing. Although far from being complete, the VVV survey has already delivered many results, some directly connected to the intended science goals (detection of variable stars, microlensing events, new star clusters), others concerning more exotic objects, e.g., novae. Now, at the end of the fourth observing period, and comprising roughly 50% of the proposed observations, the status of the survey, as well some of results based on the VVV data, are presented.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Influence of restricted FOV and CCD binning in SH-WFS on the performance of NAOMI

Using a unique combination of empirical data collected simultaneously by the science camera (INGRID) and the wave front sensor in NAOMI plus the same night profiles of the turbulent layers measured by SLODAR, we discuss the accuracy of the analytic approach to modelling of AO performance. The WFS frames recorded for different atmospheric conditions allow us to make a detailed investigation of the influence of a restricted field of view and sampling of the WFS on the accuracy of the centre of gravity and its propagation to the residual variance. The predictions of Strehl, FWHM and FWHE derived for NAOMI-INGRID using our analytic approach are compared with on-sky performance demonstrated during the commissioning and science observations with NAOMI

CANARY: The NGS/LGS MOAO demonstrator for EAGLE

International audienceEAGLE is a multi-object 3D spectroscopy instrument currently under design for the 42-metre European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). EAGLE will use open-loop Multi-Object Adaptive Optics (MOAO) to provide partial AO correction across a wide (5-10 arcmin) field of view. The novelty of this scheme is such that on-sky demonstration is required prior to final construction of an E-ELT instrument. The CANARY project will implement a single channel of an MOAO system on the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope. The CANARY project is undergoing a phased development plan that starts with demonstration of low-order open-loop AO correction using first NGS then Rayleigh LGS tomography, moving to a demonstration of high-order open-loop AO correction using LGS tomography. This final stage will also include 2 DMs in a woofer-tweeter configuration similar to that of EAGLE when installed at the E-ELT. We describe the requirements for the various phases of MOAO demonstration, the corresponding CANARY configurations and capabilities and the current designs of the various subsystems

HARMONI: a single-field wide-band integral-field spectrograph for the European ELT

Trabajo presentado en SPIE Astronomical Telescopes, celebrado en San Diego (California), del 15 de junio al 2 de julio de 2010We describe the results of a Phase A study for a single field, wide band, near-infrared integral field spectrograph for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). HARMONI, the High Angular Resolution Monolithic Optical & Nearinfrared Integral field spectrograph, provides the E-ELT’s core spectroscopic requirement. It is a work-horse instrument, with four different spatial scales, ranging from seeing to diffraction-limited, and spectral resolving powers of 4000, 10000 & 20000 covering the 0.47 to 2.45 μm wavelength range. It is optimally suited to carry out a wide range of observing programs, focusing on detailed, spatially resolved studies of extended objects to unravel their morphology, kinematics and chemical composition, whilst also enabling ultra-sensitive observations of point sources. We present a synopsis of the key science cases motivating the instrument, the top level specifications, a description of the opto-mechanical concept, operation and calibration plan, and image quality and throughput budgets. Issues of expected performance, complementarity and synergies, as well as simulated observations are presented elsewhere in these proceeding

VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV): Halfway Status and Results

The VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey is one of six near-infrared ESO public surveys, and is now in its fourth year of observing. Although far from being complete, the VVV survey has already delivered many results, some directly connected to the intended science goals (detection of variable stars, microlensing events, new star clusters), others concerning more exotic objects, e.g., novae. Now, at the end of the fourth observing period, and comprising roughly 50% of the proposed observations, the status of the survey, as well some of results based on the VVV data, are presented.Fil: Hempel, Maren. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. The Milky Way Millennium Nucleus; ChileFil: Minniti, Dante. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Vatican Observatory; ItaliaFil: Dékány, István. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Saito, Roberto K.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Lucas, Philip W.. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino UnidoFil: Emerson, Jim P.. Queen Mary University of London; Reino UnidoFil: Ahumada, Andrea Veronica. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Aigrain, Suzanne. University of Exeter; Reino UnidoFil: Alonso, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; ArgentinaFil: Alonso García, Javier. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Amôres, Eduardo B.. Universidade de Lisboa; PortugalFil: Angeloni, Rodolfo. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Arias, Julia. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Bandyopadhyay, Reba. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Barba, Rodolfo Hector. Universidad de La Serena; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barbuy, Beatriz. Universidade de São Paulo; BrasilFil: Baume, Gustavo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Beamin, Juan Carlos. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Bedin, Luigi. Space Telescope Science Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Bica, Eduardo. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Borissova, Jordanka. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Bronfman, Leonardo. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Carraro, Giovanni. European Southern Observatory; ChileFil: Catelan, Márcio. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Claria Olmedo, Juan Jose. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Contreras, Carlos. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Cross, Nicholas. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Davis, Christopher. Joint Astronomy Centre; Estados UnidosFil: de Grijs, Richard. Peking University; ChinaFil: Drew, Janet E.. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino UnidoFil: Fariña, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Feinstein Baigorri, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Lajus, Eduardo Eusebio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Folkes, Stuart. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino UnidoFil: Gamen, Roberto Claudio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Geisler, Douglas. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Gieren, Wolfgang. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Goldman, Bertrand. Max Planck Institute for Astronomy; AlemaniaFil: González, Oscar. European Southern Observatory; ChileFil: Gosling, Andrew. University of Oxford; Reino UnidoFil: Gunthardt, Guillermo Ivan. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Gurovich, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Hambly, Nigel C.. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Hanson, Margaret. University of Cincinnati; Estados UnidosFil: Hoare, Melvin. University of Leeds; Reino UnidoFil: Irwin, Mike J.. University of Cambridge; Reino UnidoFil: Ivanov, Valentin D.. European Southern Observatory; ChileFil: Jordán, Andrés. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Kerins, Eamonn. University of Manchester; Reino UnidoFil: Kinemuchi, Karen. National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Estados UnidosFil: Kurtev, Radostin. Universidad de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Longmore, Andy. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: López Corredoira, Martin. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; EspañaFil: Maccarone, Tom. Texas Tech University; Estados UnidosFil: Martín, Eduardo. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; EspañaFil: Masetti, Nicola. Instituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica de Bologna; ItaliaFil: Mennickent, Ronald E.. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Merlo, David. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; ArgentinaFil: Messineo, Maria. Rochester Institute of Technology; Estados UnidosFil: Mirabel Miquele, Igor Felix. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Monaco, Lorenzo. European Southern Observatory; ChileFil: Moni Bidin, Christian. Universidad Católica del Norte; ChileFil: Morelli, Lorenzo. Università di Padova; ItaliaFil: Padilla, Nelson. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Palma, Tali. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Parisi, Maria Celeste. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Parker, Quentin. Macquarie University; AustraliaFil: Pavani, Daniela. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Pietrukowicz, Pawel. Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center; PoloniaFil: Pietrzynski, Grzegorz. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Pignata, Giuliano. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Rejkuba, Marina. European Southern Observatory; ChileFil: Rojas, Alejandra. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Roman Lopes, Alexandre. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Ruiz, María Teresa. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Sale, Stuart E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Saviane, Ivo. European Southern Observatory; ChileFil: Schreiber, Matthias R.. Universidad de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Schröder, Anja C.. Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory; SudáfricaFil: Sharma, Saurabh. Universidad de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Smith, Michael. University Of Kent; Reino UnidoFil: Sodré Jr., Laerte. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Soto, Mario. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Stephens, Andrew W.. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan; JapónFil: Tamura, Motohide. Gemini Observatory; Estados UnidosFil: Tappert, Claus. Universidad de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Thompson, Mark A.. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino UnidoFil: Toledo, Ignacio. ALMA Observatory; ChileFil: Valenti, Elena. European Southern Observatory; ChileFil: Vanzi, Leonardo. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Weidmann, Walter Alfredo. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Zoccali, Manuela. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chil