Tarot: a status report

TAROT-1 is an automatic, autonomous ground based observatory whose primary goal is the rapid detection of the optical counterparts of cosmic gamma-ray burst sources. It will be able to begin imaging any GRB localization 8 seconds after receipt of an alert from CGRO/BATSE or HETE-2. TAROT-1 will reach the 17th V magnitude in 10 seconds, at a 10σ confidence level. TAROT will be able to observe GRB positions given by Beppo-SAX or RXTE, EUV transients from ALEXIS alerts, etc. TAROT will also study a wide range of secondary objectives and will feature a complete automatic data analysis system, and powerful scheduling software. TAROT will be installed this fall on the Plateau du Calern, 1200 m above sea level. We report on the status of the project.

astronomical techniques
astronomical instruments
astronomical observatories
sensitivity
software tools
gamma-ray sources (astronomical)

References(5)

Figures(0)

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