. We present Mookodi (meaning "rainbow" in Sesotho), a multipurpose instrument with a low-resolution spectrograph mode and a multi-filter imaging mode for quick-reaction astronomical observations. The instrument, mounted on the 1-m Lesedi telescope at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Sutherland (South Africa), is based on the low-resolution spectrograph for the rapid acquisition of transients (SPRAT) instrument in operation on the 2-m Liverpool Telescope in La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). Similar to SPRAT, Mookodi has a resolution R approximate to 350 and an operating wavelength range in the visible (similar to 4000 to 8000 angstrom). The linear optical design, as in SPRAT, is made possible through the combination of a volume phase holographic transmission grating as the dispersive element and a prism pair (grism), which makes it possible to rapidly and seamlessly switch to an imaging mode by pneumatically removing the slit and grism from the beam and using the same detector as in spectrographic mode to image the sky. This imaging mode is used for auto-target acquisition, but the inclusion of filter slides in Mookodi's design also provides the capability to perform imaging with a field-of-view approximate to 10 ' x10 ' (similar to 0.6 '' /px) in the complete Sloan Digital Sky Survey filter set.

We present an update on the overall integration progress of the WEAVE next-generation spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), now scheduled for first light in early-2021, with almost all components now arrived at the observatory. We also present a summary of the current planning behind the 5-year initial phase of survey operations, and some detailed end-to-end science simulations that have been implemented to evaluate the final on-sky performance after data processing. WEAVE will provide optical ground-based follow up of ground-based (LOFAR) and space-based (Gaia) surveys. WEAVE is a multi-object and multi-IFU facility utilizing a new 2-degree prime focus field of view at the WHT, with a buffered pick-and-place positioner system hosting 1000 multi-object (MOS) fibres, 20 mini integral field units, or a single large IFU for each observation. The fibres are fed to a single (dual-beam) spectrograph, with total of 16k spectral pixels, located within the WHT GHRIL enclosure on the telescope Nasmyth platform, supporting observations at R~5000 over the full 370-1000nm wavelength range in a single exposure, or a high resolution mode with limited coverage in each arm at R~20000.

WEAVE is the new multi-object spectrograph for the William Herschel Telescope on La Palma. The culmination of prime focus, the large number of fibers and the wide resolution range has required a stringent optical design, which in turn demands a spectrograph with tight positional tolerances and large final focal plane. To capture this focal plane each of the two cryostats has two e2v 6k × 6k CCDs mounted as a mosaic. As well as being cooled to 150K via liquid nitrogen, the positional tolerances for the sensitive areas are flatness 60μm p-v over the entire image area, rotation around X and Y axis ±50 arcmin, translation in X, Y and Z ± 50 micron. We have used a Stil confocal measuring head mounted on two Thorlab translation stages to create a X,Y mount, controlled by a Raspberry Pi that is capable of recording measurements in Z to better than 1μm accuracy. This is used to measure the flatness and deformation of the image area under vacuum, and when cooled to 150K and the overall tip and tilt of the image plane to ensure they meet specification and are repeatable. In addition to this measuring system, we use a Thorlabs CMOS camera with a Navitar 50mm lens to ensure each CCDs image area is within specification with regards X and Y translation. In order to satisfy the above requirements, we designed the CCD mount to be adjustable (on initial setup), correctly constrained, isolated from liquid nitrogen boil-off vibration, and thermally insulating.

The Liverpool Telescope is a fully robotic 2-metre telescope located at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on the Canary Island of La Palma. The telescope began routine science operations in 2004, and currently seven simultaneously mounted instruments support a broad science programme, with a focus on transient follow-up and other time domain topics well suited to the characteristics of robotic observing. Work has begun on a successor facility with the working title 'Liverpool Telescope 2'. We are entering a new era of time domain astronomy with new discovery facilities across the electromagnetic spectrum, and the next generation of optical survey facilities such as LSST are set to revolutionise the field of transient science in particular. The fully robotic Liverpool Telescope 2 will have a 4-metre aperture and an improved response time, and will be designed to meet the challenges of this new era. Following a conceptual design phase, we are about to begin the detailed design which will lead towards the start of construction in 2018, for first light similar to 2022. In this paper we provide an overview of the facility and an update on progress.

We present an overview of and status report on the WEAVE next-generation spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). WEAVE principally targets optical ground-based follow up of upcoming ground-based (LOFAR) and space-based (Gaia) surveys. WEAVE is a multi-object and multi-IFU facility utilizing a new 2-degree prime focus field of view at the WHT, with a buffered pick-and-place positioner system hosting 1000 multi-object (MOS) fibres, 20 integral field units, or a single large IFU for each observation. The fibres are fed to a single spectrograph, with a pair of 8k(spectral) x 6k (spatial) pixel cameras, located within the WHT GHRIL enclosure on the telescope Nasmyth platform, supporting observations at R~5000 over the full 370-1000nm wavelength range in a single exposure, or a high resolution mode with limited coverage in each arm at R~20000. The project is now in the final design and early procurement phase, with commissioning at the telescope expected in 2017.

We present the preliminary design of the WEAVE next generation spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), principally targeting optical ground-based follow up of upcoming ground-based (LOFAR) and space-based (Gaia) surveys. WEAVE is a multi-object and multi-IFU facility utilizing a new 2 degree prime focus field of view at the WHT, with a buffered pick and place positioner system hosting 1000 multi-object (MOS) fibres or up to 30 integral field units for each observation. The fibres are fed to a single spectrograph, with a pair of 8k(spectral) x 6k (spatial) pixel cameras, located within the WHT GHRIL enclosure on the telescope Nasmyth platform, supporting observations at R similar to 5000 over the full 370-1000nm wavelength range in a single exposure, or a high resolution mode with limited coverage in each arm at R similar to 20000.

On 2011 May 31 UT a supernova (SN) exploded in the nearby galaxy M51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy). We discovered this event using small telescopes equipped with CCD cameras and also detected it with the Palomar Transient Factory survey, rapidly confirming it to be a Type II SN. Here, we present multi-color ultraviolet through infrared photometry which is used to calculate the bolometric luminosity and a series of spectra. Our early-time observations indicate that SN 2011dh resulted from the explosion of a relatively compact progenitor star. Rapid shock-breakout cooling leads to relatively low temperatures in early-time spectra, compared to explosions of red supergiant stars, as well as a rapid early light curve decline. Optical spectra of SN 2011dh are dominated by H lines out to day 10 after explosion, after which He i lines develop. This SN is likely a member of the cIIb (compact IIb) class, with progenitor radius larger than that of SN 2008ax and smaller than the eIIb (extended IIb) SN 1993J progenitor. Our data imply that the object identified in pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope images at the SN location is possibly a companion to the progenitor or a blended source, and not the progenitor star itself, as its radius (∼1013 cm) would be highly inconsistent with constraints from our post-explosion spectra.

We report the optical polarization of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow, obtained 203 seconds after the initial burst of gamma-rays from GRB 060418, using a ring polarimeter on the robotic Liverpool Telescope. Our robust (2sigma) upper limit on the percentage of polarization, less than 8%, coincides with the fireball deceleration time at the onset of the afterglow. The combination of the rate of decay of the optical brightness and the low polarization at this critical time constrains standard models of GRB ejecta, ruling out the presence of a large-scale ordered magnetic field in the emitting region.

In the last few years the ubiquitous availability of high bandwidth networks has changed the way both robotic and non-robotic telescopes operate, with single isolated telescopes being integrated into expanding "smart" telescope networks that can span continents and respond to transient events in seconds. The Heterogeneous Telescope Networks (HTN)* Consortium represents a number of major research groups in the field of robotic telescopes, and together we are proposing a standards based approach to providing interoperability between the existing proprietary telescope networks. We further propose standards for interoperability, and integration with, the emerging Virtual Observatory. We present the results of the first interoperability meeting held last year and discuss the protocol and transport standards agreed at the meeting, which deals with the complex issue of how to optimally schedule observations on geographically distributed resources. We discuss a free market approach to this scheduling problem, which must initially be based on ad-hoc agreements between the participants in the network, but which may eventually expand into a electronic market for the exchange of telescope time.

We present a sketch of a system which consists of a Grid of databases and telescopes within which intelligent agents assess the information available to them, and as a result request the telescopes take new data. These systems allow programmes to be carried out much more efficiently than is currently possible, and their speed of reaction enables novel programmes that are unavailable to current technology. We then present eStar, a currently functioning technology prover for such systems which use computational grids software (Globus) to create an information Grid.