The Palomar Transient Factory: System Overview, Performance, and First Results

The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) is a fully-automated, wide-field survey aimed at a systematic exploration of the optical transient sky. The transient survey is performed using a new 8.1 square degree camera installed on the 48 inch Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory; colors and light curves for detected transients are obtained with the automated Palomar 60 inch telescope. PTF uses 80% of the 1.2 m and 50% of the 1.5 m telescope time. With an exposure of 60 s the survey reaches a depth of m g 0 21:3 and m R 20:6 (5, median seeing). Four major experiments are planned for the five-year project: (1) a 5 day cadence supernova search; (2) a rapid transient search with cadences between 90 s and 1 day;…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 0540352, 0607485, 0507734
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Awards: FC02-06ER41453, DE-FG02-, FG02-08ER41563, DE-FG02
• NA
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  Award: NNX08AM04G
• AP
  Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
• CI
  California Institute of Technology
• UO
  University of Oxford
• MF
  Minerva Foundation
• WI
  Weizmann Institute of Science
• IS
  Israel Science Foundation
• LB
  Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory