In Cycle 7, the following instruments are available for the TNT:
- ARC 4k camera. This is the facility imager for all science goals not requiring time resolution shorter than ~10s (where ULTRASPEC is a more suitable instrument). The camera has been designed and realized by ARC (Astronomical Research Cameras, Inc.), and is based on an E2V232-84 thinned, astronomy broadband AR coated, Grade One CCD with 4096 x 4096 x 15.0 micron pixels, RON is around 4e-. The camera is equipped with UBVRI, Hα, red continuum, and [SII] filters. The camera was installed in Cycle 2 and was fitted with a focal reducer at the end of Cycle 6. The instrument Field of View (FoV) is consequently enlarged to approximately 14'.6. It is being offered on a shared risk basis and under a commissioning terms for up to TWO cycles, starting from Cycle 7. Please note that any publication resulting from data taken with the instrument during the commissioning phase MUST include the focal reducer development team members (PI. Christoph Buisset) as the co-authors beside the normal TNT acknowledgement rules. For further detail regarding the early measurement of the instrument's performance please contact the operation team
- ULTRASPEC, a PI instrument delivered under a Memorandum of Understanding among NARIT, the University of Sheffield and the University of Warwick (PI V. Dhillon). Born out of the experience with the successful ULTRACAM fast 3-band camera and using similar acquisition electronics, ULTRASPEC is based on a state-of-the-art low-light level (L3) Electron Multiplying CCD by e2V with 1k x 1k x 13µm pixels with virtually zero RON. One key feature is the so-called frame-transfer, which enables fast data readout (100ms full frame, and up to 10ms on subarrays). The instrument is equipped with a large set of broad-band (mostly based on the SDSS system) and narrow-band filters. ULTRASPEC is ideally suited to measure fast varying phenomena such as flares, outbursts, transits, etc. It has been widely used already in Cycle 1, 2 and 3. The ULTRASPEC consortium has a right to Guaranteed Time Observations, but open time is available for other requesters. A detailed description with relevant links can be found in Dhillon et al. MNRAS, 444, 4009 (2014). Further details can be found on the ULTRASPEC Sheffield website. Any publication resulting from observations made with ULTRASPEC must follow the publication rules.
- MRES, a medium spectral resolution (R=15,000, 1.4” slit; 2 pixel resolution R=17,000) fiber-fed echelle-spectrometer manufactured by Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology(NIAOT), China. It is based on white pupil optics design with R2.6, 52.67 g/mm, blazed at 69 degree echelle and covers the 390-880 nm spectral range with an Andor 2048x512 13.5m pixel size CCD. The instrument was installed and commissioned in Cycle 2, however no commissioning report, proven performances and user manuals are available. Observations and data reduction are on a shared-risk basis.
