Astrophysics (Index) | About |
Pi of the Sky is an astronomical survey aimed specifically at discovering optical transients associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The survey incidentally also records numerous other transients. It is performed by a robotic-telescope setup designed for the purpose. The strategy is to image a significant portion of the night sky over every suitable night, looking for changes, and thus catching any transient coincident with a gamma-ray burst that happens to occur. A pilot project with two such telescopes, with CCD cameras, operated from 2004 to 2009, with a four-camera system going into service in Spain in 2010, and sixteen cameras in 2013, able to view an 80°×80° field of view.