The fully automated system included an automated realtime data reduction pipeline, a dedicated
photometric follow-up telescope, and a full archive of all detected astronomical sources. The survey was performed with a 12K × 8K, 7.8 square degree
CCD array camera re-engineered for the 1.2-meter
Samuel Oschin Telescope at
Palomar Observatory. The survey camera achieved
first light on 13 December 2008. PTF was a collaboration of
Caltech,
LBNL,
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center,
Berkeley,
LCOGT,
Oxford,
Columbia and the
Weizmann Institute. The project was led by
Shrinivas Kulkarni at Caltech. As of 2018, he leads the
Zwicky Transient Facility.
Image Subtraction for near-realtime transient detection was performed at LBNL; efforts to continue to observe interesting targets were coordinated at Caltech, and the data was processed and archived for later retrieval at the
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC). Photometric and spectroscopic follow-up of detected objects was undertaken by the automated Palomar 1.5-meter telescope and other facilities provided by consortium members. Time-variability studies were undertaken using the
photometric/
astrometric pipeline implemented at the
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC). Studies included compact binaries (
AM CVn stars),
RR Lyrae,
cataclysmic variables, and
active galactic nuclei (AGN), and
lightcurves of
small Solar System bodies.
Scientific goals PTF covered a wide range of science aspects, including
supernovae,
novae, cataclysmic variables,
Luminous red novae, tidal disruption flares, compact binaries (AM CVn star), active galactic nuclei, transiting
Extrasolar planets, RR Lyrae variable stars,
microlensing events, and
small Solar System bodies of the
Solar System. PTF filled the gaps in the knowledge of the optical transient phase space, extended the understanding of known source classes, and provided the first detections or constraints on predicted, but not yet discovered, event populations.
Projects The efforts being undertaken during the five-year project include: • a 5-day cadence supernova search • an exotic transient search with cadences between 90 seconds and 1 day. • a half-sky survey in the H-alpha band • a search for transiting planets in the Orion star formation region. • coordinated observations with the
GALEX spacecraft, including a survey of the Kepler region • coordinated observations with the
EVLA, including a survey of SDSS Stripe 82
Transient detection Data taken with the camera were transferred to two automated reduction pipelines. A near-realtime image subtraction pipeline was run at
LBNL and had the goal of identifying optical transients within minutes of images being taken. The output of this pipeline was sent to
UC Berkeley where a source classifier determined a set of probabilistic statements about the scientific classification of the transients based on all available time-series and context data. On few-day timescales the images were also ingested into a database at
IPAC. Each incoming frame was calibrated and searched for objects (constant and variable), before the detections were merged into a database.
Lightcurves of approximately 500 million objects had been accumulated. This database was planned to be made public after an 18-month proprietary period, subject to available resources. The
Palomar Observatory 60-inch photometric follow-up telescope automatically generated colors and lightcurves for interesting transients detected using the Samuel Oschin Telescope. The PTF collaboration also used a further 15 telescopes for photometric and
spectroscopic follow-up. ==Near-Earth object observation==