Spectroscopy at Virtual Telescope was officially started at the end of Nov 2012, when a diffraction grating was made available on the Celestron 14 robotic unit.

Since then, several spectra were obtained, both for refining/fine tuning the system and doing science on special targets, as novae and supernovae.

The system has proven to be very flexible, able to offer quick spectroscopy as soon as a given transient is detected.

The amazing tracking capabilities of the robotic mount makes possible quite long integration, collecting enough signal to investigate relatively faint objects, with a dispersion of ~34 angstrom/pixel. For data reduction, we use RSpec.

Below, a list of spectroscopic works done with our telescope is provided.

• * Supernova  SN 2014by (= PSN J14274900+1133400) in UGC 9267 (19 July 2014)
• * Supernova SN 2014bv (= PSN J12243098+7532086) in NGC 4386 (19 June 2014)
• * Supernova SN 2014bg  (= PSN J14354590+2443179) in UGC 9396 (5 June 2014)
• * Supernova SN 2014bc (=  PSN J12185771+4718113)in Messier 106 (21 May 2014) 
  
• * Supernova SN 2014K in PGC 24869: image and spectroscopy (25 Jan. 2014)
• * Nova Aquilae 2013 = PNV J19023335+0315190: spectroscopy 1, 2 (28 Oct. 2013)
• * Supernova SN 2013fw (PSN J21134481+1334335) in NGC 7042: image and spectroscopy (25 Oct. 2013)
• Supernova SN 2014J in Messier 82: animation and spectroscopy (22 Jan. 2014)
• * Supernova PSN J22042153+3944340 in UGC 11895: image and spectroscopy (21 Oct. 2013)
• * Supernova PSN J02224207+2816012 in IC 221: image and spectroscopy (28 Aug. 2013)
• * Supernova PSN J20435357+1230517 in NGC 6956: image and spectroscopy (28 Aug. 2013)
• * Possible nova PNV J20233073+2046041 in Delphinus (14 Aug. 2013)
• Supernova 2013dy in NGC 7250: spectrum (3 Aug. 2013)
• Supernova SN 2013ej in Messier 74: animation and spectrum (2 Aug. 2013)
• SupernovaN 2013ej in M74: image and spectroscopy (30 July 2013)
• Quasar PG 1634+706: spectrum and redshift (27 July 2013)
• * PSN J10015683+5541440 in NGC 3079: confirmation image and spectroscopy (16 July 2013)
• Supernova SN 2013df in NGC 4414: spectrum (4 July 2013)
• Quasar APM 08279+5255: a low-res spectrum and redshift (9 Apr. 2013)
• Supernova SN 2013ab in NGC 5669: spectrum and image (3 Apr. 2013)
• Quasar 3C 273: a low-res spectrum and redshift (14 Feb. 2013)
• Nova Cephei 2013: low-res spectrum (9 Feb. 2013)

* = this observation made the nature of the nova/supernova clear.

Back to “Science” page

Support The Virtual Telescope Project!

If everyone reading this right now would donate something, our fundraiser would be done in a few days. Please, donate and receive unique, LIMITED EDITION set of images showing the stunning 19 Feb. 2019 Supermoon above Rome, images of the Tiangong 1 and International Space Station above Rome and more, specifically made for supporters like you!

donate now (you can adjust the amount later)

You can also order our 2019 Calendar, featuring our unique images of the stars above the legendary monuments of Rome!