DOT news

(apart from new solar movies and images under DOT showpieces,  highlights under DOT specials,  data in the DOT database - use its search engine - and papers under DOT publications)

• January 2010: during 2010 the DOT is assigned to a consortium led by Sara Martin (Helio Research).

• October 2009: DOT observer Vyacheslav ("Slavik") Olshevsky has speckle-reconstructed all DOT observations from 2008, reducing the large backlog that was built up after Pit Sütterlin moved to the SST. These data will appear in the DOT database.

• June 2009: the tunable narrow-band Lyot filter for Ba II 4554, built by V. Skomorovsky and colleagues at Irkutsk, finally came on line after extensive refurbishment.  Due to poor camera characteristics the images are noisy but still suited to make Dopplergrams.  You are welcome to supply a better camera!

• February 2008: DOT database search engine constructed by Tim van Werkhoven.

• January 2008: index album to all DOT movies supplying them both as .avi and as .mov at slow frame rate to enable proper playing even with QuickTime.

• January 1, 2008: our major sponsors during the past decade (Utrecht University Department of Physics and Astronomy, NWO, NOVA) have terminated their contributions.  In consequence, Dr. Peter Sütterlin moved to the SST; Ir. Felix Bettonvil transited to design studies for the EST.  Nevertheless, DOT availability is continued partially, on a much reduced budget.  Partnerships bringing external funding for on-site observers and telescope upgrades are very welcome.

• Autumn 2007: the ENO/CCI report over 2006 sports a DOT cover.

• April 2007: new DOT poster designed by Frans Snik.

• October 2006: invitation to join in a major DOT upgrade, with design options.

• February 2006: start of the Utrecht-Stockholm-Oslo Graduate School for Solar Physics.

• December 2005: addition of a DOT image album and a DOT photo album, with thumbnail indices and explanation.

• July 2005: welcome - Christoph Keller as full professor, Rony Keppens as affiliated professor, Július Koza as postdoc, Frans Snik as graduate student.

• April 2005: DOT student Frans Snik graduated at Eindhoven University on the design for imaging polarimetry with the DOT.

• February 2005: Dutch Technology Foundation STW has awarded the DOT engineers a grant of about 750 kEuro for perfection of the foldable dome technology which they invented for the DOT and copied for GREGOR.

• February 2005: a DOT multi-layer sunspot sampler made the Astronomy Picture of the Day and the Frankfurter Allgemeine.  Better-quality morphs:  monochrome morph,  false-color morph.

• October 2004: start of the Students-to-the-DOT education program.

• September 2004: the Halpha filter was installed in the DOT top, pointed at AR10675, and produced a beautiful Halpha mosaic.

• July 2004: start of "Open DOT" time allocation to external observers.

• June 8, 2004: the first Venus transit in 122 years was recorded beautifully by the DOT.

• March 2004: the DOT speckle processor was displayed by Icebear Systems at the CeBIT fair.  It has 70 Xeon CPUs in two compact racks with water cooling of all processors and controllers and heat storage for release at sunset.  Photographs: both racks, one rack, cooled processor, water connectors, open connector.

• March 2004: the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of Utrecht University has given green light for DOT exploitation until 2008.

• February 2004: official endorsement of the collaboration in solar physics between Utrecht, Stockholm, and Oslo.