ORCA-TWIN: Fast & low read noise CMOS camera project for planetary science and astrophysics

The emerging German Center for Astrophyics (DZA) aspires - next to activities for gravitational wave astronomy, radio astronomy, and big data - to engage in CMOS sensor development with the local semiconductor industry and international partners. In parallel to establishing a first detector lab that has become operational recently, two off-the-shelf CMOS cameras were procured to explore hands-on the capabilities for time domain astronomy and solar system research with sub-second time resolution. The cameras are specified to deliver frame rates of up to 125 fpm with read noise below 0.4 e - .

The talk will present science cases for a pilot study, dubbed ORCA-TWIN, that involves two 1m-class-telescopes on a ~1.500 km baseline (CAHA/Tenerife) to enable direct triangulation of solar system bodies and other objects, such as space debris and NEOs, next to other high time resolution  applications, e.g. AGN variability, M star flares, exoplanet transits, etc. The capabilities of the configuration as well as challenges concerning data acquisition, online data processing, and synchronization will be discussed.