The first light of Mini-MegaTORTORA wide-field monitoring system

Abstract

Here we describe the first light of the novel 9-channel wide-field optical monitoring system with sub-second temporal resolution, Mini-MegaTORTORA, which is being tested now at Special Astrophysical Observatory on Russian Caucasus. The system is able to observe the sky simultaneously in either wide (~900 square degrees) or narrow (~100 square degrees) fields of view, either in clear light or with any combination of color (Johnson B, V or R) polarimetric filters installed, with exposure times ranging from 100 ms to 100 s. The primary goal of the system is the detection of rapid -- with sub-second characteristic time-scales -- optical transients, but it may be also used for studying the variability of the sky objects on longer time scales.