ESSENCE
The ESSENCE supernova survey has been undertaken to measure the equation of state parameter of the dark energy. It uses 30 half nights/year on the Blanco telescope. ESSENCE survey data are taken using the MOSAIC II imaging camera, which consists of eight 2048x4096 pixel charge-coupled devices (CCDs) arranged in two rows of four, with gaps corresponding to approximately 50 pixels between rows and 35 pixels between columns. In the f/2.87 beam at prime focus, this yields a field of view of 0.6 degrees on a side for a total area of 0.36 square degrees on the sky. ESSENCE uses image differencing photometry. A side-product of the survey is stellar light curves.
We currently have about 3 years of data. The ESSENCE web site provides more information about the project. We obtained the data from Michael Wood-Vasey.
Last Updated at: 2007-09-29 01:48 PM.