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To capture these fleeting signals, robotic telescopes must react quickly and perform intelligent autonomous scheduling decisions. This thesis develops and evaluates an integrated atmospheric-aware framework using the Liverpool Telescope as a platform, with application to the forthcoming New Robotic Telescope. The system combines cloud detection and prediction, extinction measurement, sky-brightness modeling, and SNR-based dynamic exposure-time calculation.",{"@graph":69,"@context":127},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/robotic-scheduling-of-time-critical-observations-doctor-of-philosophy-thesis/135837/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/robotic-scheduling-of-time-critical-observations-doctor-of-philosophy-thesis/135837.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Aditya","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-17","2026-08-21",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",12,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119,123],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"Why are static queue schedulers and human-in-the-loop preparation insufficient for time-domain observations?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"They are fundamentally too slow for events whose key phases unfold on minute-to-hour timescales, creating a bottleneck that prevents telescopes from realizing their full scientific potential.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What main capabilities does the proposed atmospheric-aware scheduling framework provide?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"It provides real-time cloud detection and prediction, automated extinction measurement, sky brightness prediction using empirical and machine-learning models, and integration into an SNR-based dynamic exposure-time system.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"Which telescope platforms are used to design and test the framework, and what is the intended future use?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"The framework is designed and tested using the Liverpool Telescope (LT) and has direct application to the forthcoming New Robotic Telescope (NRT).",{"name":124,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":125},"How does the framework improve scheduling beyond choosing which target to observe?",{"text":126,"@type":114},"It enables adaptive decisions about how to observe by incorporating real-time environmental intelligence, ensuring efficiency and data quality under variable atmospheric conditions.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":129,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":131,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":133,"site_id":62},135837,1787323700,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":136},{"doc_id":133,"user_id":137,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":138,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":139,"file_id":140,"file_url":141,"file_type":142,"file_size":143,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":144,"language":145,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":146,"faqs":147,"seo_title":148,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":134,"read_time":149},962085564549,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Robotic Scheduling of Time-Critical  \nObservations  \nSebastian Buntin  \nA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy  \nApril 2026  \nPublications  \nIn the course of completeing the work presented in this thesis, the content of Chapter 3 has been submitted and accepted for publication in a refereed journal:  \nBuntin, S. , Copperwheat, C. & Jermak, H. , 2025, ‘Nighttime Cloud Detection, Tracking and Prediction with All-Sky Cameras’, Royal Astronomical Society Techniques and Instruments, Volume 4/2025  \nSebastian Buntin May 2026  \nDeclaration of Authorship  \nI, Sebastian Buntin, declare that this thesis titled,‘Robotic Scheduling of Time Critical Observations’ and the work presented in it are my own. I confirm that:  \n■ This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University.  \n■ Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or anyother qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated.  \n■ Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed.  \n■ Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work.  \n■ I have acknowledged all main sources of help.  \n■ Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself.  \nSigned:   \nDate:   \n“The fact that you know something about the sky doesn’t change its magic.”  \nProf. Dr. Harald Lesch  \nLiverpool John Moores University  \nAbstract  \nFaculty of Engineering and Technology Astrophysics Research Institute  \nDoctor of Philosophy  \nby Sebastian Buntin  \nAstronomy has entered the era of time-domain surveys, in which fast and rare astrophysical transients are discovered on a nightly basis. The most informative phases of such events, including fast blue optical transients, kilonovae, the earliest stages of supernova explosions, and gamma-ray burst afterglows, unfold on timescales of minutes to hours. Capturing these fleeting signals requires robotic telescopes that can not only react rapidly but also make intelligent, fully autonomous scheduling decisions. Static queue schedulersand human-in-the-loop sequence preparation are fundamentally too slow for this purpose, creating a bottleneck that prevents telescopes from realising their full scientific potential.  \nThis thesis develops and evaluates an integrated framework for atmospheric-aware robotic scheduling, designed and tested using the Liverpool Telescope (LT) as a platform and with direct application to the forthcoming New Robotic Telescope (NRT) . Four key components are addressed. First, a real-time cloud detection and prediction system based on all-sky imaging provides actionable forecasts on ten- to twenty-minute timescales. Second, an automated extinction measurement pipeline using auxiliary Skycam imagers enables continuous, differential monitoring of atmospheric transparency. Third, empirical and machine-learning models of sky brightness are constructed, incorporating lunar and geometric parameters to deliver predictive estimates of background light levels. Finally, these data products are integrated into a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) based exposuretime system, replacing fixed exposure assumptions with dynamic, condition-dependent calculations.  \nTogether, these developments demonstrate that robotic telescopes can achieve environmental awareness and adaptive response, optimising efficiency and ensuring data quality even under variable atmospheric conditions. The results lay the foundation for a new generation of schedulers capable of autonomously deciding not only which target to observe, but also how to observe it. By eliminating the human bottleneck and integrating real-time environmental intelligence, the framework presented here positions the NRTand robotic observator","cbCaifBSR483Trab","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifBSR483Trab","pdf",28456072,246,"English","# Abstract\n## Declaration of Authorship\n## Publications\n## Acknowledgements","[{\"question\":\"Why are static queue schedulers and human-in-the-loop preparation insufficient for time-domain observations?\",\"answer\":\"They are fundamentally too slow for events whose key phases unfold on minute-to-hour timescales, creating a bottleneck that prevents telescopes from realizing their full scientific potential.\"},{\"question\":\"What main capabilities does the proposed atmospheric-aware scheduling framework provide?\",\"answer\":\"It provides real-time cloud detection and prediction, automated extinction measurement, sky brightness prediction using empirical and machine-learning models, and integration into an SNR-based dynamic exposure-time system.\"},{\"question\":\"Which telescope platforms are used to design and test the framework, and what is the intended future use?\",\"answer\":\"The framework is designed and tested using the Liverpool Telescope (LT) and has direct application to the forthcoming New Robotic Telescope (NRT).\"},{\"question\":\"How does the framework improve scheduling beyond choosing which target to observe?\",\"answer\":\"It enables adaptive decisions about how to observe by incorporating real-time environmental intelligence, ensuring efficiency and data quality under variable atmospheric conditions.\"}]","Robotic Scheduling of Time-Critical Observations - Doctor of Philosophy Thesis | PDF",620]