The Transient RApid-response using Coordinated Event Triggering (TRACET) web application receives and parses VOEvents and then goes through researcher-defined logic and thresholds to immediately trigger an observation or notify researchers so they can decide whether to observe.
Transient events are interesting but can evolve quickly and require a rapid response to get instruments on target in time. Instruments such as Swift (pictured) transmit VOEvents to alert users of new events. Parsing this data stream, identifying relevant events, and triggering a telescope observation is a tricky process to automate, making it hard to observe events within minutes of an alert.
The TRACET web app receives and parses the VOEvents’ different formats into a unified database. Researchers can set up several proposals to trigger different types of transients, e.g. observing SWIFT GRBs with the MWA. The web app summarises recent transient events and records the raw VOEvent and decision log as it goes through the triggering logic. Researchers will be notified of ambiguous events through email, text or call so they can make an expert decision if it is worth observing. This web application ensures that only interesting events are observed.