View article

The observatory is controlled through a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection between La Silla and Liège University. The telescope and each individual sub system can be used from anywhere in the world, provided an internet connec tion is available. In case of a lowlevel mechanical failure, we can count on the help of the Swiss technician on site or the La Silla staff.

Hundreds of images, amounting to 2–15 GB, are produced every night. Reduction pipelines run on a dedicated computer installed in the control room. For the exoplanet programme, only tables and plots with the final results are trans ferred to Liège, while for the comet pro gramme, it is often necessary to transfer dozens of frames in order to perform more interactive tasks on the images. Every third month, a backup disk is sent to Belgium and transferred to the archive machine.