Rapid Action Telescope for Transient Objects

This image shows the 25cm Télescope à Action Rapide pour les Objets Transitoires— Rapid Action Telescope for Transient Objects — (TAROT) telescope on La Silla. The telescope is designed to react very quickly when a Gamma-ray burst is detected: 8 sec after it receives the alert, TAROT will be observing it. This is critical, as the Gamma-ray bursts are very short events. A twin TAROT telescope is located on the Calern observatory, in France. Both are operated by a consortium lead by Michel Boër (Observatoire de Haute Provence). TAROT stands for Télescopes à Action Rapide pour les Objets Transitoires.