Pulsar observations at Mt. Pleasant

Abstract

Two daily pulsar monitoring programs are progressing at the Mount Pleasant Observatory, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. A new system involving the 26-metre radio telescope monitors 10 young pulsars daily and is focussed on near-real-time glitch finding. This will allow Target of Opportunity observations to measure post-glitch heating of the neutron star surface (Helfand, Gotthelf, & Halpern 2000). The 14-metre continues its 21st year of daily monitoring of the Vela pulsar with a recent comprehensive frontend upgrade. This is prior to an upgrade of the backend equipment currently in progress. The 14-metre observed the most recent glitch of the Vela pulsar in January 2000 to the highest time resolution of any glitch and revealed a particularly short-term decay component (Dodson, McCulloch, & Lewis 2002). This decay component will provide constraints to the nature of the coupling of the stellar crust to the liquid interior.

4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in proceedings of "Radio Pulsars," Chania, Crete, August 2002 (ASP conference series)