TDF: Leon Harding (Caltech): CHIMERA - A New Window on The High Speed Universe

The CHIMERA (Caltech HIgh-speed Multi color camERA) photometer was commissioned in August 2012 at prime focus of the Hale 200-inch. It was designed as an ultra high-speed photometer, capable of achieving >30 fps over its full field (currently 3' x 3'). The instrument has been funded for an upgrade where the new optical design will achieve a much larger FOV (10' x 10'). CHIMERA was designed to characterize the photometric signatures from optical transient sources (e.g. brown dwarfs, flare stars, AM CVns, transiting exoplanets). The motivation of CHIMERA's upgrade is largely in the pursuit of occultations of stars by sub-km sized objects in our outer Solar System - Kuiper Belt Objects. I will discuss the development, deployment and early science results from CHIMERA, as well as the future KBO observing campaign taking place later this year. I will also discuss the recently published results from the GUFI (Galway Ultra-Fast Imager), a previous instrument used during my graduate studies.