STELLA: Two New Robotic Telescopes for Binary-Star Research

Several new robotic telescopes had or will see first light in 2005/2006 and are designed for either wide-field imaging, high-precision photometry or even for high-resolution echelle spectroscopy. These telescopes are in the 1–2 m class and therefore will focus on very specific tasks. Here, I present an update of the robotic STELLA facility currently under construction in Tenerife and emphasize its science capabilities for binary-star research. Among the many science applications of STELLA is the monitoring of magnetic activity in single and binary stars and their relation to age, rotation rate, metallicity and binarity per se.The AIP STELLA team members are T. Granzer, M. Weber, M. Woche, M. I. Andersen, J. Bartus, S.-M. Bauer, F. Dionies, T. Fechner, H. Korhonen, J. Paschke, E. Popow, A. Ritter, A. Schwope, A. Staude, A. Washuettl