THE BURST OBSERVER AND OPTICAL TRANSIENT EXPLORING SYSTEM (BOOTES)

The Burst Observer and Optical Transient Explo ring System (BOOTES) is considered as a part of the preparations for the ESA's satellite INTEGRAL, and is currently being developed in Spain, in collaboration with two Czech institutions. It makes use of two sets of wide-field cameras 240 kms apart, and two robotic 0.3-m telescopes. The first obser ving station (BOOTES-1) is located in Huelva (Spain) and the first light was obtained in July 1998. During the test phase, it has provided rapid follow-up observations for 5 GRBs detected by the BATSE aboard the CGRO . The system will fully operate in late 1999.