The eSTAR project was a multi-agent system that aimed to implement a heterogeneous network of robotic telescopes for automated observing, and ground-based follow-up to transient events.
The first was automated follow-up observations of gamma-ray bursts performed using the 3.8m United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) operated by Joint Astronomy Centre in Hawaii (JACH).
The observations autonomously triggered by the eSTAR software were reported in Tanvir et al.[4] This gamma-ray burst was, at the time of discovery, the most distant object then known in the Universe.
The technique of gravitational microlensing is used to monitor large numbers of stars in the galactic bulge looking for the tell-tale signature of cool planets orbiting those stars.
[clarification needed] The project also operated the heaviest used of the initial generation of Virtual Observatory VOEvent brokers, exposing its real-time alert system to other collaborators, like the TALONS[5] Project.