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Sample records for jwst optical telescope

  1. James Webb Space Telescope Optical Simulation Testbed: Segmented Mirror Phase Retrieval Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laginja, Iva; Egron, Sylvain; Brady, Greg; Soummer, Remi; Lajoie, Charles-Philippe; Bonnefois, Aurélie; Long, Joseph; Michau, Vincent; Choquet, Elodie; Ferrari, Marc; Leboulleux, Lucie; Mazoyer, Johan; N’Diaye, Mamadou; Perrin, Marshall; Petrone, Peter; Pueyo, Laurent; Sivaramakrishnan, Anand

    2018-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Optical Simulation Testbed (JOST) is a hardware simulator designed to produce JWST-like images. A model of the JWST three mirror anastigmat is realized with three lenses in form of a Cooke Triplet, which provides JWST-like optical quality over a field equivalent to a NIRCam module, and an Iris AO segmented mirror with hexagonal elements is standing in for the JWST segmented primary. This setup successfully produces images extremely similar to NIRCam images from cryotesting in terms of the PSF morphology and sampling relative to the diffraction limit.The testbed is used for staff training of the wavefront sensing and control (WFS&C) team and for independent analysis of WFS&C scenarios of the JWST. Algorithms like geometric phase retrieval (GPR) that may be used in flight and potential upgrades to JWST WFS&C will be explored. We report on the current status of the testbed after alignment, implementation of the segmented mirror, and testing of phase retrieval techniques.This optical bench complements other work at the Makidon laboratory at the Space Telescope Science Institute, including the investigation of coronagraphy for segmented aperture telescopes. Beyond JWST we intend to use JOST for WFS&C studies for future large segmented space telescopes such as LUVOIR.

  2. Calibration results using highly aberrated images for aligning the JWST instruments to the telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Koby Z.; Acton, D. Scott; Gallagher, Ben B.; Knight, J. Scott; Dean, Bruce H.; Jurling, Alden S.; Zielinski, Thomas P.

    2016-07-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project is an international collaboration led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD. JWST is NASA's flagship observatory that will operate nearly a million miles away from Earth at the L2 Lagrange point. JWST's optical design is a three-mirror anastigmat with four main optical components; 1) the eighteen Primary Mirror Segment Assemblies (PMSA), 2) a single Secondary Mirror Assembly (SMA), 3) an Aft-Optics Subsystem (AOS) consisting of a Tertiary Mirror and Fine Steering Mirror, and 4) an Integrated Science Instrument Module consisting of the various instruments for JWST. JWST's optical system has been designed to accommodate a significant amount of alignment capability and risk with the PMSAs and SMA having rigid body motion available on-orbit just for alignment purposes. However, the Aft-Optics Subsystem (AOS) and Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) are essentially fixed optical subsystems within JWST, and therefore the cryogenic alignment of the AOS to the ISIM is critical to the optical performance and mission success of JWST. In support of this cryogenic alignment of the AOS to ISIM, an array of fiber optic sources, known as the AOS Source Plate Assembly (ASPA), are placed near the intermediate image location of JWST (between the secondary and tertiary mirrors) during thermal vacuum ground-test operations. The AOS produces images of the ASPA fiber optic sources at the JWST focal surface location, where they are captured by the various science instruments. In this manner, the AOS provides an optical yardstick by which the instruments within ISIM can evaluate their relative positions to and the alignment of the AOS to ISIM can be quantified. However, since the ASPA is located at the intermediate image location of the JWST three-mirror anastigmat design, the images of these fiber optic sources produced by the AOS are highly aberrated with approximately 2-3μm RMS wavefront error consisting

  3. Modernization of NASA's Johnson Space Center Chamber: A Payload Transport Rail System to Support Cryogenic Vacuum Optical Testing of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Sam; Homan, Jonathan; Speed, John

    2016-01-01

    NASA is the mission lead for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the next of the "Great Observatories", scheduled for launch in 2018. It is directly responsible for the integration and test (I&T) program that will culminate in an end-to-end cryo vacuum optical test of the flight telescope and instrument module in Chamber A at NASA Johnson Space Center. Historic Chamber A is the largest thermal vacuum chamber at Johnson Space Center and one of the largest space simulation chambers in the world. Chamber A has undergone a major modernization effort to support the deep cryogenic, vacuum and cleanliness requirements for testing the JWST. This paper describe the challenges of developing, integrating and modifying new payload rails capable of transporting payloads within the thermal vacuum chamber up to 65,000 pounds. Ambient and Cryogenic Operations required to configure for testing will be explained. Lastly review historical payload configurations stretching from the Apollo program era to current James Webb Space Telescope testing.

  4. JWST Wavefront Sensing and Control: Operations Plans, Demonstrations, and Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perrin, Marshall; Acton, D. Scott; Lajoie, Charles-Philippe; Knight, J. Scott; Myers, Carey; Stark, Chris; JWST Wavefront Sensing & Control Team

    2018-01-01

    After JWST launches and unfolds in space, its telescope optics will be aligned through a complex series of wavefront sensing and control (WFSC) steps to achieve diffraction-limited performance. This iterative process will comprise about half of the observatory commissioning time (~ 3 out of 6 months). We summarize the JWST WFSC process, schedule, and expectations for achieved performance, and discuss our team’s activities to prepare for an effective & efficient telescope commissioning. During the recently-completed OTIS cryo test at NASA JSC, WFSC demonstrations showed the flight-like operation of the entire JWST active optics and WFSC system from end to end, including all hardware and software components. In parallel, the same test data were processed through the JWST Mission Operations Center at STScI to demonstrate the readiness of ground system components there (such as the flight operations system, data pipelines, archives, etc). Moreover, using the Astronomer’s Proposal Tool (APT), the entire telescope commissioning program has been implemented, reviewed, and is ready for execution. Between now and launch our teams will continue preparations for JWST commissioning, including further rehearsals and testing, to ensure a successful alignment of JWST’s telescope optics.

  5. Optical modeling activities for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): IV. Overview and introduction of MATLAB based toolkits used to interface with optical design software

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Joseph M.

    2007-09-01

    This paper is part four of a series on the ongoing optical modeling activities for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The first two papers discussed modeling JWST on-orbit performance using wavefront sensitivities to predict line of sight motion induced blur, and stability during thermal transients. The third paper investigates the aberrations resulting from alignment and figure compensation of the controllable degrees of freedom (primary and secondary mirrors), which may be encountered during ground alignment and on-orbit commissioning of the observatory. The work here introduces some of the math software tools used to perform the work of the previous three papers of this series. NASA has recently approved these in-house tools for public release as open source, so this presentation also serves as a quick tutorial on their use. The tools are collections of functions written for use in MATLAB to interface with optical design software (CODE V, OSLO, and ZEMAX) using either COM or DDE communication protocol. The functions are discussed, and examples are given.

  6. Integrated Modeling for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Project: Structural Analysis Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, John; Mosier, Mark; Howard, Joe; Hyde, Tupper; Parrish, Keith; Ha, Kong; Liu, Frank; McGinnis, Mark

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents viewgraphs about structural analysis activities and integrated modeling for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The topics include: 1) JWST Overview; 2) Observatory Structural Models; 3) Integrated Performance Analysis; and 4) Future Work and Challenges.

  7. Status of the JWST Integrated Science Instrument Module

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenhouse, Matthew A.; Dunn, Jamie; Kimble, Randy A.; Lambros, Scott; Lundquist, Ray; Rauscher, Bernard J.; Van Campen, Julie

    2015-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) is the science instrument payload of the JWST. It is one of three system elements that comprise the JWST space vehicle. It consists of four science sensors, a fine guidance sensor, and nine other subsystems that support them. At 1.4 metric tons, it comprises approximately 20% of the JWST mass. The ISIM is currently at 100% integration and has completed 2 of 3 planned element-level space simulation tests. The ISIM is on schedule to be delivered for integration with the Optical Telescope Element during 2015. In this poster, we present an overview of the ISIM and its status.

  8. Modernization of NASA's Johnson Space Center Chamber: A Liquid Nitrogen System to Support Cryogenic Vacuum Optical Testing of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Sammy; Homan, Jonathan; Montz, Michael

    2016-01-01

    NASA is the mission lead for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the next of the “Great Observatories”, scheduled for launch in 2018. It is directly responsible for the integration and test (I&T) program that will culminate in an end-to-end cryo vacuum optical test of the flight telescope and instrument module in Chamber A at NASA Johnson Space Center. Historic Chamber A is the largest thermal vacuum chamber at Johnson Space Center and one of the largest space simulation chambers in the world. Chamber A has undergone a major modernization effort to support the deep cryogenic, vacuum and cleanliness requirements for testing the JWST. This paper describes the steps performed in efforts to convert the existing the 60’s era Liquid Nitrogen System from a forced flow (pumped) process to a natural circulation (thermo-siphon) process. In addition, the paper will describe the dramatic conservation of liquid nitrogen to support the long duration thermal vacuum testing. Lastly, describe the simplistic and effective control system which results in zero to minimal human inputs during steady state conditions.

  9. James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element Mirror Development History and Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinber, Lee D.; Clampin, Mark; Keski-Kuha, Ritva; Atkinson, Charlie; Texter, Scott; Bergeland, Mark; Gallagher, Benjamin B.

    2012-01-01

    In a little under a decade, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) program has designed, manufactured, assembled and tested 21 flight beryllium mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element. This paper will summarize the mirror development history starting with the selection of beryllium as the mirror material and ending with the final test results. It will provide an overview of the technological roadmap and schedules and the key challenges that were overcome. It will also provide a summary or the key tests that were performed and the results of these tests.

  10. JWST-MIRI spectrometer main optics design and main results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, Ramón; Schoenmaker, Ton; Kroes, Gabby; Oudenhuysen, Ad; Jager, Rieks; Venema, Lars

    2017-11-01

    MIRI ('Mid InfraRed Instrument') is the combined imager and integral field spectrometer for the 5-29 micron wavelength range under development for the James Webb Space Telescope JWST. The flight acceptance tests of the Spectrometer Main Optics flight models (SMO), part of the MIRI spectrometer, are completed in the summer of 2008 and the system is delivered to the MIRI-JWST consortium. The two SMO arms contain 14 mirrors and form the MIRI optical system together with 12 selectable gratings on grating wheels. The entire system operates at a temperature of 7 Kelvin and is designed on the basis of a 'no adjustments' philosophy. This means that the optical alignment precision depends strongly on the design, tolerance analysis and detailed knowledge of the manufacturing process. Because in principle no corrections are needed after assembly, continuous tracking of the alignment performance during the design and manufacturing phases is important. The flight hardware is inspected with respect to performance parameters like alignment and image quality. The stability of these parameters is investigated after exposure to various vibration levels and successive cryogenic cool downs. This paper describes the philosophy behind the acceptance tests, the chosen test strategy and reports the results of these tests. In addition the paper covers the design of the optical test setup, focusing on the simulation of the optical interfaces of the SMO. Also the relation to the SMO qualification and verification program is addressed.

  11. TRL-6 for JWST Wavefront Sensing and Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinberg, Lee; Dean, Bruce; Smith, Scott; Aronstein, David; Shiri, Ron; Lyon, Rick; Hayden, Bill; Bowers, Chuck; Acton, D. Scott; Shields, Duncan; hide

    2007-01-01

    NASA's Technology Readiness Level (TRL)-6 is documented for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Wavefront Sensing and Control (WFSC) subsystem. The WFSC subsystem is needed to align the Optical Telescope Element (OTE) after all deployments have occurred, and achieves that requirement through a robust commissioning sequence consisting of unique commissioning algorithms, all of which are part of the WFSC algorithm suite. This paper identifies the technology need, algorithm heritage, describes the finished TRL-6 design platform, and summarizes the TRL-6 test results and compliance. Additionally, the performance requirements needed to satisfy JWST science goals as well as the criterion that relate to the TRL-6 Testbed Telescope (TBT) performance requirements are discussed

  12. A 16-m Telescope for the Advanced Technology Large Aperture Telescope (ATLAST) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lillie, Charles F.; Dailey, D. R.; Polidan, R. S.

    2010-01-01

    Future space observatories will require increasingly large telescopes to study the earliest stars and galaxies, as well as faint nearby objects. Technologies now under development will enable telescopes much larger than the 6.5-meter diameter James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to be developed at comparable costs. Current segmented mirror and deployable optics technology enables the 6.5 meter JWST telescope to be folded for launch in the 5-meter diameter Ariane 5 payload fairing, and deployed autonomously after reaching orbit. Late in the next decade, when the Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle payload fairing becomes operational, even larger telescope can be placed in orbit. In this paper we present our concept for a 16-meter JWST derivative, chord-fold telescope which could be stowed in the 10-m diameter Ares V fairing, plus a description of the new technologies that enable ATLAST to be developed at an affordable price.

  13. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instruments Module (ISIM) Cryo-Vacuum (CV) Test Campaign Summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yew, Calinda; Whitehouse, Paul; Lui, Yan; Banks, Kimberly

    2016-01-01

    JWST Integrated Science Instruments Module (ISIM) has completed its system-level testing program at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In March 2016, ISIM was successfully delivered for integration with the Optical Telescope Element (OTE) after the successful verification of the system through a series of three cryo-vacuum (CV) tests. The first test served as a risk reduction test; the second test provided the initial verification of the fully-integrated flight instruments; and the third test verified the system in its final flight configuration. The complexity of the mission has generated challenging requirements that demand highly reliable system performance and capabilities from the Space Environment Simulator (SES) vacuum chamber. As JWST progressed through its CV testing campaign, deficiencies in the test configuration and support equipment were uncovered from one test to the next. Subsequent upgrades and modifications were implemented to improve the facility support capabilities required to achieve test requirements. This paper: (1) provides an overview of the integrated mechanical and thermal facility systems required to achieve the objectives of JWST ISIM testing, (2) compares the overall facility performance and instrumentation results from the three ISIM CV tests, and (3) summarizes lessons learned from the ISIM testing campaign.

  14. Prospects for Habitable World Detections Using James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deming, Drake

    2010-01-01

    Doppler and transit surveys are finding extrasolar planets of ever smaller mass and radius, and are now sampling the domain of superEarths. Recent results from the Doppler surveys suggest that discovery of a transiting superEarth in the habitable zone of a lower main sequence star may be possible. We evaluate the prospects for an all-sky transit survey targeted to the brightest stars I that would find the most favorable cases for photometric and spectroscopic characterization using the James Webb Space Telescope. We use the proposed Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) as representative of an all-sky survey. We couple the simulated TESS yield to a sensitivity model for the MIRI and NIRSpec instruments on JWST. Our sensitivity model includes all currently known and anticipated sources of random and systematic error for these instruments. We focus on the TESS planets with radii between Earth and Neptune. Our simulations consider secondary eclipse filter photometry using JWST/MIRI, comparing the 11- and 15- micron bands to measure carbon dioxide absorption in superEarths, as well as JWST!NIRSpec spectroscopy of water absorption from 1.7-3.0 microns, and carbon dioxide absorption at 4.3 microns. We find that JWST will be capable of characterizing dozens of TESS superEarths with temperatures above the habitable range, using both MIRI and NIRspec. We project that TESS will discover about eight nearby habitable transiting superEarths, all orbiting lower main sequence stars. The principal sources of uncertainty in the prospects for JWST characterization of habitable superEarths are superEarth frequency and the nature of superEarth atmospheres. Based on our estimates of these uncertainties, we project that JWST will be able to measure the temperature, and identify molecular absorptions (water, carbon dioxide) in one to four nearby habitable TESS superEarths orbiting lower main sequence stars.

  15. Beyond JWST: Science Drivers for the Next Great UVOIR Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tumlinson, Jason; Seager, Sara; Dalcanton, Julianne; Postman, Marc; Aigrain, Suzanne; battel, Steven; Brandt, W. Niel; Conroy, Charlie; Feinberg, Lee; Gezari, Suvi; Guyon, Olivier; Harris, Walter M.; Hirata, Chris; Mather, John C.; Redding, David; Schiminovich, David; Stahl, H. Philip

    2015-01-01

    We report on the AURA 'Beyond JWST' committee's considerations and conclusions regarding the science case for the development of a large UVOIR observatory, to be launched following JWST and WFIRST-AFTA. We find that a space-based UVOIR telescope of 10 meters or more in aperture will uniquely enable a wide range of transformational science investigations by itself and in tandem with ground-based OIR and radio facilities in its era. The chief goal of this facility is to assess the possibility of life beyond our Solar System by discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of their host stars, via direct imaging, and by searching spectroscopically for biosignature gases in the atmospheres of the best exo-Earth candidates. The large aperture and mission architecture required to characterize the atmospheres of a significant number of potentially life-bearing planets will also transform studies of the galaxies and stars that led up to them. At 10 meters or larger, the telescope will spatially resolve scales of 100 AU everywhere in the Milky Way, 0.1 parsec everywhere in the Local Group, and 100 parsec everywhere in the observable Universe. This unprecedented spatial resolution over large fields, with stable optics and low backgrounds, will allow astronomers to follow, in high definition, the formation and evolution of the star forming regions inside galaxies over the past 10 Gyr, to robustly determine the complete star formation histories in every galaxy within the local volume (to 10 Mpc), and to track the motions of virtually any star in the Milky Way. High spectral resolution and multi-object spectroscopy in the UV will enable revolutionary new studies of gas flows in galaxies, bodies in the outer solar system, and the evolution of the most massive stars. We present these compelling science drivers and their associated observational requirements here; we summarize the technology requirements for high angular resolution, sensitivity, wavefront stability

  16. System Definition of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundquist, Ray; Aymergen, Cagatay; VanCampen, Julie; Abell, James; Smith, Miles; Driggers, Phillip

    2008-01-01

    The Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) provides the critical functions and the environment for the four science instruments on JWST. This complex system development across many international organizations presents unique challenges and unique solutions. Here we describe how the requirement flow has been coordinated through the documentation system, how the tools and processes are used to minimize impact to the development of the affected interfaces, how the system design has matured, how the design review process operates, and how the system implementation is managed through reporting to ensure a truly world class scientific instrument compliment is created as the final product.

  17. Galaxies in the Diffuse Baryon Field Approaching Reionization: A Joint Study with JWST, HST, and Large Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simcoe, Robert

    2017-08-01

    Our team is conducting a dedicated survey for emission-line galaxies at 5 6 quasars, using JWST/NIRCAM's slitless grism in a 110 hour GTO allocation. We have acquired deep near-IR spectra of the QSOs, revealing multiple heavy-element absorption systems and probing the HI optical depth within each object's survey volume. These data will provide the first systematic view of the circumgalactic medium at z > 4, allowing us to study early metal enrichment, correlations of the intergalactic HI optical depth with galaxy density, and the environment of the quasar hosts. These fields generally do not have deep multicolor photometry that would facilitate selection of broadband dropout galaxies for future observation with JWST/NIRSPEC. However during long spectroscopic integrations with NIRCAM's long channel we will obtain deep JWST photometry in F115W and F200W, together with F356W for wavelength calibration. Here we request 30 orbits with HST/ACS to acquire deep optical photometry that (together with the JWST IR bands) will constrain SED models and enable dropout selection of fainter objects. For lower redshift objects the rest-UV ACS data will improve estimates of star formation rate and stellar mass. Within a Small-GO program scope we will obtain sensitivity similar to CANDELS-Deep in all six fields, and approximately double the size of our galaxy sample appropriate for JWST/NIRSPEC followup at redshifts approaching the reionization epoch.

  18. Phase-Retrieval Uncertainty Estimation and Algorithm Comparison for the JWST-ISIM Test Campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aronstein, David L.; Smith, J. Scott

    2016-01-01

    Phase retrieval, the process of determining the exitpupil wavefront of an optical instrument from image-plane intensity measurements, is the baseline methodology for characterizing the wavefront for the suite of science instruments (SIs) in the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). JWST is a large, infrared space telescope with a 6.5-meter diameter primary mirror. JWST is currently NASA's flagship mission and will be the premier space observatory of the next decade. ISIM contains four optical benches with nine unique instruments, including redundancies. ISIM was characterized at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD in a series of cryogenic vacuum tests using a telescope simulator. During these tests, phase-retrieval algorithms were used to characterize the instruments. The objective of this paper is to describe the Monte-Carlo simulations that were used to establish uncertainties (i.e., error bars) for the wavefronts of the various instruments in ISIM. Multiple retrieval algorithms were used in the analysis of ISIM phase-retrieval focus-sweep data, including an iterativetransform algorithm and a nonlinear optimization algorithm. These algorithms emphasize the recovery of numerous optical parameters, including low-order wavefront composition described by Zernike polynomial terms and high-order wavefront described by a point-by-point map, location of instrument best focus, focal ratio, exit-pupil amplitude, the morphology of any extended object, and optical jitter. The secondary objective of this paper is to report on the relative accuracies of these algorithms for the ISIM instrument tests, and a comparison of their computational complexity and their performance on central and graphical processing unit clusters. From a phase-retrieval perspective, the ISIM test campaign includes a variety of source illumination bandwidths, various image-plane sampling criteria above and below the Nyquist- Shannon

  19. Challenges with Electrical, Electronics, and Electromechanical Parts for James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jah, Muzar A.; Jeffers, Basil S.

    2016-01-01

    James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the space-based observatory that will extend the knowledge gained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Hubble focuses on optical and ultraviolet wavelengths while JWST focuses on the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, to see the earliest stars and galaxies that formed in the Universe and to look deep into nearby dust clouds to study the formation of stars and planets. JWST, which commenced creation in 1996, is scheduled to launch in 2018. It includes a suite of four instruments, the spacecraft bus, optical telescope element, Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM, the platform to hold the instruments), and a sunshield. The mass of JWST is approximately 6200 kg, including observatory, on-orbit consumables and launch vehicle adaptor. Many challenges were overcome while providing the electrical and electronic components for the Goddard Space Flight Center hardware builds. Other difficulties encountered included developing components to work at cryogenic temperatures, failures of electronic components during development and flight builds, Integration and Test electronic parts problems, and managing technical issues with international partners. This paper will present the context of JWST from a EEE (electrical, electronic, and electromechanical) perspective with examples of challenges and lessons learned throughout the design, development, and fabrication of JWST in cooperation with our associated partners including the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), Lockheed Martin and their respective associated partners. Technical challenges and lessons learned will be discussed.

  20. Optical Coating Performance for Heat Reflectors of the JWST-ISIM Electronic Component

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashford, Robert A.; Perrygo, Charles M.; Garrison, Matthew B.; White, Bryant K.; Threat, Felix T.; Quijada, Manuel A.; Jeans, James W.; Huber, Frank K.; Bousquet, Robert R.; Shaw, Dave

    2011-01-01

    A document discusses a thermal radiator design consisting of lightweight composite materials and low-emittance metal coatings for use on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) structure. The structure will have a Thermal Subsystem unit to provide passive cooling to the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) control electronics. The ISIM, in the JWST observatory, is the platform that provides the mounting surfaces for the instrument control electronics. Dissipating the control electronic generated-heat away from JWST is of paramount importance so that the spacecraft s own heat does not interfere with the infrared-light gathering of distant cosmic sources. The need to have lateral control in the emission direction of the IEC (ISIM Electronics Compartment) radiators led to the development of a directional baffle design that uses multiple curved mirrorlike surfaces. This concept started out from the so-called Winston non-imaging optical concentrators that use opposing parabolic reflector surfaces, where each parabola has its focus at the opposite edge of the exit aperture. For this reason they are often known as compound parabolic concentrators or CPCs. This radiator system with the circular section was chosen for the IEC reflectors because it offers two advantages over other designs. The first is that the area of the reflector strips for a given radiator area is less, which results in a lower mass baffle assembly. Secondly, the fraction of energy emitted by the radiator strips and subsequently reflected by the baffle is less. These fewer reflections reduced the amount of energy that is absorbed and eventually re-emitted, typically in a direction outside the design emission range angle. A baffle frame holds the mirrors in position above a radiator panel on the IEC. Together, these will direct the majority of the heat from the IEC above the sunshield away towards empty space.

  1. Optical Coating Performance and Thermal Structure Design for Heat Reflectors of JWST Electronic Control Unit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quijada, Manuel A.; Threat, Felix; Garrison, Matt; Perrygo, Chuck; Bousquet, Robert; Rashford, Robert

    2008-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) consists of an infrared-optimized Optical Telescope Element (OTE) that is cooled down to 40 degrees Kelvin. A second adjacent component to the OTE is the Integrated Science Instrument Module, or ISIM. This module includes the electronic compartment, which provides the mounting surfaces and ambient thermally controlled environment for the instrument control electronics. Dissipating the 200 watts generated from the ISIM structure away from the OTE is of paramount importance so that the spacecraft's own heat does not interfere with the infrared light detected from distant cosmic sources. This technical challenge is overcome by a thermal subsystem unit that provides passive cooling to the ISIM control electronics. The proposed design of this thermal radiator consists of a lightweight structure made out of composite materials and low-emittance metal coatings. In this paper, we will present characterizations of the coating emittance, bidirectional reflectance, and mechanical structure design that will affect the performance of this passive cooling system.

  2. Advancing Absolute Calibration for JWST and Other Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieke, George; Bohlin, Ralph; Boyajian, Tabetha; Carey, Sean; Casagrande, Luca; Deustua, Susana; Gordon, Karl; Kraemer, Kathleen; Marengo, Massimo; Schlawin, Everett; Su, Kate; Sloan, Greg; Volk, Kevin

    2017-10-01

    We propose to exploit the unique optical stability of the Spitzer telescope, along with that of IRAC, to (1) transfer the accurate absolute calibration obtained with MSX on very bright stars directly to two reference stars within the dynamic range of the JWST imagers (and of other modern instrumentation); (2) establish a second accurate absolute calibration based on the absolutely calibrated spectrum of the sun, transferred onto the astronomical system via alpha Cen A; and (3) provide accurate infrared measurements for the 11 (of 15) highest priority stars with no such data but with accurate interferometrically measured diameters, allowing us to optimize determinations of effective temperatures using the infrared flux method and thus to extend the accurate absolute calibration spectrally. This program is integral to plans for an accurate absolute calibration of JWST and will also provide a valuable Spitzer legacy.

  3. Contamination control requirements implementation for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), part 2: spacecraft, sunshield, observatory, and launch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooldridge, Eve M.; Schweiss, Andrea; Henderson-Nelson, Kelly; Woronowicz, Michael; Patel, Jignasha; Macias, Matthew; McGregor, R. Daniel; Farmer, Greg; Schmeitzky, Olivier; Jensen, Peter; Rumler, Peter; Romero, Beatriz; Breton, Jacques

    2014-09-01

    This paper will continue from Part 1 of JWST contamination control implementation. In addition to optics, instruments, and thermal vacuum testing, JWST also requires contamination control for a spacecraft that must be vented carefully in order to maintain solar array and thermal radiator thermal properties; a tennis court-sized sunshield made with 1-2 mil Kapton™ layers that must be manufactured and maintained clean; an observatory that must be integrated, stowed and transported to South America; and a rocket that typically launches commercial payloads without contamination sensitivity. An overview of plans developed to implement contamination control for the JWST spacecraft, sunshield, observatory and launch vehicle will be presented.

  4. Leveraging Emerging Technologies in Outreach for JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meinke, Bonnie K.; Green, Joel D.; Smith, Louis Chad; Smith, Denise A.; Lawton, Brandon L.; Gough, Michael

    2017-10-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is NASA’s next great observatory, launching in October 2018. How will we maintain the prestige and cultural impact of the Hubble Space Telescope as the torch passes to Webb? Emerging technologies such as augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) bring the viewer into the data and introduce the telescope in previously unimaginable immersive detail. Adoption of mobile devices, many of which easily support AR and VR, has expanded access to information for wide swaths of the public. From software like Worldwide Telescope to hardware like the HTC Vive, immersive environments are providing new avenues for learning. If we develop materials properly tailored to these media, we can reach more diverse audiences than ever before. STScI is piloting tools related to JWST to showcase at DPS, and in local events, which I highlight here.

  5. Telescope Innovations Improve Speed, Accuracy of Eye Surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    One of the main components of NASA's vision for the future of space exploration will actually have a keen eye for the past. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scheduled to launch in 2018, will have spectacular sight, after it reaches orbit, one of its main goals is to observe the first galaxies that formed in the early universe. "JWST offers new capabilities in the infrared well beyond what we can see from current telescopes, either on the ground or in space. It will let us explore the early universe, extrasolar planets, and really, all branches of astrophysics," says Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element manager for the JWST at Goddard Space Flight Center. Building such a keen space telescope is an astronomic task. Because JWST will gaze over such incredible distances, it requires very large mirrors. In fact, the primary mirror will be more than two stories in diameter and consists of 18 separate segments. Each segment must be perfectly smooth, flat, and scratch-free in order to deliver a view 13 billion light years away. Construction of the 18 mirror segments involved measuring, grinding, polishing, and testing - and more measuring, grinding, polishing, and testing - and more measuring, grinding, polishing, and testing (you get the idea). One of the most time consuming steps of the mirror development process, the grinding phase, can take years.

  6. Critical Science Instrument Alignment of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohrbach, Scott O.; Kubalak, David A.; Gracey, Renee M.; Sabatke, Derek S.; Howard, Joseph M.; Telfer, Randal C.; Zielinski, Thomas P.

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes the critical instrument alignment terms associated with the six-degree of freedom alignment of each the Science Instrument (SI) in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), including focus, pupil shear, pupil clocking, and boresight. We present the test methods used during cryogenic-vacuum tests to directly measure the performance of each parameter, the requirements levied on each, and the impact of any violations of these requirements at the instrument and Observatory level.

  7. Line of Sight Stabilization of James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meza, Luis; Tung, Frank; Anandakrishnan, Satya; Spector, Victor; Hyde, Tupper

    2005-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) builds upon the successful flight experience of the Chandra Xray Telescope by incorporating an additional LOS pointing servo to meet the more stringent pointing requirements. The LOS pointing servo, referred to in JWST as the Fine Guidance Control System (FGCS), will utilize a Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) as the sensor, and a Fine Steering Mirror (FSM) as the actuator. The FSM is a part of the Optical Telescope Element (OTE) and is in the optical path between the tertiary mirror and the instrument focal plane, while the FGS is part of the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM). The basic Chandra spacecraft bus attitude control and determination architecture, utilizing gyros, star trackers/aspect camera, and reaction wheels, is retained for JWST. This system has achieved pointing stability of better than 0.5 arcseconds. To reach the JWST requirements of milli-arcsecond pointing stability with this ACS hardware, the local FGCS loop is added to the optical path. The FGCS bandwidth is about 2.0 Hz and will therefore attenuate much of the spacecraft ACS induced low frequency jitter. In order to attenuate the higher frequency (greatet than 2.0 Hz) disturbances associated with reaction wheel static and dynamic imbalances, as well as bearing run-out, JWST will employ a two-stage passive vibration isolation system consisting of (1) 7.0 Hz reaction wheel isolators between each reaction wheel and the spacecraft bus, and (2) a 1.0 Hz tower isolator between the spacecraft bus and the Optical Telescope Element (OTE). In order to sense and measure the LOS, the FGS behaves much like an autonomous star tracker that has a very small field of view and uses the optics of the telescope. It performs the functions of acquisition, identification and tracking of stars in its 2.5 x 2.5 arcminute field of view (FOV), and provides the centroid and magnitude of the selected star for use in LOS control. However, since only a single star is being tracked

  8. Emerging Technologies and Outreach with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Joel D.; Smith, Denise A.; Meinke, Bonnie K.; Lawton, Brandon L.; Kenney, Jessica; Jirdeh, Hussein

    2017-06-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA’s next great observatory launching in October 2018, required a dozen new technologies to develop. How will we maintain the prestige and cultural impact of Hubble as the torch passes to Webb? Emerging technologies such as augmented and virtual reality bring the viewer into the data and the concept in previously unimaginable immersive detail. Adoption of mobile devices has expanded access to information for wide swaths of the public. Software like Worldwide Telescope to hardware like the Occulus Rift are providing new avenues for learning. If we develop materials properly tailored to this medium, we can reach more diverse audiences than ever before. STScI is pioneering some tools related to JWST for showcasing at AAS, and in local events, which I highlight here.

  9. Prime focus architectures for large space telescopes: reduce surfaces to save cost

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breckinridge, J. B.; Lillie, C. F.

    2016-07-01

    Conceptual architectures are now being developed to identify future directions for post JWST large space telescope systems to operate in the UV Optical and near IR regions of the spectrum. Here we show that the cost of optical surfaces within large aperture telescope/instrument systems can exceed $100M/reflection when expressed in terms of the aperture increase needed to over come internal absorption loss. We recommend a program in innovative optical design to minimize the number of surfaces by considering multiple functions for mirrors. An example is given using the Rowland circle imaging spectrometer systems for UV space science. With few exceptions, current space telescope architectures are based on systems optimized for ground-based astronomy. Both HST and JWST are classical "Cassegrain" telescopes derived from the ground-based tradition to co-locate the massive primary mirror and the instruments at the same end of the metrology structure. This requirement derives from the dual need to minimize observatory dome size and cost in the presence of the Earth's 1-g gravitational field. Space telescopes, however function in the zero gravity of space and the 1- g constraint is relieved to the advantage of astronomers. Here we suggest that a prime focus large aperture telescope system in space may have potentially have higher transmittance, better pointing, improved thermal and structural control, less internal polarization and broader wavelength coverage than Cassegrain telescopes. An example is given showing how UV astronomy telescopes use single optical elements for multiple functions and therefore have a minimum number of reflections.

  10. Synergy with HST and JWST Data Management Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greene, Gretchen; Space Telescope Data Management Team

    2014-01-01

    The data processing and archive systems for the JWST will contain a petabyte of science data and the best news is that users will have fast access to the latest calibrations through a variety of new services. With a synergistic approach currently underway with the STScI science operations between the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope data management subsystems (DMS), operational verification is right around the corner. Next year the HST archive will provide scientists on-demand fully calibrated data products via the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST), which takes advantage of an upgraded DMS. This enhanced system, developed jointly with the JWST DMS is based on a new CONDOR distributed processing system capable of reprocessing data using a prioritization queue which runs in the background. A Calibration Reference Data System manages the latest optimal configuration for each scientific instrument pipeline. Science users will be able to search and discover the growing MAST archive calibrated datasets from these missions along with the other multiple mission holdings both local to MAST and available through the Virtual Observatory. JWST data systems will build upon the successes and lessons learned from the HST legacy and move us forward into the next generation of multi-wavelength archive research.

  11. Optical transmission for the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lightsey, Paul A.; Gallagher, Benjamin B.; Nickles, Neal; Copp, Tracy

    2012-09-01

    The fabrication and coating of the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope has been completed. The spectral reflectivity of the protected gold coated beryllium mirrors has been measured. The predicted end-of-life transmission through the telescope builds from these values. The additional phenomena that have been analyzed are contamination effects and effects of the environment for the JWST operation about the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange libration point. The L2 environment analysis has been based on radiation testing of mirror samples and hypervelocity testing to assess the micrometeoroid impact effects. The mirror showed no change in reflectance over the VIS-SWIR wavelengths after exposure to 6-9 Grad (Si) that simulated 6 years orbiting the L2 Lagrange point. The effects of hypervelocity particle impacts on the mirrors from test data has been extrapolated to the to the anticipated flux characteristics for micrometeoroids at the L2 environment. The results show that the micrometeoroid effects are orders of magnitude below the particulate contamination effects. The final end-of-life transmission for the mirrors including all of these phenomena will meet the performance requirements for JWST.

  12. NASA 3D Models: James Webb Space Telescope

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror. The project is working to a 2018 launch date. The JWST will...

  13. Matlab based Toolkits used to Interface with Optical Design Software for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Joseph

    2007-01-01

    The viewgraph presentation provides an introduction to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The first part provides a brief overview of Matlab toolkits including CodeV, OSLO, and Zemax Toolkits. The toolkit overview examines purpose, layout, how Matlab gets data from CodeV, function layout, and using cvHELP. The second part provides examples of use with JWST, including wavefront sensitivities and alignment simulations.

  14. Planning JWST NIRSpec MSA spectroscopy using NIRCam pre-images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Tracy L.; Ubeda, Leonardo; Kassin, Susan A.; Gilbert, Karoline; Karakla, Diane M.; Reid, I. N.; Blair, William P.; Keyes, Charles D.; Soderblom, D. R.; Peña-Guerrero, Maria A.

    2016-07-01

    The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) is the work-horse spectrograph at 1-5microns for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). A showcase observing mode of NIRSpec is the multi-object spectroscopy with the Micro-Shutter Arrays (MSAs), which consist of a quarter million tiny configurable shutters that are 0. ''20×0. ''46 in size. The NIRSpec MSA shutters can be opened in adjacent rows to create flexible and positionable spectroscopy slits on prime science targets of interest. Because of the very small shutter width, the NIRSpec MSA spectral data quality will benefit significantly from accurate astrometric knowledge of the positions of planned science sources. Images acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have the optimal relative astrometric accuracy for planning NIRSpec observations of 5-10 milli-arcseconds (mas). However, some science fields of interest might have no HST images, galactic fields can have moderate proper motions at the 5mas level or greater, and extragalactic images with HST may have inadequate source information at NIRSpec wavelengths beyond 2 microns. Thus, optimal NIRSpec spectroscopy planning may require pre-imaging observations with the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on JWST to accurately establish source positions for alignment with the NIRSpec MSAs. We describe operational philosophies and programmatic considerations for acquiring JWST NIRCam pre-image observations for NIRSpec MSA spectroscopic planning within the same JWST observing Cycle.

  15. Commentary: JWST near-infrared detector degradation— finding the problem, fixing the problem, and moving forward

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernard J. Rauscher

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. JWST will be an infrared-optimized telescope, with an approximately 6.5 m diameter primary mirror, that is located at the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point. Three of JWST’s four science instruments use Teledyne HgCdTe HAWAII-2RG (H2RG near infrared detector arrays. During 2010, the JWST Project noticed that a few of its 5 μm cutoff H2RG detectors were degrading during room temperature storage, and NASA chartered a “Detector Degradation Failure Review Board” (DD-FRB to investigate. The DD-FRB determined that the root cause was a design flaw that allowed indium to interdiffuse with the gold contacts and migrate into the HgCdTe detector layer. Fortunately, Teledyne already had an improved design that eliminated this degradation mechanism. During early 2012, the improved H2RG design was qualified for flight and JWST began making additional H2RGs. In this article, we present the two public DD-FRB “Executive Summaries” that: (1 determined the root cause of the detector degradation and (2 defined tests to determine whether the existing detectors are qualified for flight. We supplement these with a brief introduction to H2RG detector arrays, some recent measurements showing that the performance of the improved design meets JWST requirements, and a discussion of how the JWST Project is using cryogenic storage to retard the degradation rate of the existing flight spare H2RGs.

  16. Bringing the Science of JWST to the Public

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Joel D.; Smith, Denise A.; Lawton, Brandon L.; Meinke, Bonnie K.; Jirdeh, Hussein

    2017-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. STScI and the Office of Public Outreach are committed to bringing awareness of the technology, the excitement, and the future science potential of this great observatory to the public and to the scientific community, prior to its 2018 launch. The challenges in ensuring the high profile of JWST (understanding the infrared, the vast distance to the telescope's final position, and the unfamiliar science territory) requires us to lay the proper background, particularly in the area of spectroscopy. We currently engage the full range of the public and scientific communities using a variety of high impact, memorable initiatives, in combination with modern technologies to extend reach, linking the science goals of Webb to the ongoing discoveries being made by Hubble. Webbtelescope.org, the public hub for scientific information related to JWST, is now open. We have injected Webb-specific content into ongoing outreach programs: for example, partnering with high impact science communicators such as MinutePhysics to produce timely and concise content; partnering with musicians and artists to link science and art. Augmented reality apps showcase NASA’s telescopes in a format usable by anyone with a smartphone, and visuals from increasingly affordable 3D VR technologies.

  17. Wavefront-Error Performance Characterization for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) Science Instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aronstein, David L.; Smith, J. Scott; Zielinski, Thomas P.; Telfer, Randal; Tournois, Severine C.; Moore, Dustin B.; Fienup, James R.

    2016-01-01

    The science instruments (SIs) comprising the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) were tested in three cryogenic-vacuum test campaigns in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)'s Space Environment Simulator (SES). In this paper, we describe the results of optical wavefront-error performance characterization of the SIs. The wavefront error is determined using image-based wavefront sensing (also known as phase retrieval), and the primary data used by this process are focus sweeps, a series of images recorded by the instrument under test in its as-used configuration, in which the focal plane is systematically changed from one image to the next. High-precision determination of the wavefront error also requires several sources of secondary data, including 1) spectrum, apodization, and wavefront-error characterization of the optical ground-support equipment (OGSE) illumination module, called the OTE Simulator (OSIM), 2) plate scale measurements made using a Pseudo-Nonredundant Mask (PNRM), and 3) pupil geometry predictions as a function of SI and field point, which are complicated because of a tricontagon-shaped outer perimeter and small holes that appear in the exit pupil due to the way that different light sources are injected into the optical path by the OGSE. One set of wavefront-error tests, for the coronagraphic channel of the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) Longwave instruments, was performed using data from transverse translation diversity sweeps instead of focus sweeps, in which a sub-aperture is translated andor rotated across the exit pupil of the system.Several optical-performance requirements that were verified during this ISIM-level testing are levied on the uncertainties of various wavefront-error-related quantities rather than on the wavefront errors themselves. This paper also describes the methodology, based on Monte Carlo simulations of the wavefront-sensing analysis of focus-sweep data, used to establish the

  18. The ATHENA telescope and optics status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bavdaz, Marcos; Wille, Eric; Ayre, Mark; Ferreira, Ivo; Shortt, Brian; Fransen, Sebastiaan; Collon, Maximilien; Vacanti, Giuseppe; Barriere, Nicolas; Landgraf, Boris; Haneveld, Jeroen; van Baren, Coen; Zuknik, Karl-Heintz; Della Monica Ferreira, Desiree; Massahi, Sonny; Christensen, Finn; Krumrey, Michael; Burwitz, Vadim; Pareschi, Giovanni; Spiga, Daniele; Valsecchi, Giuseppe; Vernani, Dervis; Oliver, Paul; Seidel, André

    2017-08-01

    The work on the definition and technological preparation of the ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High ENergy Astrophysics) mission continues to progress. In parallel to the study of the accommodation of the telescope, many aspects of the X-ray optics are being evolved further. The optics technology chosen for ATHENA is the Silicon Pore Optics (SPO), which hinges on technology spin-in from the semiconductor industry, and uses a modular approach to produce large effective area lightweight telescope optics with a good angular resolution. Both system studies and the technology developments are guided by ESA and implemented in industry, with participation of institutional partners. In this paper an overview of the current status of the telescope optics accommodation and technology development activities is provided.

  19. From the Big Bang to the Nobel Prize and the JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mather, John C.

    2007-01-01

    I will describe the history of the universe, from the Big Bang to 2013, when the JWST is to be launched to look back towards our beginnings. I will discuss how the COBE results led to the Nobel Prize, how the COBE results have been confirmed and extended, and their implications for future observations. The James Webb Space Telescope will be used to examine every part of our history from the first stars and galaxies to the formation of individual stars and planets and the delivery of life-supporting materials to the Earth. I will describe the plans for the JWST and how observers may use it. With luck, the JWST may produce a Nobel Prize for some discovery we can only guess today.

  20. Cryo-Vacuum Testing of the Integrated Science Instrument Module for the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimble, Randy A.; Davila, P. S.; Drury, M. P.; Glazer, S. D.; Krom, J. R.; Lundquist, R. A.; Mann, S. D.; McGuffey, D. B.; Perry, R. L.; Ramey, D. D.

    2011-01-01

    With delivery of the science instruments for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) expected in 2012, current plans call for the first cryo-vacuum test of the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) to be carried out at GSFC in early 2013. Plans are well underway for conducting this ambitious test, which will perform critical verifications of a number of optical, thermal, and operational requirements of the IS 1M hardware, at its deep cryogenic operating temperature. We describe here the facilities, goals, methods, and timeline for this important Integration & Test milestone in the JWST program.

  1. The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonneborn, George

    2010-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large aperture, cryogenic, infrared-optimized space observatory under development by NASA for launch in 2014. The European and Canadian Space Agencies are mission partners. JWST will find and study the first galaxies that formed in the early universe, peer through dusty clouds to see AGN environments and stars forming planetary systems at high spatial resolution. The breakthrough capabilities of JWST will enable new studies of star formation and evolution in the Milky Way, including the Galactic Center, nearby galaxies, and the early universe. JWST's instruments are designed to work primarily in the infrared range of 1 - 28 microns, with some capability in the visible. JWST will have a segmented primary mirror, approximately 6.5 meters in diameter, and will be diffraction-limited at wavelength of 2 microns (0.1 arcsec resolution). The JWST observatory will be placed in a L2 orbit by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle provided by ESA. The observatory is designed for a 5-year prime science mission, with propellant for 10 years of science operations. The instruments will provide broad- and narrow-band imaging, coronography, and multi-object and integral-field spectroscopy (spectral resolution of 100 to 3,000) across the 1 - 28 micron wavelength range. Science and mission operations will be conducted from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

  2. Observing outer planet satellites (except Titan) with JWST: Science justification and observational requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kestay, Laszlo P.; Grundy, Will; Stansberry, John; Sivaramakrishnan, Anand; Thatte, Deepashri; Gudipati, Murthy; Tsang, Constantine; Greenbaum, Alexandra; McGruder, Chima

    2016-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will allow observations with a unique combination of spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution for the study of outer planet satellites within our Solar System. We highlight the infrared spectroscopy of icy moons and temporal changes on geologically active satellites as two particularly valuable avenues of scientific inquiry. While some care must be taken to avoid saturation issues, JWST has observation modes that should provide excellent infrared data for such studies.

  3. Astrophysics in the Next Decade: JWST and Concurrent Facilities

    CERN Document Server

    Thronson, Harley A; Tielens, Alexander; The James Webb Space Telescope and Concurrent Facilities

    2009-01-01

    NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), planned for operation in about five years, will have the capability to investigate – and answer – some of the most challenging questions in astronomy. Although motivated and designed to study the very early Universe, the performance of the observatory’s instruments over a very wide wavelength range will allow the world’s scientific community unequaled ability to study cosmic phenomena as diverse as small bodies in the Solar System and the formation of galaxies. As part of preparation to use JWST, a conference was held in Tucson, Arizona in 2007 that brought together astronomers from around the world to discuss the mission, other major facilities that will operate in the coming decade, and major scientific goals for them. This book is a compilation of those presentations by some of the leading researchers from all branches of astronomy. This book also includes a "pre-history" of JWST, describing the lengthy process and some of the key individuals that initiat...

  4. Technological Aspects of Creating Large-size Optical Telescopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Sychev

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A concept of the telescope creation, first of all, depends both on a choice of the optical scheme to form optical radiation and images with minimum losses of energy and information and on a choice of design to meet requirements for strength, stiffness, and stabilization characteristics in real telescope operation conditions. Thus, the concept of creating large-size telescopes, certainly, involves the use of adaptive optics methods and means.The level of technological capabilities to realize scientific and engineering ideas define a successful development of large-size optical telescopes in many respects. All developers pursue the same aim that is to raise an amount of information by increasing a main mirror diameter of the telescope.The article analyses the adaptive telescope designs developed in our country. Using a domestic ACT-25 telescope as an example, it considers creation of large-size optical telescopes in terms of technological aspects. It also describes the telescope creation concept features, which allow reaching marginally possible characteristics to ensure maximum amount of information.The article compares a wide range of large-size telescopes projects. It shows that a domestic project to create the adaptive ACT-25 super-telescope surpasses its foreign counterparts, and there is no sense to implement Euro50 (50m and OWL (100m projects.The considered material gives clear understanding on a role of technological aspects in development of such complicated optic-electronic complexes as a large-size optical telescope. The technological criteria of an assessment offered in the article, namely specific informational content of the telescope, its specific mass, and specific cost allow us to reveal weaknesses in the project development and define a reserve regarding further improvement of the telescope.The analysis of results and their judgment have shown that improvement of optical largesize telescopes in terms of their maximum

  5. Community Targets for JWST's Early Release Science Program: Evaluation of Transiting Exoplanet WASP-63b.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilpatrick, Brian; Cubillos, Patricio; Bruno, Giovanni; Lewis, Nikole K.; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Wakeford, Hannah; Blecic, Jasmina; Burrows, Adam Seth; Deming, Drake; Heng, Kevin; Line, Michael R.; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Morley, Caroline; Waldmann, Ingo P.; Transiting Exoplanet Early Release Science Community

    2017-06-01

    We present observations of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ``A Preparatory Program to Identify the Single Best Transiting Exoplanet for JWST Early Release Science" for WASP-63b, one of the community targets proposed for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Early Release Science (ERS) program. A large collaboration of transiting exoplanet scientists identified a set of ``community targets" which meet a certain set of criteria for ecliptic latitude, period, host star brightness, well constrained orbital parameters, and strength of spectroscopic features. WASP-63b was one of the targets identified as a potential candidate for the ERS program. It is presented as an inflated planet with a large signal. It will be accessible to JWST approximately six months after the planned start of Cycle 1/ERS in April 2019 making it an ideal candidate should there be any delays in the JWST timetable. Here, we observe WASP-63b to evaluate its suitability as the best target to test the capabilities of JWST. Ideally, a clear atmosphere will be best suited for bench marking the instruments ability to detect spectroscopic features. We can use the strength of the water absorption feature at 1.4 μm as a way to determine the presence of obscuring clouds/hazes. The results of atmospheric retrieval are presented along with a discussion on the suitability of WASP-63b as the best target to be observed during the ERS Program.

  6. New Frontiers for Massive Star Winds: Imaging and Spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonneborn, George

    2007-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope scheduled for launch in 2013. JWST will find the first stars and galaxies that formed in the early universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way galaxy. JWST will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System. JWST's instruments are designed to work primarily in the infrared range of 1 - 28 microns, with some capability in the visible range. JWST will have a large mirror, 6.5 meters in diameter, and will be diffraction-limited at 2 microns (0.1 arcsec resolution). JWST will be placed in an L2 orbit about 1.5 million km from the Earth. The instruments will provide imaging, coronography, and multi-object and integral-field spectroscopy across the full 1 - 28 micron wavelength range. The breakthrough capabilities of JWST will enable new studies of massive star winds from the Milky Way to the early universe.

  7. Strategies for Constraining the Atmospheres of Temperate Terrestrial Planets with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batalha, Natasha E.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Line, Michael R.; Valenti, Jeff; Stevenson, Kevin

    2018-04-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is expected to discover dozens of temperate terrestrial planets orbiting M-dwarfs with atmospheres that could be followed up with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Currently, the TRAPPIST-1 system serves as a benchmark for determining the feasibility and resources required to yield atmospheric constraints. We assess these questions and leverage an information content analysis to determine observing strategies for yielding high-precision spectroscopy in transmission and emission. Our goal is to guide observing strategies of temperate terrestrial planets in preparation for the early JWST cycles. First, we explore JWST’s current capabilities and expected spectral precision for targets near the saturation limits of specific modes. In doing so, we highlight the enhanced capabilities of high-efficiency readout patterns that are being considered for implementation in Cycle 2. We propose a partial saturation strategy to increase the achievable precision of JWST's NIRSpec Prism. We show that JWST has the potential to detect the dominant absorbing gas in the atmospheres of temperate terrestrial planets by the 10th transit using transmission spectroscopy techniques in the near-infrared (NIR). We also show that stacking ⪆10 transmission spectroscopy observations is unlikely to yield significant improvements in determining atmospheric composition. For emission spectroscopy, we show that the MIRI Low Resolution Spectroscopy (LRS) is unlikely to provide robust constraints on the atmospheric composition of temperate terrestrial planets. Higher-precision emission spectroscopy at wavelengths longward of those accessible to MIRI LRS, as proposed in the Origins Space Telescope concept, could help improve the constraints on molecular abundances of temperate terrestrial planets orbiting M-dwarfs.

  8. The optical system of the proposed Chinese 12-m optical/infrared telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Ding-qiang; Liang, Ming; Yuan, Xiangyan; Bai, Hua; Cui, Xiangqun

    2017-08-01

    The lack of a large-aperture optical/infrared telescope has seriously affected the development of astronomy in China. In 2016, the authors published their concept study and suggestions for a 12-m telescope optical system. This article presents the authors' further research and some new results. Considering that this telescope should be a general-purpose telescope for a wide range of scientific goals and could be used for frontier scientific research in the future, the authors studied and designed a variety of 12-m telescope optical systems for comparison and final decision-making. In general, we still adopt our previous configuration, but the Nasmyth and prime-focus corrector systems have been greatly improved. In this article, the adaptive optics is given special attention. Ground-layer adaptive optics (GLAO) is adopted. It has a 14-arcmin field of view. The secondary mirror is used as the adaptive optical deformable mirror. Obviously, not all the optical systems in this telescope configuration will be used or constructed at the same stage. Some will be for the future and some are meant for research rather than for construction.

  9. The Impact of JWST Broadband Filter Choice on Photometric Redshift Estimation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bisigello, L.; Caputi, K. I.; Colina, L.

    2016-01-01

    The determination of galaxy redshifts in the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) blank-field surveys will mostly rely on photometric estimates, based on the data provided by JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) at 0.6–5.0 μm and Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) at λ 5.0 μm. In this work we analyze...... the impact of choosing different combinations of NIRCam and MIRI broadband filters (F070W to F770W), as well as having ancillary data at λ 0.6 μm, on the derived photometric redshifts (z phot) of a total of 5921 real and simulated galaxies, with known input redshifts z = 0–10....

  10. Launch Window Trade Analysis for the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Wayne H.; Richon, Karen

    2014-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large-scale space telescope mission designed to study fundamental astrophysical questions ranging from the formation of the universe to the origin of planetary systems and the origins of life. JWSTs orbit design is a Libration Point Orbit (LPO) around the Sun-Earth/Moon (SEM) L2 point for a planned mission lifetime of 10.5 years. The launch readiness period for JWST is from Oct 1st, 2018 November 30th, 2018. This paper presents the first launch window analysis for the JWST observatory using finite-burn modeling; previous analysis assumed a single impulsive midcourse correction to achieve the mission orbit. The physical limitations of the JWST hardware stemming primarily from propulsion, communication and thermal requirements alongside updated mission design requirements result in significant launch window within the launch readiness period. Future plans are also discussed.

  11. Studying Galaxy Formation with the Hubble, Spitzer and James Webb Space Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Jonathan P.

    2009-01-01

    The deepest optical to infrared observations of the universe include the Hubble Deep Fields, the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey and the recent Hubble Ultra-Deep Field. Galaxies are seen in these surveys at redshifts z greater than 6, less than 1 Gyr after the Big Bang, at the end of a period when light from the galaxies has reionized Hydrogen in the inter-galactic medium. These observations, combined with theoretical understanding, indicate that the first stars and galaxies formed at z greater than 10, beyond the reach of the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. To observe the first galaxies, NASA is planning the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a large (6.5m), cold (less than 50K), infrared-optimized observatory to be launched early in the next decade into orbit around the second Earth-Sun Lagrange point. JWST will have four instruments: The Near-Infrared Camera, the Near-Infrared multi-object Spectrograph, and the Tunable Filter Imager will cover the wavelength range 0.6 to 5 microns, while the Mid-Infrared Instrument will do both imaging and spectroscopy from 5 to 28.5 microns. In addition to JWST's ability to study the formation and evolution of galaxies, I will also briefly review its expected contributions to studies of the formation of stars and planetary systems, and discuss recent progress in constructing the observatory.

  12. The ATHENA telescope and optics status

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bavdaz, Marcos; Wille, Eric; Ayre, Mark

    2017-01-01

    chosen for ATHENA is the Silicon Pore Optics (SPO), which hinges on technology spin-in from the semiconductor industry, and uses a modular approach to produce large effective area lightweight telescope optics with a good angular resolution. Both system studies and the technology developments are guided...... by ESA and implemented in industry, with participation of institutional partners. In this paper an overview of the current status of the telescope optics accommodation and technology development activities is provided....

  13. Revisiting the Effectiveness of Large Optical Telescopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Sychev

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available To create large-size optical telescopes, various design concepts have been used. Each concept inevitably faced the challenge to optimize technical characteristics and parameters of the telescope. There was always a question: what concept to choose, how to estimate efficiency of such telescopes and by what criteria and how to estimate expediency of this or that project of the large-size telescope. It is, obviously, insufficient to make a resolution-based estimation. An estimate by the angular field size is inappropriate too. Well, it may be also an estimate by the stellar magnitude. All these criteria are related to each other. Improvement of one of these parameters inevitably leads to deterioration of the others. Obviously, the certain generalized criterion considering all parameters and features of the design concept of the large-size telescope is necessary here. As such can serve the criterion of informational content of the telescope.The article offers a complex criterion allowing not only to estimate efficiency of large-size optical telescopes, but also to compare their conceptual and technological level among themselves in terms of obtaining information.The article suggests a new term, i.e. the informational content invariant to characterize informative capacities of the chosen concept and of the realizing technology. It will allow us to avoid unjustified complications of technical solutions, wrong accents in designing and excess material inputs when developing the project.The informational content criterion-based analysis of the existing projects of large-size telescopes has been convincingly shown that, conceptually, there are three best telescopes, namely: GSMT, CELT, and ACT-25. And, in terms of informational content, the АCТ-25 is 10 times more than GSMT and CELT, and the existing Keck-telescope exceeds by 30 times. Hence, it is hard to escape a conclusion that it is more favourable to implement one ACT-25, than to do 10 GSMT or CELT

  14. Novel optical scanning cryptography using Fresnel telescope imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Aimin; Sun, Jianfeng; Hu, Zhijuan; Zhang, Jingtao; Liu, Liren

    2015-07-13

    We propose a new method called modified optical scanning cryptography using Fresnel telescope imaging technique for encryption and decryption of remote objects. An image or object can be optically encrypted on the fly by Fresnel telescope scanning system together with an encryption key. For image decryption, the encrypted signals are received and processed with an optical coherent heterodyne detection system. The proposed method has strong performance through use of secure Fresnel telescope scanning with orthogonal polarized beams and efficient all-optical information processing. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated by numerical simulations and experimental results.

  15. Solar System Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norwood, James; Hammel, Heidi; Milam, Stefanie; Stansberry, John; Lunine, Jonathan; Chanover, Nancy; Hines, Dean; Sonneborn, George; Tiscareno, Matthew; Brown, Michael; hide

    2016-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will enable a wealth of new scientific investigations in the near- and mid-infrared, with sensitivity and spatial/spectral resolution greatly surpassing its predecessors. In this paper, we focus upon Solar System science facilitated by JWST, discussing the most current information available concerning JWST instrument properties and observing techniques relevant to planetary science. We also present numerous example observing scenarios for a wide variety of Solar System targets to illustrate the potential of JWST science to the Solar System community. This paper updates and supersedes the Solar System white paper published by the JWST Project in 2010. It is based both on that paper and on a workshop held at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences in Reno, NV, in 2012.

  16. Extrasolar Planets Observed with JWST and the ELTs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deming, L. Drake

    2010-01-01

    The advent of cryogenic space-borne infrared observatories such as the Spitzer Space Telescope has lead to a revolution in the study of planets and planetary systems orbiting sun-like stars. Already Spitzer has characterized the emergent infrared spectra of close-in giant exoplanets using transit and eclipse techniques. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be able to extend these studies to superEarth exoplanets orbiting in the habitable zones of M-dwarf stars in the near solar neighborhood. The forthcoming ground-based Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) will playa key role in these studies, being especially valuable for spectroscopy at higher spectral resolving powers where large photon fluxes are needed. The culmination of this work within the next two decades will be the detection and spectral characterization of the major molecular constituents in the atmosphere of a habitable superEarth orbiting a nearby lower main sequence star.

  17. Application of Molecular Adsorber Coatings in Chamber A for the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abraham, Nithin S.

    2017-01-01

    As a coating made of highly porous zeolite materials, the Molecular Adsorber Coating (MAC) was developed to capture outgassed molecular contaminants, such as hydrocarbons and silicones. For spaceflight applications, the adsorptive capabilities of the coating can alleviate on-orbit outgassing concerns on or near sensitive surfaces and instruments within the spacecraft. Similarly, this sprayable paint technology has proven to be significantly beneficial for ground-based space applications, in particular, for vacuum chamber environments. This presentation describes the application of the MAC technology for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). The coating was used as a mitigation tool to entrap outgassed contaminants, specifically silicone-based diffusion pump oil, from within JSCs cryogenic optical vacuum chamber test facility called Chamber A. This presentation summarizes the background, fabrication, installation, chemical analysis test results, and future plans for the MAC technology, which was effectively used to protect the JWST test equipment from vacuum chamber contamination. As a coating made of highly porous zeolite materials, the Molecular Adsorber Coating (MAC) was developed to capture outgassed molecular contaminants, such as hydrocarbons and silicones. For spaceflight applications, the adsorptive capabilities of the coating can alleviate on-orbit outgassing concerns on or near sensitive surfaces and instruments within the spacecraft. Similarly, this sprayable paint technology has proven to be significantly beneficial for ground-based space applications, in particular, for vacuum chamber environments. This presentation describes the application of the MAC technology for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). The coating was used as a mitigation tool to entrap outgassed contaminants, specifically silicone-based diffusion pump oil, from within JSCs cryogenic optical vacuum chamber test

  18. The Building Blocks for JWST I and T (Integrations and Test) to Operations - From Simulator to Flight Units

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatig, Curtis; Ochs, William; Johns, Alan; Seaton, Bonita; Adams, Cynthia; Wasiak, Francis; Jones, Ronald; Jackson, Wallace

    2012-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Project has an extended integration and test (I&T) phase due to long procurement and development times of various components as well as recent launch delays. The JWST Ground Segment and Operations group has developed a roadmap of the various ground and flight elements and their use in the various JWST I&T test programs. The JWST Project s building block approach to the eventual operational systems, while not new, is complex and challenging; a large-scale mission like JWST involves international partners, many vendors across the United States, and competing needs for the same systems. One of the challenges is resource balancing so simulators and flight products for various elements congeal into integrated systems used for I&T and flight operations activities. This building block approach to an incremental buildup provides for early problem identification with simulators and exercises the flight operations systems, products, and interfaces during the JWST I&T test programs. The JWST Project has completed some early I&T with the simulators, engineering models and some components of the operational ground system. The JWST Project is testing the various flight units as they are delivered and will continue to do so for the entire flight and operational system. The JWST Project has already and will continue to reap the value of the building block approach on the road to launch and flight operations.

  19. The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roming, Peter; Hunsberger, S.D.; Nousek, John; Mason, Keith

    2001-01-01

    The Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) provides the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer with the capability of quickly detecting and characterizing the optical and ultraviolet properties of gamma ray burst counterparts. The UVOT design is based on the design of the Optical Monitor on XMM-Newton. It is a Ritchey-Chretien telescope with microchannel plate intensified charged-coupled devices (MICs) that deliver sub-arcsecond imaging. These MICs are photon-counting devices, capable of detecting low intensity signal levels. When flown above the atmosphere, the UVOT will have the sensitivity of a 4m ground based telescope, attaining a limiting magnitude of 24 for a 1000 second observation in the white light filter. A rotating filter wheel allows sensitive photometry in six bands spanning the UV and visible, which will provide photometric redshifts of objects in the 1-3.5z range. For bright counterparts, such as the 9th magnitude GRB990123, or for fainter objects down to 17th magnitude, two grisms provide low-resolution spectroscopy

  20. An optics education program designed around experiments with small telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pompea, Stephen M.; Sparks, Robert T.; Walker, Constance E.; Dokter, Erin F. C.

    2010-08-01

    The National Optical Astronomy Observatory has led the development of a new telescope kit for kids as part of a strategic plan to interest young children in science. This telescope has been assembled by tens of thousands of children nationwide, who are now using this high-quality telescope to conduct optics experiments and to make astronomical observations. The Galileoscope telescope kit and its associated educational program are an outgrowth of the NSF sponsored "Hands-On Optics" (HOO) project, a collaboration of the SPIE, the Optical Society of America, and NOAO. This project developed optics kits and activities for upper elementary students and has reached over 20,000 middle school kids in afterschool programs. HOO is a highly flexible educational program and was featured as an exemplary informal science program by the National Science Teachers Association. Our new "Teaching with Telescopes" program builds on HOO, the Galileoscope and other successful optical education projects.

  1. European agreement on James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) signed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-06-01

    Artist's impression of the JWST hi-res Size hi-res: 1601 kb Credits: ESA Artist's impression of the JWST An artist's impression of the selected design for the JWST spacecraft. Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace are the prime contractors for JWST. Artist's impression of the JWST Credits: ESA Artist's impression of the JWST An artist's impression of the selected design for the JWST spacecraft. Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace are the prime contractors for JWST. Observing the first light, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will help to solve outstanding questions about our place in the evolving Universe. MIRI, the Mid-Infrared Instrument, is one of the four instruments on board the JWST, the mission scheduled to follow on the heritage of Hubble in 2011. MIRI will be built in cooperation between Europe and the United States (NASA), both equally contributing to its funding. MIRI’s optics, core of the instrument, will be provided by a consortium of European institutes. According to this formal agreement, ESA will manage and co-ordinate the whole development of the European part of MIRI and act as the sole interface with NASA, which is leading the JWST project. This marks a difference with respect to the previous ESA scientific missions. In the past the funding and the development of the scientific instruments was agreed by the participating ESA Member States on the basis of purely informal arrangements with ESA. In this case, the Member States involved in MIRI have agreed on formally guaranteeing the required level of funding on the basis of a multi-lateral international agreement, which still keeps scientists in key roles. Over the past years, missions have become more complex and demanding, and more costly within an ever tighter budget. They also require a more and more specific expertise which is spread throughout the vast European scientific community. As a result, a new management procedure for co-ordination of payload development has become a necessity to

  2. Spitzer/JWST Cross Calibration: IRAC Observations of Potential Calibrators for JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Sean J.; Gordon, Karl D.; Lowrance, Patrick; Ingalls, James G.; Glaccum, William J.; Grillmair, Carl J.; E Krick, Jessica; Laine, Seppo J.; Fazio, Giovanni G.; Hora, Joseph L.; Bohlin, Ralph

    2017-06-01

    We present observations at 3.6 and 4.5 microns using IRAC on the Spitzer Space Telescope of a set of main sequence A stars and white dwarfs that are potential calibrators across the JWST instrument suite. The stars range from brightnesses of 4.4 to 15 mag in K band. The calibration observations use a similar redundancy to the observing strategy for the IRAC primary calibrators (Reach et al. 2005) and the photometry is obtained using identical methods and instrumental photometric corrections as those applied to the IRAC primary calibrators (Carey et al. 2009). The resulting photometry is then compared to the predictions based on spectra from the CALSPEC Calibration Database (http://www.stsci.edu/hst/observatory/crds/calspec.html) and the IRAC bandpasses. These observations are part of an ongoing collaboration between IPAC and STScI investigating absolute calibration in the infrared.

  3. Pathways Towards Habitable Planets: Capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clampin, Mark

    2009-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large aperture (6.5 meter), cryogenic space telescope with a suite of near and mid-infrared instruments covering the wavelength range of 0.6 m to 28 m. JWST s primary science goal is to detect and characterize the first galaxies. It will also study the assembly of galaxies, star formation, and the formation of evolution of planetary systems. We also review the expected scientific performance of the observatory for observations of exosolar planets by means of transit photometry and spectroscopy, and direct coronagraphic imaging and address its role in the search for habitable planets.

  4. Solar System Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope

    OpenAIRE

    Norwood, James; Hammel, Heidi; Milam, Stefanie; Stansberry, John; Lunine, Jonathan; Chanover, Nancy; Hines, Dean; Sonneborn, George; Tiscareno, Matthew; Brown, Michael; Ferruit, Pierre

    2014-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope will enable a wealth of new scientific investigations in the near- and mid-infrared, with sensitivity and spatial/spectral resolution greatly surpassing its predecessors. In this paper, we focus upon Solar System science facilitated by JWST, discussing the most current information available concerning JWST instrument properties and observing techniques relevant to planetary science. We also present numerous example observing scenarios for a wide variety of Solar...

  5. Optical Design for a Survey X-Ray Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Timo T.; Zhang, William W.; McClelland, Ryan S.

    2014-01-01

    Optical design trades are underway at the Goddard Space Flight Center to define a telescope for an x-ray survey mission. Top-level science objectives of the mission include the study of x-ray transients, surveying and long-term monitoring of compact objects in nearby galaxies, as well as both deep and wide-field x-ray surveys. In this paper we consider Wolter, Wolter-Schwarzschild, and modified Wolter-Schwarzschild telescope designs as basic building blocks for the tightly nested survey telescope. Design principles and dominating aberrations of individual telescopes and nested telescopes are discussed and we compare the off-axis optical performance at 1.0 KeV and 4.0 KeV across a 1.0-degree full field-of-view.

  6. Habitable Exoplanet Imager Optical Telescope Concept Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H Philip

    2017-01-01

    The Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) is one of four missions under study for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Its goal is to directly image and spectroscopically characterize planetary systems in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. Additionally, HabEx will perform a broad range of general astrophysics science enabled by 100 to 2500 nm spectral range and 3 x 3 arc-minute FOV. Critical to achieving the HabEx science goals is a large, ultra-stable UV/Optical/Near-IR (UVOIR) telescope. The baseline HabEx telescope is a 4-meter off-axis unobscured three-mirror-anastigmatic, diffraction limited at 400 nm with wavefront stability on the order of a few 10s of picometers. This paper summarizes the opto-mechanical design of the HabEx baseline optical telescope assembly, including a discussion of how science requirements drive the telescope's specifications, and presents analysis that the baseline telescope structure meets its specified tolerances.

  7. Habitable exoplanet imager optical telescope concept design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H. Philip

    2017-09-01

    The Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) is one of four missions under study for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Its goal is to directly image and spectroscopically characterize planetary systems in the habitable zone of Sunlike stars. Additionally, HabEx will perform a broad range of general astrophysics science enabled by 100 to 2500 nm spectral range and 3 x 3 arc-minute FOV. Critical to achieving the HabEx science goals is a large, ultra-stable UV/Optical/Near-IR (UVOIR) telescope. The baseline HabEx telescope is a 4-meter off-axis unobscured three-mirroranastigmatic, diffraction limited at 400 nm with wavefront stability on the order of a few 10s of picometers. This paper summarizes the opto-mechanical design of the HabEx baseline optical telescope assembly, including a discussion of how science requirements drive the telescope's specifications, and presents analysis that the baseline telescope structure meets its specified tolerances.

  8. An Information-theoretic Approach to Optimize JWST Observations and Retrievals of Transiting Exoplanet Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Alex R.; Burrows, Adam; Deming, Drake

    2017-01-01

    We provide an example of an analysis to explore the optimization of observations of transiting hot Jupiters with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to characterize their atmospheres based on a simple three-parameter forward model. We construct expansive forward model sets for 11 hot Jupiters, 10 of which are relatively well characterized, exploring a range of parameters such as equilibrium temperature and metallicity, as well as considering host stars over a wide range in brightness. We compute posterior distributions of our model parameters for each planet with all of the available JWST spectroscopic modes and several programs of combined observations and compute their effectiveness using the metric of estimated mutual information per degree of freedom. From these simulations, clear trends emerge that provide guidelines for designing a JWST observing program. We demonstrate that these guidelines apply over a wide range of planet parameters and target brightnesses for our simple forward model.

  9. AN INFORMATION-THEORETIC APPROACH TO OPTIMIZE JWST OBSERVATIONS AND RETRIEVALS OF TRANSITING EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Howe, Alex R.; Burrows, Adam [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1085 S. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Deming, Drake, E-mail: arhowe@umich.edu, E-mail: burrows@astro.princeton.edu, E-mail: ddeming@astro.umd.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

    2017-01-20

    We provide an example of an analysis to explore the optimization of observations of transiting hot Jupiters with the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) to characterize their atmospheres based on a simple three-parameter forward model. We construct expansive forward model sets for 11 hot Jupiters, 10 of which are relatively well characterized, exploring a range of parameters such as equilibrium temperature and metallicity, as well as considering host stars over a wide range in brightness. We compute posterior distributions of our model parameters for each planet with all of the available JWST spectroscopic modes and several programs of combined observations and compute their effectiveness using the metric of estimated mutual information per degree of freedom. From these simulations, clear trends emerge that provide guidelines for designing a JWST observing program. We demonstrate that these guidelines apply over a wide range of planet parameters and target brightnesses for our simple forward model.

  10. AN IMAGE-PLANE ALGORITHM FOR JWST'S NON-REDUNDANT APERTURE MASK DATA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greenbaum, Alexandra Z. [Johns Hopkins University Department of Physics and Astronomy 3400 North Charles, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Pueyo, Laurent; Sivaramakrishnan, Anand [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Lacour, Sylvestre [LESIA, CNRS/UMR-8109, Observatoire de Paris, UPMC, Université Paris Diderot 5 place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon (France)

    2015-01-10

    The high angular resolution technique of non-redundant masking (NRM) or aperture masking interferometry (AMI) has yielded images of faint protoplanetary companions of nearby stars from the ground. AMI on James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)'s Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) has a lower thermal background than ground-based facilities and does not suffer from atmospheric instability. NIRISS AMI images are likely to have 90%-95% Strehl ratio between 2.77 and 4.8 μm. In this paper we quantify factors that limit the raw point source contrast of JWST NRM. We develop an analytic model of the NRM point spread function which includes different optical path delays (pistons) between mask holes and fit the model parameters with image plane data. It enables a straightforward way to exclude bad pixels, is suited to limited fields of view, and can incorporate effects such as intra-pixel sensitivity variations. We simulate various sources of noise to estimate their effect on the standard deviation of closure phase, σ{sub CP} (a proxy for binary point source contrast). If σ{sub CP} < 10{sup –4} radians—a contrast ratio of 10 mag—young accreting gas giant planets (e.g., in the nearby Taurus star-forming region) could be imaged with JWST NIRISS. We show the feasibility of using NIRISS' NRM with the sub-Nyquist sampled F277W, which would enable some exoplanet chemistry characterization. In the presence of small piston errors, the dominant sources of closure phase error (depending on pixel sampling, and filter bandwidth) are flat field errors and unmodeled variations in intra-pixel sensitivity. The in-flight stability of NIRISS will determine how well these errors can be calibrated by observing a point source. Our results help develop efficient observing strategies for space-based NRM.

  11. Development of Slewing Mirror Telescope Optical System for the UFFO-pathfinder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeong, S.; Nam, J.W.; Ahn, K.-B.

    2013-01-01

    The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) is the UV/optical telescope of UFFO-pathfinder. The SMT optical system is a Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) telescope of 100 mm diameter pointed by means of a gimbal-mounted flat mirror in front of the telescope. The RC telescope has a 17 × 17arcmin2 in Field of View and ...

  12. James Webb Space Telescope Observations of Stellar Occultations by Solar System Bodies and Rings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos-Sanz, P.; French, R. G.; Pinilla-Alonso, N.; Stansberry, J.; Lin, Z-Y.; Zhang, Z-W.; Vilenius, E.; Mueller, Th.; Ortiz, J. L.; Braga-Ribas, F.; hide

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the opportunities provided by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for significant scientific advances in the study of Solar System bodies and rings using stellar occultations. The strengths and weaknesses of the stellar occultation technique are evaluated in light of JWST's unique capabilities. We identify several possible JWST occultation events by minor bodies and rings and evaluate their potential scientific value. These predictions depend critically on accurate a priori knowledge of the orbit of JWST near the Sun–Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2). We also explore the possibility of serendipitous stellar occultations by very small minor bodies as a byproduct of other JWST observing programs. Finally, to optimize the potential scientific return of stellar occultation observations, we identify several characteristics of JWST's orbit and instrumentation that should be taken into account during JWST's development.

  13. Aplanatic telescopes based on Schwarzschild optical configuration: from grazing incidence Wolter-like x-ray optics to Cherenkov two-mirror normal incidence telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sironi, Giorgia

    2017-09-01

    At the beginning of XX century Karl Schwarzschild defined a method to design large-field aplanatic telescopes based on the use of two aspheric mirrors. The approach was then refined by Couder (1926) who, in order to correct for the astigmatic aberration, introduced a curvature of the focal plane. By the way, the realization of normal-incidence telescopes implementing the Schwarzschild aplanatic configuration has been historically limited by the lack of technological solutions to manufacture and test aspheric mirrors. On the other hand, the Schwarzschild solution was recovered for the realization of coma-free X-ray grazing incidence optics. Wolter-like grazing incidence systems are indeed free of spherical aberration, but still suffer from coma and higher order aberrations degrading the imaging capability for off-axis sources. The application of the Schwarzschild's solution to X-ray optics allowed Wolter to define an optical system that exactly obeys the Abbe sine condition, eliminating coma completely. Therefore these systems are named Wolter-Schwarzschild telescopes and have been used to implement wide-field X-ray telescopes like the ROSAT WFC and the SOHO X-ray telescope. Starting from this approach, a new class of X-ray optical system was proposed by Burrows, Burg and Giacconi assuming polynomials numerically optimized to get a flat field of view response and applied by Conconi to the wide field x-ray telescope (WFXT) design. The Schwarzschild-Couder solution has been recently re-discovered for the application to normal-incidence Cherenkov telescopes, thanks to the suggestion by Vassiliev and collaborators. The Italian Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) realized the first Cherenkov telescope based on the polynomial variation of the Schwarzschild configuration (the so-called ASTRI telescope). Its optical qualification was successfully completed in 2016, demonstrating the suitability of the Schwarzschild-like configuration for the Cherenkov astronomy requirements

  14. The MEarth Project: Finding the Best Targets for Atmospheric Characterization with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berta-Thompson, Z.

    2014-04-01

    If we want to directly observe the radius, orbit, mass, and atmosphere of a small, cool, habitable exoplanet, our best opportunity is to find such a planet transiting a small, cool, nearby M dwarf star. The MEarth Project is an ongoing all-sky survey for Earth-like planets transiting the closest, smallest M dwarfs in the Galaxy. MEarth aims to find good targets for atmospheric characterization with JWST and the next generation of enormous ground-based telescopes. This poster provides a status update on the MEarth Project, including the progress we've made over the past five years with 8 telescopes in the Northern hemisphere and promising early results from our new installation of 8 more telescopes in the Southern hemisphere.

  15. Probing the Dusty Stellar Populations of the Local Volume Galaxies with JWST /MIRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jones, Olivia C.; Meixner, Margaret [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218 (United States); Justtanont, Kay [Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, SE-439 92 Onsala (Sweden); Glasse, Alistair [UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom)

    2017-05-20

    The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) for the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) will revolutionize our understanding of infrared stellar populations in the Local Volume. Using the rich Spitzer -IRS spectroscopic data set and spectral classifications from the Surveying the Agents of Galaxy Evolution (SAGE)–Spectroscopic survey of more than 1000 objects in the Magellanic Clouds, the Grid of Red Supergiant and Asymptotic Giant Branch Star Model (grams), and the grid of YSO models by Robitaille et al., we calculate the expected flux densities and colors in the MIRI broadband filters for prominent infrared stellar populations. We use these fluxes to explore the JWST /MIRI colors and magnitudes for composite stellar population studies of Local Volume galaxies. MIRI color classification schemes are presented; these diagrams provide a powerful means of identifying young stellar objects, evolved stars, and extragalactic background galaxies in Local Volume galaxies with a high degree of confidence. Finally, we examine which filter combinations are best for selecting populations of sources based on their JWST colors.

  16. Can JWST Follow Up on Gravitational-Wave Detections?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2016-02-01

    Bitten by the gravitational-wave bug? While we await Thursdays press conference, heres some food for thought: if LIGO were able to detect gravitational waves from compact-object mergers, how could we follow up on the detections? A new study investigates whether the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be able to observe electromagnetic signatures of some compact-object mergers.Hunting for MergersStudying compact-object mergers (mergers of black holes and neutron stars) can help us understand a wealth of subjects, like high-energy physics, how matter behaves at nuclear densities, how stars evolve, and how heavy elements in the universe were created.The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is searching for the signature ripples in spacetime identifying these mergers, but gravitational waves are squirrelly: LIGO will only be able to localize wave sources to tens of square degrees. If we want to find out more about any mergers LIGO discovers in gravitational waves, well need a follow-up search for electromagnetic counterparts with other observatories.The Kilonova KeyOne possible electromagnetic counterpart is kilonovae, explosions that can be produced during a merger of a binary neutron star or a neutron starblack hole system. If the neutron star is disrupted during the merger, some of the hot mass is flung outward and shines brightly by radioactive decay.Kilonovae are especially promising as electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves for three reasons:They emit isotropically, so the number of observable mergers isnt limited by relativistic beaming.They shine for a week, giving follow-up observatories time to search for them.The source location can beeasily recovered.The only problem? We dont currently have any sensitive survey instruments in the near-infrared band (where kilonova emission peaks) that can provide coverage over tens of square degrees. Luckily, we will soon have just the thing: JWST, launching in 2018!JWSTs

  17. CHARACTERIZING TRANSITING EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES WITH JWST

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greene, Thomas P. [NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science and Astrobiology Division, M.S. 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Line, Michael R.; Montero, Cezar; Fortney, Jonathan J. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Lustig-Yaeger, Jacob [Department of Astronomy, Box 351580, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Luther, Kyle, E-mail: tom.greene@nasa.gov [Department of Physics, University of California, 366 LeConte Hall MC 7300, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

    2016-01-20

    We explore how well spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will likely constrain bulk atmospheric properties of transiting exoplanets. We start by modeling the atmospheres of archetypal hot Jupiter, warm Neptune, warm sub-Neptune, and cool super-Earth planets with atmospheres that are clear, cloudy, or of high mean molecular weight (HMMW). Next we simulate the λ = 1–11 μm transmission and emission spectra of these systems for several JWST instrument modes for single-transit or single-eclipse events. We then perform retrievals to determine how well temperatures and molecular mixing ratios (CH{sub 4}, CO, CO{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O, NH{sub 3}) can be constrained. We find that λ = 1–2.5 μm transmission spectra will often constrain the major molecular constituents of clear solar-composition atmospheres well. Cloudy or HMMW atmospheres will often require full 1–11 μm spectra for good constraints, and emission data may be more useful in cases of sufficiently high F{sub p} and high F{sub p}/F{sub *}. Strong temperature inversions in the solar-composition hot-Jupiter atmosphere should be detectable with 1–2.5+ μm emission spectra, and 1–5+ μm emission spectra will constrain the temperature–pressure profiles of warm planets. Transmission spectra over 1–5+ μm will constrain [Fe/H] values to better than 0.5 dex for the clear atmospheres of the hot and warm planets studied. Carbon-to-oxygen ratios can be constrained to better than a factor of 2 in some systems. We expect that these results will provide useful predictions of the scientific value of single-event JWST spectra until its on-orbit performance is known.

  18. The James Webb Space Telescope's Plan for Operations and Instrument Capabilities for Observations in the Solar System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milam, Stefanie N.; Stansberry, John A.; Sonneborn, George; Thomas, Cristina

    2016-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is optimized for observations in the near- and mid-infrared and will provide essential observations for targets that cannot be conducted from the ground or other missions during its lifetime. The state-of-the-art science instruments, along with the telescope's moving target tracking, will enable the infrared study, with unprecedented detail, for nearly every object (Mars and beyond) in the Solar System. The goals of this special issue are to stimulate discussion and encourage participation in JWST planning among members of the planetary science community. Key science goals for various targets, observing capabilities for JWST, and highlights for the complementary nature with other missions/observatories are described in this paper.

  19. The James Webb Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam): Making Models, Building Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, D. W., Jr.; Lebofsky, L. A.; Higgins, M. L.; Lebofsky, N. R.

    2011-09-01

    Since 2003, the Near Infrared Camear (NIRCam) science team for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has conducted "Train the Trainer" workshops for adult leaders of the Girl Scout of the USA (GSUSA), engaging them in the process of scientific inquiry and equipping them to host astronomy-related activities at the troop level. Training includes topics in basic astronomy (night sky, phases of the Moon, the scale of the Solar System and beyond, stars, galaxies, telescopes, etc.) as well as JWST-specific research areas in extra-solar planetary systems and cosmology, to pave the way for girls and women to understand the first images from JWST. Participants become part of our world-wide network of 160 trainers teaching young women essential STEM-related concepts using astronomy, the night sky environment, applied math, engineering, and critical thinking.

  20. Nurturing The STEM Pipeline: Graduate Student Leadership In NIRCam's Ongoing E/PO Mission For JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlingman, Wayne M.; Stock, N.; Teske, J.; Tyler, K.; Biller, B.; Donley, J.; Hedden, A.; Knierman, K.; Young, P.

    2011-01-01

    The Astronomy Camp for Girl Scout Leaders is an education and public outreach (E/PO) program offered by the science team of the Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) for NASA's 6.5-meter James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Since 2003, astronomy graduate students have helped design and lead biannual "Train the Trainer” workshops for adults from the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), engaging these trainers in the process of scientific inquiry and equipping them to host astronomy-related activities at the troop level. These workshops have helped revise the national GSUSA badge curriculum and directly benefitted thousands of young girls of all ages, not only in general science and math education but also in specific astronomical and technological concepts relating to JWST. To date, nine graduate students have become members of NIRCam's E/PO team. They have developed curriculum and activities used to teach concepts in stellar nucleosynthesis, lookback time, galaxy classification, etc. They have also contributed to the overall strategic approach and helped lead more general activities in basic astronomy (night sky, phases of the Moon, the scale of the Solar System and beyond, stars, galaxies, telescopes, etc.) as well as JWST-specific research areas in extrasolar planetary systems and cosmology, to pave the way for girls and women to understand the first images from JWST. The resulting experience has empowered these students to propose and to develop their own E/PO programs after graduation as postdocs and young faculty. They also continue as part of NIRCam's growing worldwide network of 160 trainers teaching young women essential STEM-related concepts using astronomy, the night sky environment, applied math, engineering, and critical thinking. NIRCam and its E/PO program are funded by NASA under contract NAS5-02105.

  1. The Mechanical Design of a Kinematic Mount for the Mid Infrared Instrument Focal Plane Module on the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thelen, Michael P.; Moore, Donald M.

    2009-01-01

    The detector assembly for the Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is mechanically supported in the Focal Plane Module (FPM) Assembly with an efficient hexapod design. The kinematic mount design allows for precision adjustment of the detector boresight to assembly alignment fiducials and maintains optical alignment requirements during flight conditions of launch and cryogenic operations below 7 Kelvin. This kinematic mounting technique is able to be implemented in a variety of optical-mechanical designs and is capable of micron level adjustment control and stability over wide dynamic and temperature ranges.

  2. The Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program for JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Batalha, Natalie M.; Stevenson, Kevin B.; Bean, Jacob; Sing, David K.; Crossfield, Ian; Knutson, Heather; Line, Michael R.; Kreidberg, Laura; Desert, Jean-Michel; Wakeford, Hannah; Crouzet, Nicolas; Moses, Julianne I.; Benneke, Björn; Kempton, Eliza; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes; Parmentier, Vivien; Gibson, Neale; Schlawin, Everett; Fraine, Jonathan; Kendrew, Sarah; Transiting Exoplanet Community ERS Team

    2018-06-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope offers astronomers the opportunity to observe the composition, structure, and dynamics of transiting exoplanet atmospheres with unprecedented detail. However, such observations require very precise time-series spectroscopic monitoring of bright stars and present unique technical challenges. The Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program for JWST aims to help the community understand and overcome these technical challenges as early in the mission as possible, and to enable exciting scientific discoveries through the creation of public exoplanet atmosphere datasets. With observations of three hot Jupiters spanning a range of host star brightnesses, this program will exercise time-series modes with all four JWST instruments and cover a full suite of transiting planet characterization geometries (transits, eclipses, and phase curves). We designed the observational strategy through an open and transparent community effort, with contributions from an international collaboration of over 100 experts in exoplanet observations, theory, and instrumentation. Community engagement with the project will be centered around open Data Challenge activities using both simulated and real ERS data, for exoplanet scientists to cross-validate and improve their analysis tools and theoretical models. Recognizing that the scientific utility of JWST will be determined not only by its hardware and software but also by the community of people who use it, we take an intentional approach toward crafting an inclusive collaboration and encourage new participants to join our efforts.

  3. Design of an x-ray telescope optics for XEUS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graue, Roland; Kampf, Dirk; Wallace, Kotska; Lumb, David; Bavdaz, Marcos; Freyberg, Michael

    2017-11-01

    The X-ray telescope concept for XEUS is based on an innovative high performance and light weight Silicon Pore Optics technology. The XEUS telescope is segmented into 16 radial, thermostable petals providing the rigid optical bench structure of the stand alone XRay High Precision Tandem Optics. A fully representative Form Fit Function (FFF) Model of one petal is currently under development to demonstrate the outstanding lightweight telescope capabilities with high optically effective area. Starting from the envisaged system performance the related tolerance budgets were derived. These petals are made from ceramics, i.e. CeSiC. The structural and thermal performance of the petal shall be reported. The stepwise alignment and integration procedure on petal level shall be described. The functional performance and environmental test verification plan of the Form Fit Function Model and the test set ups are described in this paper. In parallel to the running development activities the programmatic and technical issues wrt. the FM telescope MAIT with currently 1488 Tandem Optics are under investigation. Remote controlled robot supported assembly, simultaneous active alignment and verification testing and decentralised time effective integration procedures shall be illustrated.

  4. JWST Associations overview: automated generation of combined products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexov, Anastasia; Swade, Daryl; Bushouse, Howard; Diaz, Rosa; Eisenhamer, Jonathan; Hack, Warren; Kyprianou, Mark; Levay, Karen; Rahmani, Christopher; Swam, Mike; Valenti, Jeff

    2018-01-01

    We are presenting the design of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Data Management System (DMS) automated processing of Associations. An Association captures the relationship between exposures and higher level data products, such as combined mosaics created from dithered and tiled observations. The astronomer’s intent is captured within the Proposal Planning System (PPS) and provided to DMS as candidate associations. These candidates are converted into Association Pools and Association Generator Tables that serve as input to automated processing which create the combined data products. Association Pools are generated to capture a list of exposures that could potentially form associations and provide relevant information about those exposures. The Association Generator using definitions on groupings creates one or more Association Tables from a single input Association Pool. Each Association Table defines a set of exposures to be combined and the ruleset of the combination to be performed; the calibration software creates Associated data products based on these input tables. The initial design produces automated Associations within a proposal. Additionally this JWST overall design is conducive to eventually produce Associations for observations from multiple proposals, similar to the Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA).

  5. 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope Project: Completion and first results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Brijesh; Omar, Amitesh; Maheswar, Gopinathan; Pandey, Anil Kumar; Sagar, Ram; Uddin, Wahab; Sanwal, Basant Ballabh; Bangia, Tarun; Kumar, Tripurari Satyanarayana; Yadav, Shobhit; Sahu, Sanjit; Pant, Jayshreekar; Reddy, Bheemireddy Krishna; Gupta, Alok Chandra; Chand, Hum; Pandey, Jeewan Chandra; Joshi, Mohit Kumar; Jaiswar, Mukeshkuma; Nanjappa, Nandish; Purushottam; Yadav, Rama Kant Singh; Sharma, Saurabh; Pandey, Shashi Bhushan; Joshi, Santosh; Joshi, Yogesh Chandra; Lata, Sneh; Mehdi, Biman Jyoti; Misra, Kuntal; Singh, Mahendra

    2018-04-01

    We present an update on the 3.6-m aperture optical telescope, which has been installed at Devasthal in the year 2016. In this paper, a brief overview of installation activities at site and first results are presented. The 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope project was initiated in 2007 by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES; Nainital, India) in partnership with Belgium. The telescope has Ritchey-Chretien optics, an alt-azimuth mount, an active control of the primary and a corrected science field of view of 30' at the Cassegrain focus. The construction of the telescope enclosure building was completed in June 2014 and after successful installation of the telescope. The first engineering light was obtained on 22 March 2015. The on-sky performance of the telescope was carried out till February 2016.

  6. Observing the Atmospheres of Known Temperate Earth-sized Planets with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morley, Caroline V.; Kreidberg, Laura; Rustamkulov, Zafar; Robinson, Tyler; Fortney, Jonathan J.

    2017-12-01

    Nine transiting Earth-sized planets have recently been discovered around nearby late-M dwarfs, including the TRAPPIST-1 planets and two planets discovered by the MEarth survey, GJ 1132b and LHS 1140b. These planets are the smallest known planets that may have atmospheres amenable to detection with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We present model thermal emission and transmission spectra for each planet, varying composition and surface pressure of the atmosphere. We base elemental compositions on those of Earth, Titan, and Venus and calculate the molecular compositions assuming chemical equilibrium, which can strongly depend on temperature. Both thermal emission and transmission spectra are sensitive to the atmospheric composition; thermal emission spectra are sensitive to surface pressure and temperature. We predict the observability of each planet’s atmosphere with JWST. GJ 1132b and TRAPPIST-1b are excellent targets for emission spectroscopy with JWST/MIRI, requiring fewer than 10 eclipse observations. Emission photometry for TRAPPIST-1c requires 5-15 eclipses; LHS 1140b and TRAPPIST-1d, TRAPPIST-1e, and TRAPPIST-1f, which could possibly have surface liquid water, may be accessible with photometry. Seven of the nine planets are strong candidates for transmission spectroscopy measurements with JWST, although the number of transits required depends strongly on the planets’ actual masses. Using the measured masses, fewer than 20 transits are required for a 5σ detection of spectral features for GJ 1132b and six of the TRAPPIST-1 planets. Dedicated campaigns to measure the atmospheres of these nine planets will allow us, for the first time, to probe formation and evolution processes of terrestrial planetary atmospheres beyond our solar system.

  7. HST PanCET Program: A Cloudy Atmosphere for the Promising JWST Target WASP-101b

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wakeford, H. R.; Mandell, A. [Planetary Systems Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Stevenson, K. B.; Lewis, N. K. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Sing, D. K.; Evans, T. [Astrophysics Group, Physics Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL (United Kingdom); López-Morales, M. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Marley, M. [NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-5, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Kataria, T. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Ballester, G. E. [Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1541 E Univ. Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Barstow, J. [Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Ben-Jaffel, L. [Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, UMR 7095 and Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Paris 6, 98 bis bd Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Bourrier, V.; Ehrenreich, D. [Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, 51 chemin des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny (Switzerland); Buchhave, L. A. [Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Niels Bohr Institute and Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350 Copenhagen K (Denmark); García Muñoz, A., E-mail: hannah.wakeford@nasa.gov [Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin, D-10623 Berlin (Germany); and others

    2017-01-20

    We present results from the first observations of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanet Treasury program for WASP-101b, a highly inflated hot Jupiter and one of the community targets proposed for the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) Early Release Science (ERS) program. From a single HST Wide Field Camera 3 observation, we find that the near-infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-101b contains no significant H{sub 2}O absorption features and we rule out a clear atmosphere at 13 σ . Therefore, WASP-101b is not an optimum target for a JWST ERS program aimed at observing strong molecular transmission features. We compare WASP-101b to the well-studied and nearly identical hot Jupiter WASP-31b. These twin planets show similar temperature–pressure profiles and atmospheric features in the near-infrared. We suggest exoplanets in the same parameter space as WASP-101b and WASP-31b will also exhibit cloudy transmission spectral features. For future HST exoplanet studies, our analysis also suggests that a lower count limit needs to be exceeded per pixel on the detector in order to avoid unwanted instrumental systematics.

  8. Optical telescope refocussing mechanism concept design on remote sensing satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Jen-Chueh; Ling, Jer

    2017-09-01

    The optical telescope system in remote sensing satellite must be precisely aligned to obtain high quality images during its mission life. In practical, because the telescope mirrors could be misaligned due to launch loads, thermal distortion on supporting structures or hygroscopic distortion effect in some composite materials, the optical telescope system is often equipped with refocussing mechanism to re-align the optical elements while optical element positions are out of range during image acquisition. This paper is to introduce satellite Refocussing mechanism function model design development process and the engineering models. The design concept of the refocussing mechanism can be applied on either cassegrain type telescope or korsch type telescope, and the refocussing mechanism is located at the rear of the secondary mirror in this paper. The purpose to put the refocussing mechanism on the secondary mirror is due to its higher sensitivity on MTF degradation than other optical elements. There are two types of refocussing mechanism model to be introduced: linear type model and rotation type model. For the linear refocussing mechanism function model, the model is composed of ceramic piezoelectric linear step motor, optical rule as well as controller. The secondary mirror is designed to be precisely moved in telescope despace direction through refocussing mechanism. For the rotation refocussing mechanism function model, the model is assembled with two ceramic piezoelectric rotational motors around two orthogonal directions in order to adjust the secondary mirror attitude in tilt angle and yaw angle. From the validation test results, the linear type refocussing mechanism function model can be operated to adjust the secondary mirror position with minimum 500 nm resolution with close loop control. For the rotation type model, the attitude angle of the secondary mirror can be adjusted with the minimum 6 sec of arc resolution and 5°/sec of angle velocity.

  9. The James Webb STEM Innovation Project: Bringing JWST to the Education Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenhamer, Bonnie; Harris, J.; Ryer, H.; Taylor, J.; Bishop, M.

    2012-01-01

    Building awareness of a NASA mission prior to launch and connecting that mission to the education community can be challenging. In order to address this challenge, the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach has developed the James Webb STEM innovation Project (SIP) - an interdisciplinary project that focuses on the engineering aspects and potential scientific discoveries of JWST, while incorporating elements of project-based learning. Students in participating schools will use skills from multiple subject areas to research an aspect of the JWST's design or potential science and create models, illustrated essays, or technology-based projects to demonstrate their learning. Student projects will be showcased during special events at select venues in the project states - thus allowing parents and community members to also be benefactors of the project. Currently, the SIP is being piloted in New York, California, and Maryland. In addition, we will be implementing the SIP in partnership with NASA Explorer Schools in the states of New Mexico, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, and Iowa.

  10. Characterizing Rosetta Stone Exoplanets with JWST Transit Spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Nikole K.; Clampin, Mark; Seager, Sara; Valenti, Jeff A.; Mountain, Matt; JWST Telescope Scientist GTO Team

    2017-06-01

    JWST will for the first time provide for spectroscopic (R > 100) observation of systems hosting transiting exoplanets over the critical wavelength range from 0.6 to 28.5 microns. Our team will take advantage of JWST's spectral coverage and resolution to characterize a small number of exoplanets in exquisite detail. We plan to focus our efforts on single representative members of the hot-Jupiter, warm-Neptune, and temperate-Earth populations in both transmission and emission over the full wavelength range of JWST. Our JWST observations will hopefully become 'Rosetta Stones' that will serve as benchmarks for further observations of planets within each representative population and a lasting legacy of the JWST mission. Here we will describe our observational plan and how we turned our science goals into an implemented Cycle 1 JWST program.

  11. Extra Solar Planetary Imaging Coronagraph and Science Requirements for the James Webb Telescope Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clampin, Mark

    2004-01-01

    1) Extra solar planetary imaging coronagraph. Direct detection and characterization of Jovian planets, and other gas giants, in orbit around nearby stars is a necessary precursor to Terrestrial Planet Finder 0 in order to estimate the probability of Terrestrial planets in our stellar neighborhood. Ground based indirect methods are biased towards large close in Jovian planets in solar systems unlikely io harbor Earthlike planets. Thus to estimate the relative abundances of terrestrial planets and to determine optimal observing strategies for TPF a pathfinder mission would be desired. The Extra-Solar Planetary Imaging Coronagraph (EPIC) is such a pathfinder mission. Upto 83 stellar systems are accessible with a 1.5 meter unobscured telescope and coronagraph combination located at the Earth-Sun L2 point. Incorporating radiometric and angular resolution considerations show that Jovians could be directly detected (5 sigma) in the 0.5 - 1.0 micron band outside of an inner working distance of 5/D with integration times of -10 - 100 hours per observation. The primary considerations for a planet imager are optical wavefront quality due to manufacturing, alignment, structural and thermal considerations. pointing stability and control, and manufacturability of coronagraphic masks and stops to increase the planetary-to- stellar contrast and mitigate against straylight. Previously proposed coronagraphic concepts are driven to extreme tolerances. however. we have developed and studied a mission, telescope and coronagraphic detection concept, which is achievable in the time frame of a Discovery class NASA mission. 2) Science requirements for the James Webb Space Telescope observatory. The James Webb Space Observatory (JWST) is an infrared observatory, which will be launched in 201 1 to an orbit at L2. JWST is a segmented, 18 mirror segment telescope with a diameter of 6.5 meters, and a clear aperture of 25 mA2. The telescope is designed to conduct imaging and spectroscopic

  12. Simulated JWST/NIRISS Spectroscopy of Anticipated TESS Planets and Selected Super-Earths Discovered from K2 and Ground-Based Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louie, Dana; Albert, Loic; Deming, Drake

    2017-01-01

    The 2018 launch of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), coupled with the 2017 launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), heralds a new era in Exoplanet Science, with TESS projected to detect over one thousand transiting sub-Neptune-sized planets (Ricker et al, 2014), and JWST offering unprecedented spectroscopic capabilities. Sullivan et al (2015) used Monte Carlo simulations to predict the properties of the planets that TESS is likely to detect, and published a catalog of 962 simulated TESS planets. Prior to TESS launch, the re-scoped Kepler K2 mission and ground-based surveys such as MEarth continue to seek nearby Earth-like exoplanets orbiting M-dwarf host stars. The exoplanet community will undoubtedly employ JWST for atmospheric characterization follow-up studies of promising exoplanets, but the targeted planets for these studies must be chosen wisely to maximize JWST science return. The goal of this project is to estimate the capabilities of JWST’s Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS)—operating with the GR700XD grism in Single Object Slitless Spectrography (SOSS) mode—during observations of exoplanets transiting their host stars. We compare results obtained for the simulated TESS planets, confirmed K2-discovered super-Earths, and exoplanets discovered using ground-based surveys. By determining the target planet characteristics that result in the most favorable JWST observing conditions, we can optimize the choice of target planets in future JWST follow-on atmospheric characterization studies.

  13. A development roadmap for critical technologies needed for TALC: a deployable 20m annular space telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauvage, Marc; Amiaux, Jérome; Austin, James; Bello, Mara; Bianucci, Giovanni; Chesné, Simon; Citterio, Oberto; Collette, Christophe; Correia, Sébastien; Durand, Gilles A.; Molinari, Sergio; Pareschi, Giovanni; Penfornis, Yann; Sironi, Giorgia; Valsecchi, Giuseppe; Verpoort, Sven; Wittrock, Ulrich

    2016-07-01

    Astronomy is driven by the quest for higher sensitivity and improved angular resolution in order to detect fainter or smaller objects. The far-infrared to submillimeter domain is a unique probe of the cold and obscured Universe, harboring for instance the precious signatures of key elements such as water. Space observations are mandatory given the blocking effect of our atmosphere. However the methods we have relied on so far to develop increasingly larger telescopes are now reaching a hard limit, with the JWST illustrating this in more than one way (e.g. it will be launched by one of the most powerful rocket, it requires the largest existing facility on Earth to be qualified). With the Thinned Aperture Light Collector (TALC) project, a concept of a deployable 20 m annular telescope, we propose to break out of this deadlock by developing novel technologies for space telescopes, which are disruptive in three aspects: • An innovative deployable mirror whose topology, based on stacking rather than folding, leads to an optimum ratio of collecting area over volume, and creates a telescope with an eight times larger collecting area and three times higher angular resolution compared to JWST from the same pre-deployed volume; • An ultra-light weight segmented primary mirror, based on electrodeposited Nickel, Composite and Honeycomb stacks, built with a replica process to control costs and mitigate the industrial risks; • An active optics control layer based on piezo-electric layers incorporated into the mirror rear shell allowing control of the shape by internal stress rather than by reaction on a structure. We present in this paper the roadmap we have built to bring these three disruptive technologies to technology readiness level 3. We will achieve this goal through design and realization of representative elements: segments of mirrors for optical quality verification, active optics implemented on representative mirror stacks to characterize the shape correction

  14. Active x-ray optics for high resolution space telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doel, Peter; Atkins, Carolyn; Brooks, D.; Feldman, Charlotte; Willingale, Richard; Button, Tim; Rodriguez Sanmartin, Daniel; Meggs, Carl; James, Ady; Willis, Graham; Smith, Andy

    2017-11-01

    The Smart X-ray Optics (SXO) Basic Technology project started in April 2006 and will end in October 2010. The aim is to develop new technologies in the field of X-ray focusing, in particular the application of active and adaptive optics. While very major advances have been made in active/adaptive astronomical optics for visible light, little was previously achieved for X-ray optics where the technological challenges differ because of the much shorter wavelengths involved. The field of X-ray astronomy has been characterized by the development and launch of ever larger observatories with the culmination in the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra missions which are currently operational. XMM-Newton uses a multi-nested structure to provide modest angular resolution ( 10 arcsec) but large effective area, while Chandra sacrifices effective area to achieve the optical stability necessary to provide sub-arc second resolution. Currently the European Space Agency (ESA) is engaged in studies of the next generation of X-ray space observatories, with the aim of producing telescopes with increased sensitivity and resolution. To achieve these aims several telescopes have been proposed, for example ESA and NASA's combined International X-ray Observatory (IXO), aimed at spectroscopy, and NASA's Generation-X. In the field of X-ray astronomy sub 0.2 arcsecond resolution with high efficiency would be very exciting. Such resolution is unlikely to be achieved by anything other than an active system. The benefits of a such a high resolution would be important for a range of astrophysics subjects, for example the potential angular resolution offered by active X-ray optics could provide unprecedented structural imaging detail of the Solar Wind bowshock interaction of comets, planets and similar objects and auroral phenomena throughout the Solar system using an observing platform in low Earth orbit. A major aim of the SXO project was to investigate the production of thin

  15. Unveiling the First Black Holes With JWST:Multi-wavelength Spectral Predictions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natarajan, Priyamvada; Pacucci, Fabio; Ferrara, Andrea; Agarwal, Bhaskar; Ricarte, Angelo; Zackrisson, Erik; Cappelluti, Nico

    2017-04-01

    Growing supermassive black holes (˜ {10}9 {M}⊙ ) that power luminous z> 6 quasars from light seeds—the remnants of the first stars—within a Gyr of the Big Bang poses a timing challenge. The formation of massive black hole seeds via direct collapse with initial masses ˜ {10}4{--}{10}5 {M}⊙ alleviates this problem. Viable direct-collapse black hole formation sites, the satellite halos of star-forming galaxies, merge and acquire stars to produce a new, transient class of high-redshift objects, obese black hole galaxies (OBGs). The accretion luminosity outshines that of the stars in OBGs. We predict the multi-wavelength energy output of OBGs and growing Pop III remnants at z = 9 for standard and slim disk accretion, as well as high and low metallicities of the associated stellar population. We derive robust selection criteria for OBGs—a pre-selection to eliminate blue sources, followed by color-color cuts ([{F}090W-{F}220W]> 0;-0.3sift out OBGs from other bright, high- and low-redshift contaminants in the infrared. OBGs with predicted {M}{AB}< 25 are unambiguously detectable by the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), on the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). For parameters explored here, growing Pop III remnants with predicted {M}{AB}< 30 will likely be undetectable by JWST. We demonstrate that JWST has the power to discriminate between initial seeding mechanisms.

  16. Optical telescope BIRT in ORIGIN for gamma ray burst observing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Content, Robert; Content, Robert; Sharples, Ray

    2012-01-01

    The ORIGIN concept is a space mission with a gamma ray, an X-ray and an optical telescope to observe the gamma ray bursts at large Z to determine the composition and density of the intergalactic matter in the line of sight. It was an answer to the ESA M3 call for proposal. The optical telescope i...... length. All 3 instruments use the same 2k x 2k detector simultaneously so that telescope pointing and tip-tilt control of a fold mirror permit to place the gamma ray burst on the desired instrument without any other mechanism. © 2012 SPIE....

  17. Digital optical correlator x-ray telescope alignment monitoring system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lis, Tomasz; Gaskin, Jessica; Jasper, John; Gregory, Don A.

    2018-01-01

    The High-Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES) program is a balloon-borne x-ray telescope mission to observe hard x-rays (˜20 to 70 keV) from the sun and multiple astrophysical targets. The payload consists of eight mirror modules with a total of 114 optics that are mounted on a 6-m-long optical bench. Each mirror module is complemented by a high-pressure xenon gas scintillation proportional counter. Attached to the payload is a camera that acquires star fields and then matches the acquired field to star maps to determine the pointing of the optical bench. Slight misalignments between the star camera, the optical bench, and the telescope elements attached to the optical bench may occur during flight due to mechanical shifts, thermal gradients, and gravitational effects. These misalignments can result in diminished imaging and reduced photon collection efficiency. To monitor these misalignments during flight, a supplementary Bench Alignment Monitoring System (BAMS) was added to the payload. BAMS hardware comprises two cameras mounted directly to the optical bench and rings of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted onto the telescope components. The LEDs in these rings are mounted in a predefined, asymmetric pattern, and their positions are tracked using an optical/digital correlator. The BAMS analysis software is a digital adaption of an optical joint transform correlator. The aim is to enhance the observational proficiency of HEROES while providing insight into the magnitude of mechanically and thermally induced misalignments during flight. Results from a preflight test of the system are reported.

  18. Silicon carbide optics for space and ground based astronomical telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robichaud, Joseph; Sampath, Deepak; Wainer, Chris; Schwartz, Jay; Peton, Craig; Mix, Steve; Heller, Court

    2012-09-01

    Silicon Carbide (SiC) optical materials are being applied widely for both space based and ground based optical telescopes. The material provides a superior weight to stiffness ratio, which is an important metric for the design and fabrication of lightweight space telescopes. The material also has superior thermal properties with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and a high thermal conductivity. The thermal properties advantages are important for both space based and ground based systems, which typically need to operate under stressing thermal conditions. The paper will review L-3 Integrated Optical Systems - SSG’s (L-3 SSG) work in developing SiC optics and SiC optical systems for astronomical observing systems. L-3 SSG has been fielding SiC optical components and systems for over 25 years. Space systems described will emphasize the recently launched Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) developed for JHU-APL and NASA-GSFC. Review of ground based applications of SiC will include supporting L-3 IOS-Brashear’s current contract to provide the 0.65 meter diameter, aspheric SiC secondary mirror for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST).

  19. Why are freeform telescopes less alignment sensitive than a traditional unobscured TMA?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Kevin P.; Schiesser, Eric; Rolland, Jannick P.

    2015-10-01

    As freeform optical systems emerge as interesting and innovative solutions for imaging in 3D packages there is an assumption they are going to be more sensitive particularly at assembly. While it is true that the clocking of the component becomes a relatively weak new tolerance, for the most effective new class of freeform systems the alignment sensitivity is actually lower in most cases than for a comparable traditional unobscured three mirror anastigmatic (TMA) telescope. Traditional unobscured TMA telescopes, whose designs emerged in the mid-70s and which begin to appear as hardware in the literature in the early 90s, are based on using increasingly offset apertures with otherwise coaxial rotationally symmetric mirrors. The mirrors (typically 3 to correct spherical, coma, and astigmatism) have evolved to contain more high order terms as the designs are pushed to more compact and wider field packages - the NIRCAM camera for the JWST is an excellent example of this [1]. As the higher order terms are added, the mirrors become increasingly sensitive to decenters and tilts. An emerging class of freeform telescopes that provide wider field of view and/or faster f/numbers than the traditional TMA are based on a strategy where the surface shape remains a low order Zernike-type surface even in compact, unobscured packages. This optical design strategy results in an optical form that is not only higher performance but simultaneously less sensitive to alignment.

  20. The Use of the Molecular Adsorber Coating Technology to Mitigate Vacuum Chamber Contamination During Pathfinder Testing for the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abraham, Nithin S.; Hasegawa, Mark M.; Wooldridge, Eve M.; Henderson-Nelson, Kelly A.

    2016-01-01

    As a coating made of highly porous zeolite materials, the Molecular Adsorber Coating (MAC) was developed to capture outgassed molecular contaminants, such as hydrocarbons and silicones. For spaceflight applications, the adsorptive capabilities of the coating can alleviate on-orbit outgassing concerns on or near sensitive surfaces and instruments within the spacecraft. Similarly, this sprayable paint technology has proven to be significantly beneficial for ground based space applications, in particular, for vacuum chamber environments. This paper describes the recent use of the MAC technology during Pathfinder testing of the Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSE) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). The coating was used as a mitigation tool to entrap persistent outgassed contaminants, specifically silicone based diffusion pump oil, from within JSC's cryogenic optical vacuum chamber test facility called Chamber A. This paper summarizes the sample fabrication, installation, laboratory testing, post-test chemical analysis results, and future plans for the MAC technology, which was effectively used to protect the JWST test equipment from vacuum chamber contamination.

  1. Active galactic nucleus and quasar science with aperture masking interferometry on the James Webb Space Telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ford, K. E. Saavik; McKernan, Barry [Department of Science, Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, New York, NY 10007 (United States); Sivaramakrishnan, Anand; Martel, André R.; Koekemoer, Anton [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Lafrenière, David [Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128 Succ. Centre-ville, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Parmentier, Sébastien [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 (United States)

    2014-03-10

    Due to feedback from accretion onto supermassive black holes (SMBHs), active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are believed to play a key role in ΛCDM cosmology and galaxy formation. However, AGNs extreme luminosities and the small angular size of their accretion flows create a challenging imaging problem. We show that the James Webb Space Telescope's Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (JWST-NIRISS) Aperture Masking Interferometry (AMI) mode will enable true imaging (i.e., without any requirement of prior assumptions on source geometry) at ∼65 mas angular resolution at the centers of AGNs. This is advantageous for studying complex extended accretion flows around SMBHs and in other areas of angular-resolution-limited astrophysics. By simulating data sequences incorporating expected sources of noise, we demonstrate that JWST-NIRISS AMI mode can map extended structure at a pixel-to-pixel contrast of ∼10{sup –2} around an L = 7.5 point source, using short exposure times (minutes). Such images will test models of AGN feedback, fueling, and structure (complementary with ALMA observations), and are not currently supported by any ground-based IR interferometer or telescope. Binary point source contrast with NIRISS is ∼10{sup –4} (for observing binary nuclei in merging galaxies), significantly better than current ground-based optical or IR interferometry. JWST-NIRISS's seven-hole non-redundant mask has a throughput of 15%, and utilizes NIRISS's F277W (2.77 μm), F380M (3.8 μm), F430M (4.3 μm), and F480M (4.8 μm) filters. NIRISS's square pixels are 65 mas per side, with a field of view ∼2' × 2'. We also extrapolate our results to AGN science enabled by non-redundant masking on future 2.4 m and 16 m space telescopes working at long-UV to near-IR wavelengths.

  2. Silicon pore optics for future x-ray telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wille, Eric; Bavdaz, Marcos; Wallace, Kotska; Shortt, Brian; Collon, Maximilien; Ackermann, Marcelo; Günther, Ramses; Olde Riekerink, Mark; Koelewijn, Arenda; Haneveld, Jeroen; van Baren, Coen; Erhard, Markus; Kampf, Dirk; Christensen, Finn; Krumrey, Michael; Freyberg, Michael; Burwitz, Vadim

    2017-11-01

    Lightweight X-ray Wolter optics with a high angular resolution will enable the next generation of X-ray telescopes in space. The candidate mission ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics) required a mirror assembly of 1 m2 effective area (at 1 keV) and an angular resolution of 10 arcsec or better. These specifications can only be achieved with a novel technology like Silicon Pore Optics, which is being developed by ESA together with a consortium of European industry. Silicon Pore Optics are made of commercial Si wafers using process technology adapted from the semiconductor industry. We present the recent upgrades made to the manufacturing processes and equipment, ranging from the manufacture of single mirror plates towards complete focusing mirror modules mounted in flight configuration, and results from first vibration tests. The performance of the mirror modules is tested at X-ray facilities that were recently extended to measure optics at a focal distance up to 20 m.

  3. Optical design of a Michelson wide-field multiple-aperture telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassaing, Frederic; Sorrente, Beatrice; Fleury, Bruno; Laubier, David

    2004-02-01

    Multiple-Aperture Optical Telescopes (MAOTs) are a promising solution for very high resolution imaging. In the Michelson configuration, the instrument is made of sub-telescopes distributed in the pupil and combined by a common telescope via folding periscopes. The phasing conditions of the sub-pupils lead to specific optical constraints in these subsystems. The amplitude of main contributors to the wavefront error (WFE) is given as a function of high level requirements (such as field or resolution) and free parameters, mainly the sub-telescope type, magnification and diameter. It is shown that for the periscopes, the field-to-resolution ratio is the main design driver and can lead to severe specifications. The effect of sub-telescopes aberrations on the global WFE can be minimized by reducing their diameter. An analytical tool for the MAOT design has been derived from this analysis, illustrated and validated in three different cases: LEO or GEO Earth observation and astronomy with extremely large telescopes. The last two cases show that a field larger than 10 000 resolution elements can be covered with a very simple MAOT based on Mersenne paraboloid-paraboloid sub-telescopes. Michelson MAOTs are thus a solution to be considered for high resolution wide-field imaging, from space or ground.

  4. Development of the optical system for the SST-1M telescope of the Cherenkov Telescope Array observatory

    CERN Document Server

    Ostrowski, Michael; Błocki, J.; Bogacz, L.; Bulik, T.; Cadoux, F.; Christov, A.; Curyło, M.; della Volpe, D.; Dyrda, M.; Favre, Y.; Frankowski, A.; Grudnik, Ł.; Grudzińska, M.; Heller, M.; Idźkowski, B.; Jamrozy, M.; Janiak, M.; Kasperek, J.; Lalik, K.; Lyard, E.; Mach, E.; Mandat, D.; Marszałek, A.; Michałowski, J.; Moderski, R.; Montaruli, T.; Neronov, A.; Niemiec, J.; Paśko, P.; Pech, M.; Porcelli, A.; Prandini, E.; Pueschel, E.; Rajda, P.; Rameez, M.; Schioppa, E. jr; Schovanek, P.; Skowron, K.; Sliusar, V.; Sowiński, M.; Stawarz, Ł.; Stodulska, M.; Stodulski, M.; Toscano, S.; Troyano Pujadas, I.; Walter, R.; Wiȩcek, M.; Zagdański, A.; Ziȩtara, K.; Żychowski, P.; Barciński, T.; Karczewski, M.; Kukliński, J. Nicolau; Płatos, Ł.; Rataj, M.; Wawer, P.; Wawrzaszek, R.

    2016-01-01

    The prototype of a Davies-Cotton small size telescope (SST-1M) has been designed and developed by a consortium of Polish and Swiss institutions and proposed for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory. The main purpose of the optical system is to focus the Cherenkov light emitted by extensive air showers in the atmosphere onto the focal plane detectors. The main component of the system is a dish consisting of 18 hexagonal mirrors with a total effective collection area of 6.47 m2 (including the shadowing and estimated mirror reflectivity). Such a solution was chosen taking into account the analysis of the Cherenkov light propagation and based on optical simulations. The proper curvature and stability of the dish is ensured by the mirror alignment system and the isostatic interface to the telescope structure. Here we present the design of the optical subsystem together with the performance measurements of its components.

  5. MeerLICHT and BlackGEM: custom-built telescopes to detect faint optical transients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloemen, Steven; Groot, Paul; Woudt, Patrick; Klein Wolt, Marc; McBride, Vanessa; Nelemans, Gijs; Körding, Elmar; Pretorius, Margaretha L.; Roelfsema, Ronald; Bettonvil, Felix; Balster, Harry; Bakker, Roy; Dolron, Peter; van Elteren, Arjen; Elswijk, Eddy; Engels, Arno; Fender, Rob; Fokker, Marc; de Haan, Menno; Hagoort, Klaas; de Hoog, Jasper; ter Horst, Rik; van der Kevie, Giel; Kozłowski, Stanisław; Kragt, Jan; Lech, Grzegorz; Le Poole, Rudolf; Lesman, Dirk; Morren, Johan; Navarro, Ramon; Paalberends, Willem-Jelle; Paterson, Kerry; Pawłaszek, Rafal; Pessemier, Wim; Raskin, Gert; Rutten, Harrie; Scheers, Bart; Schuil, Menno; Sybilski, Piotr W.

    2016-07-01

    We present the MeerLICHT and BlackGEM telescopes, which are wide-field optical telescopes that are currently being built to study transient phenomena, gravitational wave counterparts and variable stars. The telescopes have 65 cm primary mirrors and a 2.7 square degree field-of-view. The MeerLICHT and BlackGEM projects have different science goals, but will use identical telescopes. The first telescope, MeerLICHT, will be commissioned at Sutherland (South Africa) in the first quarter of 2017. It will co-point with MeerKAT to collect optical data commensurate with the radio observations. After careful analysis of MeerLICHT's performance, three telescopes of the same type will be commissioned in La Silla (Chile) in 2018 to form phase I of the BlackGEM array. BlackGEM aims at detecting and characterizing optical counterparts of gravitational wave events detected by Advanced LIGO and Virgo. In this contribution we present an overview of the science goals, the design and the status of the two projects.

  6. JWST Lifting System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tolleson, William

    2012-01-01

    A document describes designing, building, testing, and certifying a customized crane (Lifting Device LD) with a strong back (cradle) to facilitate the installation of long wall panels and short door panels for the GHe phase of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The LD controls are variable-frequency drive controls designed to be adjustable for very slow and very-short-distance movements throughout the installation. The LD has a lift beam with an electric actuator attached at the end. The actuator attaches to a rectangular strong back (cradle) for lifting the long wall panels and short door panels from a lower angle into the vertical position inside the chamber, and then rotating around the chamber for installation onto the existing ceiling and floor. The LD rotates 360 (in very small increments) in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Eight lifting pads are on the top ring with 2-in. (.5-cm) eye holes spaced evenly around the ring to allow for the device to be suspended by three crane hoists from the top of the chamber. The LD is operated by remote controls that allow for a single, slow mode for booming the load in and out, with slow and very slow modes for rotating the load.

  7. A cost-performance model for ground-based optical communications receiving telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesh, J. R.; Robinson, D. L.

    1986-01-01

    An analytical cost-performance model for a ground-based optical communications receiving telescope is presented. The model considers costs of existing telescopes as a function of diameter and field of view. This, coupled with communication performance as a function of receiver diameter and field of view, yields the appropriate telescope cost versus communication performance curve.

  8. The "Very Cool" James Webb Space Telescope!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teague, Peter J. B.

    2018-01-01

    For over twenty years, scientists, engineers, technicians, and other personnel have been working on the next generation space telescope. As a partnership between NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and ESA (European Space Angency), the James Webb Space Telescope will complement the previous research performed by the Hubble by utilizing a larger primary mirror, which will also be optimized for infrared wavelengths. This combination will allow JWST to collect data and take images of light having traveled over 13.7 billion light years. This presentation will focus on the mission, as well as the contamination control challenges during the integration and testing in the NASA Goddard Spacecraft Systems Development and Integration Facility (SSDIF), one of the largest cleanrooms in the world. Additional information will be presented regarding space simulation testing down to a cool 20 degrees Kelvin [-424 degrees Fahrenheit] that will occur at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, and more testing and integration to happen at Northrop Grumman Corp., in Redondo Beach, CA. Launch of the JWST is currently scheduled for the spring of 2019 at Ariane Spaceport in French Guiana, South America.

  9. Recovering the Properties of High-redshift Galaxies with Different JWST Broadband Filters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bisigello, L.; Caputi, K. I.; Colina, L.

    2017-01-01

    Imaging with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will allow observations of the bulk of distant galaxies at the epoch of reionization. The recovery of their properties, such as age, color excess , specific star formation rate (sSFR), and stellar mass, will mostly rely on spectral energy...... of these galaxy properties. We performed our tests on a sample of 1542 simulated galaxies, with known input properties, at z = 7–10. We found that, with only eight NIRCam broadbands, we can recover the galaxy age within 0.1 Gyr and the color excess within 0.06 mag for 70% of the galaxies. Additionally...

  10. Optical Design of the STAR-X Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Timo T.; Zhang, William W.; McClelland, Ryan S.

    2017-01-01

    Top-level science goals of the Survey and Time-domain Astrophysical Research eXplorer (STAR-X) include: investigations of most violent explosions in the universe, study of growth of black holes across cosmic time and mass scale, and measure how structure formation heats majority of baryons in the universe. To meet these goals, the field-of-view of the telescope should be about 1 square-degree, the angular resolution should be 5 arc-seconds or below across large part of the field-of-view. The on-axis effective area at 1 KeV should be about 2,000 sq cm. Payload cost and launch considerations limit the outer diameter, focal length, and mass to 1.3 meters, 5 meters, and 250 kilograms, respectively. Telescope design is based on a segmented meta-shell approach we have developed at Goddard Space Flight Center for the STAR-X telescope. The telescope shells are divided into 30-degree segments. Individual telescopes and meta-shells are nested inside each other to meet the effective area requirements in 0.5 - 6.0 KeV range. We consider Wolter-Schwarzschild, and Modified-Wolter-Schwarzschild telescope designs as basic building blocks of the nested STAR-X telescope. These designs offer an excellent resolution over a large field of views. Nested telescopes are vulnerable to stray light problems. We have designed a multi-component baffle system to eliminate direct and single-reflection light paths inside the telescopes. Large number of internal and external baffle vane structures are required to prevent stray rays from reaching the focal plane. We have developed a simple ray-trace based tool to determine the dimensions and locations of the baffles. In this paper, we present the results of our trade studies, baffle design studies, and optical performance analyses of the STAR-X telescope.

  11. Reliable Transport over SpaceWire for James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Focal Plane Electronics (FPE) Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rakow, Glenn; Schnurr, Richard; Dailey, Christopher; Shakoorzadeh, Kamdin

    2003-01-01

    NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) faces difficult technical and budgetary challenges to overcome before it is scheduled launch in 2010. The Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), shares these challenges. The major challenge addressed in this paper is the data network used to collect, process, compresses and store Infrared data. A total of 114 Mbps of raw information must be collected from 19 sources and delivered to the two redundant data processing units across a twenty meter deployed thermally restricted interface. Further data must be transferred to the solid-state recorder and the spacecraft. The JWST detectors are kept at cryogenic temperatures to obtain the sensitivity necessary to measure faint energy sources. The Focal Plane Electronics (FPE) that sample the detector, generate packets from the samples, and transmit these packets to the processing electronics must dissipate little power in order to help keep the detectors at these cold temperatures. Separating the low powered front-end electronics from the higher-powered processing electronics, and using a simple high-speed protocol to transmit the detector data minimize the power dissipation near the detectors. Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) drivers were considered an obvious choice for physical layer because of their high speed and low power. The mechanical restriction on the number cables across the thermal interface force the Image packets to be concentrated upon two high-speed links. These links connect the many image packet sources, Focal Plane Electronics (FPE), located near the cryogenic detectors to the processing electronics on the spacecraft structure. From 12 to 10,000 seconds of raw data are processed to make up an image, various algorithms integrate the pixel data Loss of commands to configure the detectors as well as the loss of science data itself may cause inefficiency in the use of the telescope that are unacceptable given the high cost of the observatory. This

  12. Performance of the Multi-Spectral Solar Telescope Array. III - Optical characteristics of the Ritchey-Chretien and Cassegrain telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Richard B.; Baker, Phillip C.; Hadaway, James B.; Johnson, R. B.; Peterson, Cynthia; Gabardi, David R.; Walker, Arthur B., Jr.; Lindblom, J. F.; Deforest, Craig; O'Neal, R. H.

    1991-12-01

    The Multi-Spectral Solar Telescope Array (MSSTA), which is a sounding-rocket-borne observatory for investigating the sun in the soft X-ray/EUV and FUV regimes of the electromagnetic spectrum, utilizes single reflection multilayer coated Herschelian telescopes for wavelengths below 100 A, and five doubly reflecting multilayer coated Ritchey-Chretien and two Cassegrain telescopes for selected wavelengths in the EUV region between 100 and 1000 A. The paper discusses the interferometric alignment, testing, focusing, visible light testing, and optical performance characteristics of the Ritchey-Chretien and Cassegrain telescopes of MSSTA. A schematic diagram of the MSSTA Ritchey-Chretien telescope is presented together with diagrams of the system autocollimation testing.

  13. James Webb Space Telescope Core 2 Test - Cryogenic Thermal Balance Test of the Observatorys Core Area Thermal Control Hardware

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cleveland, Paul; Parrish, Keith; Thomson, Shaun; Marsh, James; Comber, Brian

    2016-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, will be the largest astronomical telescope ever sent into space. To observe the very first light of the early universe, JWST requires a large deployed 6.5-meter primary mirror cryogenically cooled to less than 50 Kelvin. Three scientific instruments are further cooled via a large radiator system to less than 40 Kelvin. A fourth scientific instrument is cooled to less than 7 Kelvin using a combination pulse-tube Joule-Thomson mechanical cooler. Passive cryogenic cooling enables the large scale of the telescope which must be highly folded for launch on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle and deployed once on orbit during its journey to the second Earth-Sun Lagrange point. Passive cooling of the observatory is enabled by the deployment of a large tennis court sized five layer Sunshield combined with the use of a network of high efficiency radiators. A high purity aluminum heat strap system connects the three instrument's detector systems to the radiator systems to dissipate less than a single watt of parasitic and instrument dissipated heat. JWST's large scale features, while enabling passive cooling, also prevent the typical flight configuration fully-deployed thermal balance test that is the keystone of most space missions' thermal verification plans. This paper describes the JWST Core 2 Test, which is a cryogenic thermal balance test of a full size, high fidelity engineering model of the Observatory's 'Core' area thermal control hardware. The 'Core' area is the key mechanical and cryogenic interface area between all Observatory elements. The 'Core' area thermal control hardware allows for temperature transition of 300K to approximately 50 K by attenuating heat from the room temperature IEC (instrument electronics) and the Spacecraft Bus. Since the flight hardware is not available for test, the Core 2 test uses high fidelity and flight-like reproductions.

  14. The central pixel of the MAGIC telescope for optical observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucarelli, F.; Barrio, J. A.; Antoranz, P.; Asensio, M.; Camara, M.; Contreras, J. L.; Fonseca, M. V.; Lopez, M.; Miranda, J. M.; Oya, I.; Reyes, R. De Los; Firpo, R.; Sidro, N.; Goebel, F.; Lorenz, E.; Otte, N.

    2008-05-01

    The MAGIC telescope has been designed for the observation of Cherenkov light generated in Extensive Air Showers initiated by cosmic particles. However, its 17 m diameter mirror and optical design makes the telescope suitable for direct optical observations as well. In this paper, we report about the development of a system based on the use of a dedicated photo-multiplier (PMT) for optical observations. This PMT is installed in the centre of the MAGIC camera (the so-called central pixel). An electro-to-optical system has been developed in order to transmit the PMT output signal by an optical fibre to the counting room, where it is digitized and stored for off-line analysis. The performance of the system using the optical pulsation of the Crab nebula as calibration source is presented. The time required for a 5σ detection of the Crab pulsar in the optical band is less than 20 s. The central pixel will be mainly used to perform simultaneous observations of the Crab pulsar both in the optical and γ-ray regimes. It will also allow for periodic testing of the precision of the MAGIC timing system using the Crab rotational optical pulses as a very precise timing reference.

  15. Light Weight, Scalable Manufacturing of Telescope Optics, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA's future X-ray astronomy missions will require X-ray optics that have large effective areas, are lightweight, and cost effective. Recent X-ray telescopes, such...

  16. Light Weight, Scalable Manufacturing of Telescope Optics, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA's future X-ray astronomy missions will require X-ray optics that have large effective areas, are lightweight, and cost effective. Recent X-ray telescopes, such...

  17. Exhaustive Strategy for Optical Survey of Geosynchronous Region using TAROT Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard, P.; Yanez, C.; Morand, V.; Verzeni, A.; Boer, M.; Klotz, A.

    CNES and CNRS has been working on Optical Space Surveillance and Tracking for many years using the TAROT telescopes network. The goal of the study presented here is to propose an exhaustive strategy for optical survey of geosynchronous region. First, constraints will be defined on perigee and apogee of the orbits for which we are looking for exhaustiveness and then solutions will be explored making the survey in one or several nights using one or several telescopes. The last part of the study proposes solutions to help maintaining exhaustiveness if some observations failed.

  18. PROMPT: Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetry Telescopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reichart, D.; Nysewander, M.; Moran, J. [North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill (United States). Department of Physics and Astronomy] (and others)

    2005-07-15

    Funded by $1.2M in grants and donations, we are now building PROMPT at CTIO. When completed in late 2005, PROMPT will consist of six 0.41-meter diameter Ritchey-Chretien telescopes on rapidly slewing mounts that respond to GRB alerts within seconds, when the afterglow is potentially extremely bright. Each mirror and camera coating is being optimized for a different wavelength range and function, including a NIR imager, two red-optimized imager, a blue-optimized imager, an UV-optimized imager, and an optical polarimeter. PROMPT will be able to identify high-redshift events by dropout and distinguish these events from the similar signatures of extinction. In this way, PROMPT will act a distance-finder scope for spectroscopic follow up on the larger 4.1-meter diameter SOAR telescope, which is also located at CTIO. When not chasing GRBs, PROMPT serves broader educational objectives across the state of north Carolina. Enclosure construction and the first two telescopes are now complete and functioning: PROMPT observed Swift's first GRB in December 2004. We upgrade from two to four telescope in February 2005 and from four to six telescopes in mid-2005.

  19. High-contrast visible nulling coronagraph for segmented and arbitrary telescope apertures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hicks, Brian A.; Lyon, Richard G.; Bolcar, Matthew R.; Clampin, Mark; Petrone, Peter

    2014-08-01

    Exoplanet coronagraphy will be driven by the telescope architectures available and thus the system designer must have available one or more suitable coronagraphic instrument choices that spans the set of telescope apertures, including filled (off-axis), obscured (e.g. with secondary mirror spiders and struts), segmented apertures, such as JWST, and interferometric apertures. In this work we present one such choice of coronagraph, known as the visible nulling coronagraph (VNC), that spans all four types of aperture and also employs differential sensing and control.

  20. Optics simulations of the 5 MeV NPBSE FOX telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reusch, M.F.; Bruhwiler, D.L.

    1993-01-01

    The far-field optics experiment (FOX) is a proposed design for the neutral particle beam space experiment (NPBSE) program. This 425 MHz straight beam line includes a 4.3 meter large-bore telescope. It is designed to deliver an 8 mA, 5 MeV neutral hydrogen beam with a transverse divergence of approximately 30 micro-radians to a target space vehicle (TSV) located up to 5 km away. The authors present zero current simulations, made with Grummann's TOPKARK code, of the telescope optics and the resulting 5 km target footprint. These simulations demonstrate the need for momentum compactation to minimize chromatic aberrations and for the careful use of octupoles to correct geometric aberrations. TOPKARK uses a novel line dipole model for the large-bore, combined function telescope objective lenses, constructed with rods of permanent magnet material, proposed for use in the FOX. The authors describe this model and its effect on the dynamics

  1. EARLY OPTICAL OBSERVATIONS OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS BY THE TAROT TELESCOPES: PERIOD 2001-2008

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klotz, A.; Boer, M.; Atteia, J. L.; Gendre, B.

    2009-01-01

    The Telescopes a Action Rapide pour les Objets Transitoires telescopes are two robotic observatories designed to observe the prompt optical emission counterpart and the early afterglow of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We present data acquired between 2001 and 2008 and discuss the properties of the optical emission of GRBs, noting various interesting results. The optical emission observed during the prompt GRB phase is rarely very bright: we estimate that 5%-20% of GRBs exhibit a bright optical flash (R < 14) during the prompt gamma-ray emission, and that more than 50% of the GRBs have an optical emission fainter than R = 15.5 when the gamma-ray emission is active. We study the apparent optical brightness distribution of GRBs at 1000 s showing that our observations confirm the distribution derived by other groups. The combination of these results with those obtained by other rapid slewing telescopes allows us to better characterize the early optical emission of GRBs and to emphasize the importance of very early multiwavelength GRB studies for the understanding of the physics of the ejecta.

  2. Creating the Deep Space Environment for Testing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at NASA Johnson Space Center's Chamber A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homan, Jonathan L.; Cerimele, Mary P.; Montz, Michael E.; Bachtel, Russell; Speed, John; O'Rear, Patrick

    2013-01-01

    Chamber A is the largest thermal vacuum chamber at the Johnson Space Center and is one of the largest space environment chambers in the world. The chamber is 19.8 m (65 ft) in diameter and 36.6 m (120 ft) tall and is equipped with cryogenic liquid nitrogen panels (shrouds) and gaseous helium shrouds to create a simulated space environment. It was originally designed and built in the mid 1960 s to test the Apollo Command and Service Module and several manned tests were conducted on that spacecraft, contributing to the success of the program. The chamber has been used since that time to test spacecraft active thermal control systems, Shuttle DTO, DOD, and ESA hardware in simulated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) conditions. NASA is now moving from LEO towards exploration of locations with environments approaching those of deep space. Therefore, Chamber A has undergone major modifications to enable it to simulate these deeper space environments. Environmental requirements were driven, and modifications were funded by the James Webb Space Telescope program, and this telescope which will orbit Solar/Earth L2, will be the first test article to benefit from the chamber s new capabilities. To accommodate JWST, the Chamber A high vacuum system has been modernized, additional LN2 shrouds have been installed, the liquid nitrogen system has been modified to remove dependency on electrical power and increase its reliability, a new helium shroud/refrigeration system has been installed to create a colder more stable and uniform heat sink, and the controls have been updated to increase the level of automation and improve operator interfaces. Testing of these major modifications was conducted in August of 2012 and this initial test was very successful, with all major systems exceeding their performance requirements. This paper will outline the changes in overall environmental requirements, discuss the technical design data that was used in the decisions leading to the extensive modifications

  3. XML: James Webb Space Telescope Database Issues, Lessons, and Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Detter, Ryan; Mooney, Michael; Fatig, Curtis

    2003-01-01

    This paper will present the current concept using extensible Markup Language (XML) as the underlying structure for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) database. The purpose of using XML is to provide a JWST database, independent of any portion of the ground system, yet still compatible with the various systems using a variety of different structures. The testing of the JWST Flight Software (FSW) started in 2002, yet the launch is scheduled for 2011 with a planned 5-year mission and a 5-year follow on option. The initial database and ground system elements, including the commands, telemetry, and ground system tools will be used for 19 years, plus post mission activities. During the Integration and Test (I&T) phases of the JWST development, 24 distinct laboratories, each geographically dispersed, will have local database tools with an XML database. Each of these laboratories database tools will be used for the exporting and importing of data both locally and to a central database system, inputting data to the database certification process, and providing various reports. A centralized certified database repository will be maintained by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. One of the challenges for the database is to be flexible enough to allow for the upgrade, addition or changing of individual items without effecting the entire ground system. Also, using XML should allow for the altering of the import and export formats needed by the various elements, tracking the verification/validation of each database item, allow many organizations to provide database inputs, and the merging of the many existing database processes into one central database structure throughout the JWST program. Many National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) projects have attempted to take advantage of open source and commercial technology. Often this causes a greater reliance on the use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS), which is often limiting

  4. An HST/STIS Optical Transmission Spectrum of Warm Neptune GJ 436b

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lothringer, Joshua D.; Benneke, Björn; Crossfield, Ian J. M.; Henry, Gregory W.; Morley, Caroline; Dragomir, Diana; Barman, Travis; Knutson, Heather; Kempton, Eliza; Fortney, Jonathan; McCullough, Peter; Howard, Andrew W.

    2018-02-01

    GJ 436b is a prime target for understanding warm Neptune exoplanet atmospheres and a target for multiple James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Guaranteed Time Observation programs. Here, we report the first space-based optical transmission spectrum of the planet using two Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) transit observations from 0.53 to 1.03 μm. We find no evidence for alkali absorption features, nor evidence of a scattering slope longward of 0.53 μm. The spectrum is indicative of moderate to high metallicity (∼100–1000× solar), while moderate-metallicity scenarios (∼100× solar) require aerosol opacity. The optical spectrum also rules out some highly scattering haze models. We find an increase in transit depth around 0.8 μm in the transmission spectra of three different sub-Jovian exoplanets (GJ 436b, HAT-P-26b, and GJ 1214b). While most of the data come from STIS, data from three other instruments may indicate this is not an instrumental effect. Only the transit spectrum of GJ 1214b is well fit by a model with stellar plages on the photosphere of the host star. Our photometric monitoring of the host star reveals a stellar rotation rate of 44.1 days and an activity cycle of 7.4 years. Intriguingly, GJ 436 does not become redder as it gets dimmer, which is expected if star spots were dominating the variability. These insights into the nature of the GJ 436 system help refine our expectations for future observations in the era of JWST, whose higher precision and broader wavelength coverage will shed light on the composition and structure of GJ 436b’s atmosphere.

  5. Simulated JWST/NIRISS Transit Spectroscopy of Anticipated TESS Planets Compared to Select Discoveries from Space-Based and Ground-Based Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louie, Dana; Deming, Drake; Albert, Loic; Bouma, Luke; Bean, Jacob; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes

    2018-01-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will embark in 2018 on a 2-year wide-field survey mission of most of the celestial sky, discovering over a thousand super-Earth and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets potentially suitable for follow-up observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Bouma et al. (2017) and Sullivan et al. (2015) used Monte Carlo simulations to predict the properties of the planetary systems that TESS is likely to detect, basing their simulations upon Kepler-derived planet occurrence rates and photometric performance models for the TESS cameras. We employed a JWST Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) simulation tool to estimate the signal-to-noise (S/N) that JWST/NIRISS will attain in transmission spectroscopy of these anticipated TESS discoveries, and we then compared the S/N for anticipated TESS discoveries to our estimates of S/N for 18 known exoplanets. We analyzed the sensitivity of our results to planetary composition, cloud cover, and presence of an observational noise floor. We find that only a few anticipated TESS discoveries in the terrestrial planet regime will result in better JWST/NIRISS S/N than currently known exoplanets, such as the TRAPPIST-1 planets, GJ1132b, or LHS1140b. However, we emphasize that this outcome is based upon Kepler-derived occurrence rates, and that co-planar compact systems (e.g. TRAPPIST-1) were not included in predicting the anticipated TESS planet yield. Furthermore, our results show that several hundred anticipated TESS discoveries in the super-Earth and sub-Neptune regime will produce S/N higher than currently known exoplanets such as K2-3b or K2-3c. We apply our results to estimate the scope of a JWST follow-up observation program devoted to mapping the transition region between high molecular weight and primordial planetary atmospheres.

  6. Analysis of polarization introduced due to the telescope optics of the Thirty Meter Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anche, Ramya Manjunath; Sen, Asoke Kumar; Anupama, Gadiyara Chakrapani; Sankarasubramanian, Kasiviswanathan; Skidmore, Warren

    2018-01-01

    An analytical model has been developed to estimate the polarization effects, such as instrumental polarization (IP), crosstalk (CT), and depolarization, due to the optics of the Thirty Meter Telescope. These are estimated for the unvignetted field-of-view and the wavelengths of interest. The model estimates an IP of 1.26% and a CT of 44% at the Nasmyth focus of the telescope at the wavelength of 0.6 μm at field angle zero with the telescope pointing to zenith. Mueller matrices have been estimated for the primary, secondary, and Nasmyth mirrors. It is found that some of the Mueller matrix elements of the primary and secondary mirrors show a fourfold azimuthal antisymmetry, which indicates that the polarization at the Cassegrain focus is negligible. At the inclined Nasmyth mirror, there is no azimuthal antisymmetry in the matrix elements, and this results in nonzero values for IP and CT, which would negatively impact the polarization measurements at the telescope focus. The averaged Mueller matrix is estimated at the Nasmyth focus at different instrument ports and various zenith angles of the telescope. The variation in the Mueller matrix elements for different coatings is also estimated. The impact of this polarization effect on the science case requirements has been discussed. This analysis will help in achieving precise requirements for future instruments with polarimetric capability.

  7. James Webb Telescope's Near Infrared Camera: Making Models, Building Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebofsky, Larry A.; McCarthy, D. W.; Higgins, M. L.; Lebofsky, N. R.

    2010-10-01

    The Astronomy Camp for Girl Scout Leaders is a science education program sponsored by NASA's next large space telescope: The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The E/PO team for JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), in collaboration with the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council, has developed a long-term relationship with adult leaders from all GSUSA Councils that directly benefits troops of all ages, not only in general science education but also specifically in the astronomical and technology concepts relating to JWST. We have been training and equipping these leaders so they can in turn teach young women essential concepts in astronomy, i.e., the night sky environment. We model what astronomers do by engaging trainers in the process of scientific inquiry, and we equip them to host troop-level astronomy-related activities. It is GSUSA's goal to foster girls’ interest and creativity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, creating an environment that encourages their interests early in their lives while creating a safe place for girls to try and fail, and then try again and succeed. To date, we have trained over 158 leaders in 13 camps. These leaders have come from 24 states, DC, Guam, and Japan. While many of the camp activities are related to the "First Light” theme, many of the background activities relate to two of the other JWST and NIRCam themes: "Birth of Stars and Protoplanetary Systems” and "Planetary Systems and the Origin of Life.” The latter includes our own Solar System. Our poster will highlight the Planetary Systems theme: 1. Earth and Moon: Day and Night; Rotation and Revolution. 2. Earth/Moon Comparisons. 3. Size Model: The Diameters of the Planets. 4. Macramé Planetary (Solar) Distance Model. 5.What is a Planet? 6. Planet Sorting Cards. 7. Human Orrery 8. Lookback Time in Our Daily Lives NIRCam E/PO website: http://zeus.as.arizona.edu/ dmccarthy/GSUSA

  8. 3MeerLICHT and BlackGEM: custom-built telescopes to detect faint optical transients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bloemen, S. (Steven); Groot, P.J. (Paul J.); Woudt, P. (Patrick); Wolt, M.K. (Marc Klein); Mcbride, V. (Vanessa); Nelemans, G. (Gijs); Körding, E. (Elmar); Pretorius, M.L. (Magaretha L.); Roelfsema, R. (Ronald); Bettonvil, F. (Felix); Balster, H. (Harry); Bakker, R. (Roy); Dolron, P. (Peter); Van Elteren, A. (Arjen); Elswijk, E. (Eddy); Engels, A. (Arno); R.P. Fender; Fokker, M. (Marc); Haan, M. (Menno De); Hagoort, K. (Klaas); De Hoog, J. (Jasper); Horst, R.T. (Rik Ter); Van Der Kevie, G. (Giel); Lowski, S.L.K. (Stanis Law Koz); Kragt, J. (Jan); Lech, G. (Grzegorz); Le Poole, R. (Rudolf); Lesman, D. (Dirk); J. Morren (Johan); Navarro, R. (Ramon); Paalberends, W.-J. (Willem-Jelle); K.G. Paterson (Kerry); Laszek, R.P. (Rafal Paw); Pessemier, W. (Wim); Raskin, G. (Gert); Rutten, H. (Harrie); L.H.A. Scheers (Bart); Schuil, M. (Menno); Sybilski, P.W. (Piotr W.)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractWe present the MeerLICHT and BlackGEM telescopes, which are wide-field optical telescopes that are currently being built to study transient phenomena, gravitational wave counterparts and variable stars. The telescopes have 65 cm primary mirrors and a 2.7 square degree field-of-view. The

  9. Ultraviolet/Optical Emission of the Ionized Gas in AGN: Diagnostics of the Ionizing Source and Gas Properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feltre, Anna [Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon1, Ens de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon UMR5574, Saint-Genis-Laval (France); Sorbonne Universités, UPMC-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR7095, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, Paris (France); Charlot, Stephane [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR7095, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, Paris (France); Mignoli, Marco [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Bongiorno, Angela [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monteporzio Catone (Italy); Calura, Francesco [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Chevallard, Jacopo [Scientific Support Office, Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration, European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), European Space Agency (ESA), Noordwijk (Netherlands); Curtis-Lake, Emma [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR7095, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, Paris (France); Gilli, Roberto [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Plat, Adele, E-mail: anna.feltre@univ-lyon1.fr [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR7095, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, Paris (France)

    2017-11-02

    Spectroscopic studies of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are powerful means of probing the physical properties of the ionized gas within them. In particular, near future observational facilities, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), will allow detailed statistical studies of rest-frame ultraviolet and optical spectral features of the very distant AGN with unprecedented accuracy. In this proceedings, we discuss the various ways of exploiting new dedicated photoionization models of the narrow-line emitting regions (NLR) of AGN for the interpretation of forthcoming revolutionary datasets.

  10. The Unique Optical Design of the CTI-II Survey Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ackermann, Mark R.; McGraw, J. T.; MacFarlane, M.

    2006-12-01

    The CCD/Transit Instrument with Innovative Instrumentation (CTI-II) is being developed for precision ground-based astrometric and photometric astronomical observations. The 1.8m telescope will be stationary, near-zenith pointing and will feature a CCD-mosaic array operated in time-delay and integrate (TDI) mode to image a continuous strip of the sky in five bands. The heart of the telescope is a Nasmyth-like bent-Cassegrain optical system optimized to produce near diffraction-limited images with near zero distortion over a circular1.42 deg field. The optical design includes an f/2.2 parabolic ULE primary with no central hole salvaged from the original CTI telescope and adds the requisite hyperbolic secondary, a folding flat and a highly innovative all-spherical, five lens corrector which includes three plano surfaces. The reflective and refractive portions of the design have been optimized as individual but interdependent systems so that the same reflective system can be used with slightly different refractive correctors. At present, two nearly identical corrector designs are being evaluated, one fabricated from BK-7 glass and the other of fused silica. The five lens corrector consists of an air-spaced triplet separated from follow-on air-spaced doublet. Either design produces 0.25 arcsecond images at 83% encircled energy with a maximum of 0.0005% distortion. The innovative five lens corrector design has been applied to other current and planned Cassegrain, RC and super RC optical systems requiring correctors. The basic five lens approach always results in improved performance compared to the original designs. In some cases, the improvement in image quality is small but includes substantial reductions in distortion. In other cases, the improvement in image quality is substantial. Because the CTI-II corrector is designed for a parabolic primary, it might be especially useful for liquid mirror telescopes. We describe and discuss the CTI-II optical design with respect

  11. Cryogenic Photogrammetry and Radiometry for the James Webb Space Telescope Microshutters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Victor J.; Morey, Peter A.; Zukowski, Barbara J.; Kutyrev, Alexander S.; Collins, Nicholas R.

    2012-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) relies on several innovations to complete its five year mission. One vital technology is microshutters, the programmable field selectors that enable the Near Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec) to perform multi-object spectroscopy. Mission success depends on acquiring spectra from large numbers of galaxies by positioning shutter slits over faint targets. Precise selection of faint targets requires field selectors that are both high in contrast and stable in position. We have developed test facilities to evaluate microshutter contrast and alignment stability at their 35K operating temperature. These facilities used a novel application of image registration algorithms to obtain non-contact, sub-micron measurements in cryogenic conditions. The cryogenic motion of the shutters was successfully characterized. Optical results also demonstrated that shutter contrast far exceeds the NIRSpec requirements. Our test program has concluded with the delivery of a flight-qualified field selection subsystem to the NIRSpec bench.

  12. Early GRB optical and infrared afterglow observations with the 2-m robotic Liverpool Telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomboc, A.; Ljubljana Univ., Ljubljana; Mundell, C.G.; Guidorzi, C.

    2005-01-01

    We present the first optical observations of a Gamma Ray Burst IGRB) afterglow using the 2-m robotic Liverpool Telescope (LT), which is owned and operated by Liverpool John Moores University and situated on La Palma. We briefly discuss the capabilities of LT and its suitability for rapid follow-up observations of early optical and infrared GRB light curves. In particular, the combination of aperture, site, instrumentation and rapid response (robotic over-ride mode aided by telescope's rapid slew and fully-opening enclosure) makes the LT ideal for investigating the nature of short bursts, optically-dark bursts, and GRB blast-wave physics in general. We briefly describe the LT's key position in the RoboNet-1.0 network of robotic telescopes. We present the LT observations of GRB041006 and use its gamma-ray properties to predict the time of the break in optical light curve, a prediction consistent with the observations

  13. Development of Infrared Phase Closure Capability in the Infrared-Optical Telescope Array (IOTA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traub, Wesley A.

    2002-01-01

    We completed all major fabrication and testing for the third telescope and phase-closure operation at the Infrared-Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) during this period. In particular we successfully tested the phase-closure operation, using a laboratory light source illuminating the full delay-line optical paths, and using an integrated-optic beam combiner coupled to our Picnic-detector camera. This demonstration is an important and near-final milestone achievement. As of this writing, however, several tasks yet remain, owing to development snags and weather, so the final proof of success, phase-closure observation of a star, is now expected to occur in early 2002, soon after this report has been submitted.

  14. Hartmann test of the COMPASS RICH-1 optical telescopes

    CERN Document Server

    Polak, J; Alekseev, M; Angerer, H; Apollonio, M; Birsa, R; Bordalo, P; Bradamante, F; Bressan, A; Busso, L; Chiosso, V M; Ciliberti, P; Colantoni, M L; Costa, S; Dibiase, N; Dafni, T; Dalla Torre, S; Diaz, V; Duic, V; Delagnes, E; Deschamps, H; Eyrich, W; Faso, D; Ferrero, A; Finger, M; Finger, M Jr; Fischer, H; Gerassimov, S; Giorgi, M; Gobbo, B; Hagemann, R; von Harrach, D; Heinsius, F H; Joosten, R; Ketzer, B; Königsmann, K; Kolosov, V N; Konorov, I; Kramer, D; Kunne, F; Levorato, S; Maggiora, A; Magnon, A; Mann, A; Martin, A; Rebourgeard, P; Mutter, A; Nähle, O; Neyret, D; Nerling, F; Pagano, P; Paul, S; Panebianco, S; Panzieri, D; Pesaro, G; Pizzolotto, C; Menon, G; Rocco, E; Robinet, F; Schiavon, P; Schill, C; Schoenmeier, P; Silva, L; Slunecka, M; Steiger, L; Sozzi, F; Sulc, M; Svec, M; Tessarotto, F; Teufel, A; Wollny, H

    2008-01-01

    The central region of COMPASS RICH-1 has been equipped with a new photon detection system based on MultiAnode PhotoMultiplier Tubes (MAPMT). The Cherenkov photons are focused by an array of 576 fused silica telescopes onto 576 MAPMTs. The quality and positioning of all optical components have been tested by Hartmann method. The validation procedures are described. The quality of the optical concentrators was checked and alignment corrections were made. The upgraded detector showed excellent performances during 2006 data taking.

  15. Benchmarking GJ436b for JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmentier, Vivien; Stevenson, Kevin; Crossfield, Ian; Morley, Caroline; Fortney, Jonathan; Showman, Adam; Lewis, Nikole; Line, Mike

    2017-10-01

    GJ436b is a slightly eccentric, Neptune size planet with an equilibrium temperature of approximately 770K, it is the only Neptune size planet with a thermal emission measurement. With the coming JWST GTO observations of it's emission spectrum, GJ436b will become a benchmark object of the population of Neptune-size planets that will be discovered by TESS and characterized by JWST in the coming years. The current set of 19 secondary eclipses observed by Spitzer points toward a metal-rich, well mixed, tidally heated atmosphere in disequilibrium chemistry. However, no self-consistent forward models are currently able to fit the dayside spectrum of the planet, whereas retrieval models lead to solutions that are inconsistent with the observed planet density. Clearly, some piece of the puzzle is missing to understand the atmospheric properties of this planet. Although the coming JWST observations will likely improve our understanding of this planet, it won't be able to break the degeneracies between metallicity, internal flux and energy redistribution. We propose to observe a full phase curve of GJ436b at 3.6 microns. We will obtain a measurement of the nightside flux of GJ436b at 3.6 microns. Combined with the already observed 8 microns phase curve, we will obtain the first low resolution spectrum of the nightside of a Neptune size exoplanet. By comparing the nightside flux at 3.6 and 8 microns, we will be able to place constraints on the tidal heating and the metallicity of GJ436b that will be complimentary to the the dayside spectrum that will be obtained with JWST. As seen with the example of hot Jupiters, for which much more data is available, measurements of the nightside spectrum is fundamental to understand the planet atmosphere as a whole and correctly interpret the dayside emission. As a consequence, the proposed observation is crucial for the interpretation of the coming JWST observations. As a secondary goal, our observation should be able to confirm the

  16. Ultraviolet/Optical Emission of the Ionized Gas in AGN: Diagnostics of the Ionizing Source and Gas Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Feltre

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Spectroscopic studies of active galactic nuclei (AGN are powerful means of probing the physical properties of the ionized gas within them. In particular, near future observational facilities, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST, will allow detailed statistical studies of rest-frame ultraviolet and optical spectral features of the very distant AGN with unprecedented accuracy. In this proceedings, we discuss the various ways of exploiting new dedicated photoionization models of the narrow-line emitting regions (NLR of AGN for the interpretation of forthcoming revolutionary datasets.

  17. Science with the solar optical telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, S. D.; Hogan, G. D.

    1984-01-01

    The Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) is designed to provide the solar physics community with the data necessary for solving several fundamental problems in the energetics and dynamics of the solar atmosphere. Among these problems are questions on the origin and evolution of the sun's magnetic field, heating of the outer solar atmosphere, and sources of the solar wind in the lower lying regions of the outer atmosphere. The SOT will be built under the management of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, with science instruments provided by teams led by Principal Investigators. The telescope will be built by the Perkin-Elmer Corporation, and the science instruments selected for the first flight will be provided by the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory (LPARL) and the California Institute of Technology, with actual construction of a combined science instrument taking place at the LPARL. The SOT has a 1.3-meter-diameter primary mirror that will be capable of achieving diffraction-limited viewing in the visible of 0.1 arc-second. This dimension is less than a hydrodynamic scale-height or a mean-free-path of a continuum photon in the solar atmosphere. Image stability will be achieved by a control system in the telescope, which moves both the primary and tertiary mirrors in tandem, and will be further enhanced by a correlation tracker in the combined science instrument. The SOT Facility is currently scheduled for its first flight on Spacelab at the beginning of the 1990's.

  18. Design of differential optical absorption spectroscopy long-path telescopes based on fiber optics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merten, André; Tschritter, Jens; Platt, Ulrich

    2011-02-10

    We present a new design principle of telescopes for use in the spectral investigation of the atmosphere and the detection of atmospheric trace gases with the long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique. A combination of emitting and receiving fibers in a single bundle replaces the commonly used coaxial-Newton-type combination of receiving and transmitting telescope. This very simplified setup offers a higher light throughput and simpler adjustment and allows smaller instruments, which are easier to handle and more portable. The higher transmittance was verified by ray-tracing calculations, which result in a theoretical factor threefold improvement in signal intensity compared with the old setup. In practice, due to the easier alignment and higher stability, up to factor of 10 higher signal intensities were found. In addition, the use of a fiber optic light source provides a better spectral characterization of the light source, which results in a lower detection limit for trace gases studied with this instrument. This new design will greatly enhance the usability and the range of applications of active DOAS instruments.

  19. A multipurpose TIM-based optical telescope for Omega and the Trident laser facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oertel, J.A.; Murphy, T.J.; Berggren, R.R.

    1998-01-01

    The authors have recently designed and are building a telescope which acts as an imaging light collector relaying the image to an optical table for experiment dependent analysis and recording. The expected primary use of this instrument is a streaked optical pyrometer for witness plate measurements of Hohlraum drive temperature. The telescope is based on University of Rochester's Ten-Inch Manipulator (TIM) which allows compatibility between Omega, Trident, and the NIF lasers. The optics capture a f/7 cone of light, have a field of view of 6-mm, have a spatial resolution of 5 to 7-microm per line pair at the object plane, and are optimized for operation at 280-nm. The image is at a magnification of 11.7x, which is convenient for many experiments, but can be changed using additional optics that reside outside the TIM

  20. Novel optical designs for consumer astronomical telescopes and their application to professional imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wise, Peter; Hodgson, Alan

    2006-06-01

    Since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope there has been widespread popular interest in astronomy. A further series of events, most notably the recent Deep Impact mission and Mars oppositions have served to fuel further interest. As a result more and more amateurs are coming into astronomy as a practical hobby. At the same time more sophisticated optical equipment is becoming available as the price to performance ratio become more favourable. As a result larger and better optical telescopes are now in use by amateurs. We also have the explosive growth in digital imaging technologies. In addition to displacing photographic film as the preferred image capture modality it has made the capture of high quality astronomical imagery more accessible to a wider segment of the astronomy community. However, this customer requirement has also had an impact on telescope design. There has become a greater imperative for wide flat image fields in these telescopes to take advantage of the ongoing advances in CCD imaging technology. As a result of these market drivers designers of consumer astronomical telescopes are now producing state of the art designs that result in wide, flat fields with optimal spatial and chromatic aberrations. Whilst some of these designs are not scalable to the larger apertures required for professional ground and airborne telescope use there are some that are eminently suited to make this transition.

  1. Cooperative educational project for optical technicians utilizing amateur telescope making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Ray

    2004-01-01

    In the modern optical shop, technicians are typically skilled machine operators who work on only one phase of the manufacture for each and every component. The product is designed, specified, methodized, scheduled and integrated by people off the shop floor. Even at the component level, the people inside the shop usually see only one stage of completion. In an effort to make the relevance of their work visible; to demonstrate competence to their peers; to gain appreciation for the work of others; and to give them a meaningful connection with the functions of optical systems, I created "The Telescope Project" for my former employer. I invited those interested to participate in an after-hours, partially subsidized project to build telescopes for themselves. The ground-rules included that we would all make the same design (thus practicing consensus and configuration management); that we would all work on every phase (thus learning from each other); and that we would obtain our parts by random lot at the end (thus making quality assurance a personal issue). In the process the participating technicians learned about optical theory, design, tolerancing, negotiation, scheduling, purchasing, fabrication, coating and assembly. They developed an appreciation for each other's contributions and a broader perspective on the consequences of their actions. In the end, each obtained a high-quality telescope for his or her personal use. Several developed an abiding love for astronomy. The project generated much interest from technicians who didn"t initially choose to participate. In this paper I describe the project in detail.

  2. A 25 m Live Optics Telescope

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ardeberg, Arne; Andersen, Torben; Owner-Petersen, Mette

    1996-01-01

    A 25 m four mirror live optics telescope is studied. M1 is spherical with 141 segments and f/0.96. M1 is reimaged onto M4 also with 141 segments. Image FWHM is 20 arc min. A horseshoe solution with a simple azimuth platform is applied. M1 segments are supported by a fine...... meniscus form truss structure, tied to the horseshoe by a coarser mesh. A FEM with 10^4 dof was developed and applied. Live optics control M1 and M4 segments (the latter with potential high bandwidth). Correction signals in tilt, coma and defocus are traced. A correlation tracker and a lase guide star...... dynamic effects and image quality resulting from the 141 segment spots. Automatic segment control at a bandwidth of only 1 Hz gives excellent image quality. We foresee to reach a bandwidth > 50 Hz, securing a system partly adaptive, with effects of atmospheric wave front tilt removed through M4 segment...

  3. Active optics and modified-Rumsey wide-field telescopes: MINITRUST demonstrators with vase- and tulip-form mirrors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemaître, Gérard R.; Montiel, Pierre; Joulié, Patrice; Dohlen, Kjetil; Lanzoni, Patrick

    2005-12-01

    Wide-field astronomy requires the development of larger aperture telescopes. The optical properties of a three-mirror modified-Rumsey design provide significant advantages when compared to other telescope designs: (i) at any wavelength, the design has a flat field and is anastigmatic; (ii) the system is extremely compact, i.e., it is almost four times shorter than a Schmidt. Compared to the equally compact flat-field Ritchey-Chrétien with a doublet-lens corrector, as developed for the Sloan digital sky survey - and which requires the polishing of six optical surfaces - the proposed modified-Rumsey design requires only a two-surface polishing and provides a better imaging quality. All the mirrors are spheroids of the hyperboloid type. Starting from the classical Rumsey design, it is shown that the use of all eight available free parameters allows the simultaneous aspherization of the primary and tertiary mirrors by active optics methods from a single deformable substrate. The continuity conditions between the primary and the tertiary hyperbolizations are achieved by an intermediate narrow ring of constant thickness that is not optically used. After the polishing of a double vase form in a spherical shape, the primary-tertiary hyperbolizations are achieved by in situ stressing. The tulip-form secondary is hyperbolized by stress polishing. Other active optics alternatives are possible for a space telescope. The modified-Rumsey design is of interest for developing large space- and ground-based survey telescopes in UV, visible, or IR ranges, such as currently demonstrated with the construction of identical telescopes MINITRUST-1 and -2, f/5 - 2° field of view. Double-pass optical tests show diffraction-limited images.

  4. Lunar-based optical telescopes: Planning astronomical tools of the twenty-first century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilchey, J. D.; Nein, M. E.

    1995-02-01

    A succession of optical telescopes, ranging in aperture from 1 to 16 m or more, can be deployed and operated on the lunar surface over the next half-century. These candidates to succeed NASA's Great Observatories would capitalize on the unique observational advantages offered by the Moon. The Lunar Telescope Working Group and the LUTE Task Team of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have assessed the feasibility of developing and deploying these facilities. Studies include the 16-m Large Lunar Telescope (LLT); the Lunar Cluster Telescope Experiment (LCTE), a 4-m precursor to the LLT; the 2-m Lunar Transit Telescope (LTT); and its precursor, the 1-m Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Experiment (LUTE). The feasibility of developing and deploying each telescope was assessed and system requirements and options for supporting technologies, subsystems, transportation, and operations were detailed. Influences of lunar environment factors and site selection on telescope design and operation were evaluated, and design approaches and key tradeoffs were established. This paper provides an overview of the study results. Design concepts and brief system descriptions are provided, including subsystem and mission options selected for the concepts.

  5. Detecting First Supernovae with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regos, Eniko; FLARE

    2018-01-01

    We have applied for a JWST ERS First Transients Survey, FLARE to answer empirically how the Universe made its first stars. To quest the epoch of reionization we target what happened to these first stars by observing the most luminous events, supernovae. These transients provide direct constraints on star formation rates and the initial mass function.These very rare events can be reached by JWST at 27 mag AB in 2 micron and 4.4 micron over a field of 0.1 square degree visited multiple times each year.The survey may detect massive Pop III SNe at redshifts up to 10, pinpointing the redshift of first stars, a key scientific goal of JWST.We explore all models of star formation history (derived from UV luminosity densities and IR data), DTD, top heavy IMF of early, low metallicity stars, and normalizations to data of SN Ia, II rates (SNLS, CLASH, CANDELS, SDSS, SVISS), as well as SLSN (ROTSE, SNLS) to estimate the expected SN rates as function of redshift.Population synthesis of double degenerate and single degenerate scenarios of SN Ia shows that the shape of the DTD is rather insensitive to the assumptions (common envelope prescription and metallicities, or retention efficiency of accreted H to white dwarf core and mass transfer rate).Indeed GOODS High z SN Ia rates imply substantial delay in their progenitor model, and Hubble Higher z SN search constrains delay time distribution models as well.SLSN (I, II /H/ and extreme rare pulsational pair instability) are magnetars (ULGRB) in high local star formation rate, faint, low metallicity galaxies.

  6. Search for neutrinos from transient sources with the ANTARES telescope and optical follow-up observations (TAToO)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dornic, Damien; Brunner, Jurgen; Basa, Stephane; Al Samarai, Imen; Bertin, Vincent; Boer, Michel; Busto, Jose; Escoffier, Stephanie; Klotz, Alain; Mazure, Alain; Vallage, Bertrand

    2011-01-01

    The ANTARES telescope has the opportunity to detect transient neutrino sources, such as gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae, flares of active galactic nuclei. In order to enhance the sensitivity to these sources, we have developed a new detection method based on the follow-up by optical telescopes of 'golden' neutrino events, such as neutrino doublets coincident in time and space or single neutrinos of very high energy. The ANTARES collaboration has therefore implemented a very fast on-line reconstruction with a good angular resolution. These characteristics allow us to trigger an optical telescope network. Since February 2009, ANTARES is sending alert triggers once or twice per month to the two 25 cm robotic telescope of TAROT. This optical follow-up of such special events would not only give access to the nature of the sources, but also would improve the sensitivity to transient neutrino sources.

  7. Search for neutrinos from transient sources with the ANTARES telescope and optical follow-up observations (TAToO)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dornic, Damien, E-mail: dornic@cppm.in2p3.f [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3-Universite de la Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); IFIC, Edificios Investigacion de Paterna, CSIC-Universitat de Valenciaa, Apdo. de correos 22085, 46071 Valencia (Spain); Brunner, Jurgen [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3-Universite de la Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); Basa, Stephane [LAM, BP8, Traverse du siphon, 13376 Marseille Cedex 12 (France); Al Samarai, Imen; Bertin, Vincent [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3-Universite de la Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); Boer, Michel [OHP, 04870 Saint Michel de l' Observatoire (France); Busto, Jose; Escoffier, Stephanie [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3-Universite de la Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); Klotz, Alain [OHP, 04870 Saint Michel de l' Observatoire (France); CESR, Observatiore Midi-Pyrenees, CNRS Universite de Toulouse, BP4346, 31028 Toulouse Cedex 04 (France); Mazure, Alain [LAM, BP8, Traverse du siphon, 13376 Marseille Cedex 12 (France); Vallage, Bertrand [CEA-IRFU, Centre de Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

    2011-01-21

    The ANTARES telescope has the opportunity to detect transient neutrino sources, such as gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae, flares of active galactic nuclei. In order to enhance the sensitivity to these sources, we have developed a new detection method based on the follow-up by optical telescopes of 'golden' neutrino events, such as neutrino doublets coincident in time and space or single neutrinos of very high energy. The ANTARES collaboration has therefore implemented a very fast on-line reconstruction with a good angular resolution. These characteristics allow us to trigger an optical telescope network. Since February 2009, ANTARES is sending alert triggers once or twice per month to the two 25 cm robotic telescope of TAROT. This optical follow-up of such special events would not only give access to the nature of the sources, but also would improve the sensitivity to transient neutrino sources.

  8. Optical imaging of gamma-ray bursts with the LONEOS telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, R.M.; Bowell, E.; Koehn, B.W.; Cook, K.H.; Howell, S.B.; Shrader, C.R.; Starrfield, S.G.; Stubbs, C.W.

    1998-01-01

    The optical identification of gamma-ray bursts discovered and localized by BACODINE/LOCBURST using the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search (LONEOS) 58-cm Schmidt-type telescope and mosaic CCD camera is described. In its final form, LONEOS images 10 square degrees of the sky (3.2 degree x3.2 degree) to ∼22nd mag (2σ) in a 5 minute integration. Identification of optical transients will be based on variability by comparison with subsequent images or previous scans of the region. To date, optical images have been obtained of three BATSE triggers processed by LOCBURST for development and evaluation purposes. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

  9. The DAG project, a 4m class telescope: the telescope main structure performances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchiori, G.; Busatta, A.; Ghedin, L.; Marcuzzi, E.; Manfrin, C.; Battistel, C.; Pirnay, O.; Flebus, Carlo; Yeşilyaprak, C.; Keskin, O.; Yerli, S.

    2016-07-01

    Dogu Anatolu Gözlemevi (DAG-Eastern Anatolia Observatory) Project is a 4m class optical, near-infrared Telescope and suitable enclosure which will be located at an altitude of 3.170m in Erzurum, Turkey. The DAG telescope is a project fully funded by Turkish Ministry of Development and the Atatürk University of Astrophysics Research Telescope - ATASAM. The Project is being developed by the Belgian company AMOS (project leader), which is also the optics supplier and EIE GROUP, the Telescope Main Structure supplier and responsible for the final site integration. The design of the Telescope Main Structure fits in the EIE TBO Program which aims at developing a Dome/Telescope systemic optimization process for both performances and competitive costs based on previous project commitments like NTT, VLT, VST and ASTRI. The optical Configuration of the DAG Telescope is a Ritchey-Chretien with two Nasmyth foci and a 4m primary thin mirror controlled in shape and position by an Active Optic System. The main characteristics of the Telescope Main Structure are an Altitude-Azimuth light and rigid structure system with Direct Drive Systems for both axis, AZ Hydrostatic Bearing System and Altitude standard bearing system; both axes are equipped with Tape Encoder System. An innovative Control System characterizes the telescope performance.

  10. Active optics and the axisymmetric case: MINITRUST wide-field three-reflection telescopes with mirrors aspherized from tulip and vase forms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemaitre, Gerard R.; Montiel, Pierre; Joulie, Patrice; Dohlen, Kjetil; Lanzoni, Patrick

    2004-09-01

    Wide-field astronomy requires larger size telescopes. Compared to the catadioptric Schmidt, the optical properties of a three mirror telescope provides significant advantages. (1) The flat field design is anastigmatic at any wavelength, (2) the system is extremely compact -- four times shorter than a Schmidt -- and, (3) compared to a Schmidt with refractive corrector -- requiring the polishing of three optical surfaces --, the presently proposed Modified-Rumsey design uses all of eight available free parameters of a flat fielded anastigmatic three mirror telescope for mirrors generated by active optics methods. Compared to a Rumsey design, these parameters include the additional slope continuity condition at the primary-tertiary link for in-situ stressing and aspherization from a common sphere. Then, active optics allows the polishing of only two spherical surfaces: the combined primary-tertiary mirror and the secondary mirror. All mirrors are spheroids of the hyperboloid type. This compact system is of interest for space and ground-based astronomy and allows to built larger wide-field telescopes such as demonstrated by the design and construction of identical telescopes MINITRUST-1 and -2, f/5 - 2° FOV, consisting of an in-situ stressed double vase form primary-tertiary and of a stress polished tulip form secondary. Optical tests of these telescopes, showing diffraction limited images, are presented.

  11. Collecting the Puzzle Pieces: Completing HST's UV+NIR Survey of the TRAPPIST-1 System ahead of JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Wit, Julien

    2017-08-01

    Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, our team has discovered 7 Earth-sized planets around the nearby Ultra-cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1. These planets are the first to be simultaneously Earth-sized, temperate, and amenable for in-depth atmospheric studies with space-based observatories (notably, JWST). TRAPPIST-1's system thus provides us with the first opportunity to probe the atmospheres of Earth-sized exoplanets and search for signs of habitability beyond our solar system, which will require spectral information from the UV to the IR to complete their atmospheric puzzles.We request 114 HST orbits to complete the UV+NIR survey of the 7 planets in preparation for their in-depth followup with JWST. The suggested low-density of the planets combined with their complex orbital resonance chain indicate that they migrated inward to their current positions and may harbor large water rich reservoir or leftover primordial H2 atmospheres. We have already ruled out the presence of clear H2 atmospheres for the 5 innermost planets using WFC3 and are requesting 16 WFC3 orbits to complete the TRAPPIST-1 NIR reconnaissance survey. Our primary request consists in 98 STIS orbits to complete the survey for extended H-exospheres around each of the planets. H-exospheres are the most accessible observables for volatile reservoirs, which have not been ruled out by our WFC3 observations. Exosphere detection is only amenable using HST unique capabilities in the UV and are pivotal to guide JWST's in-depth followup. The combined information from HST's UV and NIR observations will allow us put the first critical pieces of the atmospheric puzzle in place for these temperate earth-sized worlds.

  12. Optimal Strategies for Probing Terrestrial Exoplanet Atmospheres with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batalha, Natasha E.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Line, Michael

    2018-01-01

    It is imperative that the exoplanet community determines the feasibility and the resources needed to yield high fidelity atmospheric compositions from terrestrial exoplanets. In particular, LHS 1140b and the TRAPPIST-1 system, already slated for observations by JWST’s Guaranteed Time Observers, will be the first two terrestrial planets observed by JWST. I will discuss optimal observing strategies for observing these two systems, focusing on the NIRSpec Prism (1-5μm) and the combination of NIRISS SOSS (1-2.7μm) and NIRSpec G395H (3-5μm). I will also introduce currently unsupported JWST readmodes that have the potential to greatly increase the precision on our atmospheric spectra. Lastly, I will use information content theory to compute the expected confidence interval on the retrieved abundances of key molecular species and temperature profiles as a function of JWST observing cycles.

  13. Multipurpose 10 in. manipulator-based optical telescope for Omega and the Trident laser facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oertel, J.A.; Murphy, T.J.; Berggren, R.R.; Faulkner, J.; Schmell, R.; Little, D.; Archuleta, T.; Lopez, J.; Velarde, J.; Horton, R.F.

    1999-01-01

    We have recently designed and are building a telescope which acts as an imaging light collector relaying the image to an optical table for experiment dependent analysis and recording. The expected primary use of this instrument is a streaked optical pyrometer for witness plate measurements of the hohlraum drive temperature. The telescope is based on the University of Rochester close-quote s 10 in. manipulator (TIM) which allows compatibility between Omega, Trident, and the NIF lasers. The optics capture a f/7 cone of light, have a field of view of 6 mm, have a spatial resolution of 5 - 7 μm per line pair at the object plane, and are optimized for operation at 280 nm. The image is at a magnification of 11.7x, which is convenient for many experiments, but can be changed using additional optics that reside outside the TIM. copyright 1999 American Institute of Physics

  14. Spectroscopic Classifications of Optical Transients with the Lick Shane 3-m telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitriadis, G.; Foley, R. J.

    2018-05-01

    We report the following classifications of optical transients from spectroscopic observations with the Kast spectrograph on the Shane 3-m telescope. Targets were supplied by ATLAS, ASAS-SN, and the KEGS K2 SN search.

  15. Characterization benches for neutrino telescope Optical Modules at the APC laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avgitas, Theodore; Creusot, Alexandre; Kouchner, Antoine

    2016-04-01

    As has been demonstrated by the first generation of neutrino telescopes Antares and IceCube, precise knowledge of the photon detection efficiency of optical modules is of fundamental importance for the understanding of the instrument and accurate event reconstruction. Dedicated test benches have been developed to measure all related quantities for the Digital Optical Modules of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope being currently deployed in the Mediterranean sea. The first bench is a black box with robotic arms equipped with a calibrated single photon source or laser which enable a precise mapping of the detection efficiency at arbitrary incident angles as well as precise measurements of the time delays induced by the photodetection chain. These measurement can be incorporated and compared to full GEANT MonteCarlo simulations of the optical modules. The second bench is a 2 m×2 m ×2 m water tank equipped with muon hodoscopes on top and bottom. It enables to study and measure the angular dependence of the DOM's detection efficiency of the Cherenkov light produced in water by relativistic muons, thus reproducing in situ detection conditions. We describe these two benches and present their first results and status.

  16. A Status Report on the Thirty Meter Telescope Adaptive Optics

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2016-01-27

    Jan 27, 2016 ... We provide an update on the recent development of the adaptive optics (AO) systems for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) since mid-2011. The first light AO facility for TMT consists of the Narrow Field Infra-Red AO System (NFIRAOS) and the associated Laser Guide Star Facility (LGSF). This order 60 × 60 ...

  17. Practical Lessons From the First Decade of EPO Partnership Between NIRCam/JWST and the GSUSA

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, D.; Lebofsky, L. A.; Schlingman, W. M.; Higgins, M. L.

    2013-04-01

    Ten years ago the NIRCam science team proposed to conduct “Train the Trainer” workshops for adult leaders from all Girl Scout Councils in the U.S. with an aim to improving basic astronomy materials and to conveying mission-specific information about the science and technologies associated with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). To date we have conducted 20 workshops involving 225 adult leaders (41 U.S. states, Guam, Japan). During this time, the infrastructure of the GSUSA has evolved considerably, as has its approach to STEM education. Here we discuss how our ongoing workshops, educational activities, and our network of trained leaders have evolved to meet the continuing needs of girls and young women within the GSUSA's new framework of Journeys.

  18. Search for neutrinos from transient sources with the ANTARES telescope and optical follow-up observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ageron, Michel; Al Samarai, Imen; Akerlof, Carl; Basa, Stéphane; Bertin, Vincent; Boer, Michel; Brunner, Juergen; Busto, Jose; Dornic, Damien; Klotz, Alain; Schussler, Fabian; Vallage, Bertrand; Vecchi, Manuela; Zheng, Weikang

    2012-01-01

    The ANTARES telescope is well suited to detect neutrinos produced in astrophysical transient sources as it can observe a full hemisphere of the sky at all the times with a duty cycle close to unity and an angular resolution better than 0.5°. Potential sources include gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), core collapse supernovae (SNe), and flaring active galactic nuclei (AGNs). To enhance the sensitivity of ANTARES to such sources, a new detection method based on coincident observations of neutrinos and optical signals has been developed. A fast online muon track reconstruction is used to trigger a network of small automatic optical telescopes. Such alerts are generated one or two times per month for special events such as two or more neutrinos coincident in time and direction or single neutrinos of very high energy. Since February 2009, ANTARES has sent 37 alert triggers to the TAROT and ROTSE telescope networks, 27 of them have been followed. First results on the optical images analysis to search for GRBs are presented.

  19. Search for neutrinos from transient sources with the ANTARES telescope and optical follow-up observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ageron, Michel; Al Samarai, Imen; Akerlof, Carl; Basa, Stéphane; Bertin, Vincent; Boer, Michel; Brunner, Juergen; Busto, Jose; Dornic, Damien; Klotz, Alain; Schussler, Fabian; Vallage, Bertrand; Vecchi, Manuela; Zheng, Weikang

    2012-11-01

    The ANTARES telescope is well suited to detect neutrinos produced in astrophysical transient sources as it can observe a full hemisphere of the sky at all the times with a duty cycle close to unity and an angular resolution better than 0.5°. Potential sources include gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), core collapse supernovae (SNe), and flaring active galactic nuclei (AGNs). To enhance the sensitivity of ANTARES to such sources, a new detection method based on coincident observations of neutrinos and optical signals has been developed. A fast online muon track reconstruction is used to trigger a network of small automatic optical telescopes. Such alerts are generated one or two times per month for special events such as two or more neutrinos coincident in time and direction or single neutrinos of very high energy. Since February 2009, ANTARES has sent 37 alert triggers to the TAROT and ROTSE telescope networks, 27 of them have been followed. First results on the optical images analysis to search for GRBs are presented.

  20. Search for neutrinos from transient sources with the ANTARES telescope and optical follow-up observations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ageron, Michel [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3 - Universite de Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); Al Samarai, Imen, E-mail: samarai@cppm.in2p3.fr [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3 - Universite de Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); Akerlof, Carl [Randall Laboratory of Physics, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040 (United States); Basa, Stephane [LAM, BP8, Traverse du siphon, 13376 Marseille Cedex 12 (France); Bertin, Vincent [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3 - Universite de Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); Boer, Michel [OHP, 04870 Saint Michel de l' Observatoire (France); Brunner, Juergen; Busto, Jose; Dornic, Damien [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3 - Universite de Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); Klotz, Alain [OHP, 04870 Saint Michel de l' Observatoire (France); IRAP, 9 avenue du colonel Roche, 31028 Toulouse Cedex 4 (France); Schussler, Fabian; Vallage, Bertrand [CEA-IRFU, centre de Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Vecchi, Manuela [CPPM, CNRS/IN2P3 - Universite de Mediterranee, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 (France); Zheng, Weikang [Randall Laboratory of Physics, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040 (United States)

    2012-11-11

    The ANTARES telescope is well suited to detect neutrinos produced in astrophysical transient sources as it can observe a full hemisphere of the sky at all the times with a duty cycle close to unity and an angular resolution better than 0.5 Degree-Sign . Potential sources include gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), core collapse supernovae (SNe), and flaring active galactic nuclei (AGNs). To enhance the sensitivity of ANTARES to such sources, a new detection method based on coincident observations of neutrinos and optical signals has been developed. A fast online muon track reconstruction is used to trigger a network of small automatic optical telescopes. Such alerts are generated one or two times per month for special events such as two or more neutrinos coincident in time and direction or single neutrinos of very high energy. Since February 2009, ANTARES has sent 37 alert triggers to the TAROT and ROTSE telescope networks, 27 of them have been followed. First results on the optical images analysis to search for GRBs are presented.

  1. Structural Feasibility Analysis of a Robotically Assembled Very Large Aperture Optical Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkie, William Keats; Williams, R. Brett; Agnes, Gregory S.; Wilcox, Brian H.

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents a feasibility study of robotically constructing a very large aperture optical space telescope on-orbit. Since the largest engineering challenges are likely to reside in the design and assembly of the 150-m diameter primary reflector, this preliminary study focuses on this component. The same technology developed for construction of the primary would then be readily used for the smaller optical structures (secondary, tertiary, etc.). A reasonable set of ground and on-orbit loading scenarios are compiled from the literature and used to define the structural performance requirements and size the primary reflector. A surface precision analysis shows that active adjustment of the primary structure is required in order to meet stringent optical surface requirements. Two potential actuation strategies are discussed along with potential actuation devices at the current state of the art. The finding of this research effort indicate that successful technology development combined with further analysis will likely enable such a telescope to be built in the future.

  2. Dobson space telescope: development of an optical payload of the next generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segert, Tom; Danziger, Björn; Gork, Daniel; Lieder, Matthias

    2017-11-01

    The Dobson Space Telescope (DST) is a research project of the Department of Astronautics at the TUBerlin. For Development and commercialisation there is a close cooperation with the network of the Berlin Space Industry (RIBB). Major Partner is the Astro- und Feinwerktechnik Adlershof GmbH a specialist for space structures and head of the industry consortia which built the DLR BIRD micro satellite. The aim of the project is to develop a new type of deployable telescope that can overcome the mass and volume limitations of small satellites. With the DST payload micro satellites of the 100kg class will be able to carry 50cm main mirror diameter optics (→ 1m GSD). Basis of this technology is the fact that a telescope is mainly empty space between the optical elements. To fold down the telescope during launch and to undfold it after the satellite reached its orbit can save 70% of payload volume and 50% of payload mass. Since these advantages continue along the value added chain DST is of highest priority for the next generation of commercial EO micro satellites. Since 2002 the key technologies for DST have been developed in test benches in Labs of TU-Berlin and were tested on board a ESA parabolic flight campaign in 2005. The development team at TU-Berlin currently prepares the foundation of a start-up company for further development and commercialisation of DST.

  3. Polishing, coating and integration of SiC mirrors for space telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodolfo, Jacques

    2017-11-01

    In the last years, the technology of SiC mirrors took an increasingly significant part in the field of space telescopes. Sagem is involved in the JWST program to manufacture and test the optical components of the NIRSpec instrument. The instrument is made of 3 TMAs and 4 plane mirrors made of SiC. Sagem is in charge of the CVD cladding, the polishing, the coating of the mirrors and the integration and testing of the TMAs. The qualification of the process has been performed through the manufacturing and testing of the qualification model of the FOR TMA. This TMA has shown very good performances both at ambient and during the cryo test. The polishing process has been improved for the manufacturing of the flight model. This improvement has been driven by the BRDF performance of the mirror. This parameter has been deeply analysed and a model has been built to predict the performance of the mirrors. The existing Dittman model have been analysed and found to be optimistic.

  4. A view in the mirror - Or through the looking glass. [history of development of optical telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meinel, A. B.; Meinel, M. P.

    1986-01-01

    The development of optical telescopes from the age of astrology to those of today and the future is discussed. The rationales for changes in the design of telescopes during this time are explored. The cost drivers, and how to reduce them, are also discussed.

  5. Study on power coupling of annular vortex beam propagating through a two-Cassegrain-telescope optical system in turbulent atmosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Huiyun; Sheng, Shen; Huang, Zhisong; Zhao, Siqing; Wang, Hua; Sun, Zhenhai; Xu, Xiegu

    2013-02-25

    As a new attractive application of the vortex beams, power coupling of annular vortex beam propagating through a two- Cassegrain-telescope optical system in turbulent atmosphere has been investigated. A typical model of annular vortex beam propagating through a two-Cassegrain-telescope optical system is established, the general analytical expression of vortex beams with limited apertures and the analytical formulas for the average intensity distribution at the receiver plane are derived. Under the H-V 5/7 turbulence model, the average intensity distribution at the receiver plane and power coupling efficiency of the optical system are numerically calculated, and the influences of the optical topological charge, the laser wavelength, the propagation path and the receiver apertures on the power coupling efficiency are analyzed. These studies reveal that the average intensity distribution at the receiver plane presents a central dark hollow profile, which is suitable for power coupling by the Cassegrain telescope receiver. In the optical system with optimized parameters, power coupling efficiency can keep in high values with the increase of the propagation distance. Under the atmospheric turbulent conditions, great advantages of vortex beam in power coupling of the two-Cassegrain-telescope optical system are shown in comparison with beam without vortex.

  6. Optical Module Front-End for a Neutrino Underwater Telescope PMT interface

    CERN Document Server

    Lo Presti, D; Caponetto, L

    2007-01-01

    A proposal for a new system to capture signals in the Optical Module (OM) of an Underwater Neutrino Telescope is described. It concentrates on the problem of power consumption in relation to precision. In particular, a solution for the interface between the photomultiplier (PMT) and the front-end electronics is presented.

  7. Optical Correction Of Space-Based Telescopes Using A Deformable Mirror System

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-01

    492 DM. The quarter wave plates polarize the light so that as it reflects off the DM, the light is then redirected at the beam splitter to the one...1  II.  SPACE-BASED TELESCOPE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS .......................3  A.  ADAPTIVE OPTICS...3  B.  DESIGN CONSTRAINTS

  8. Aluminum Mirror Coatings for UVOIR Telescope Optics Including the Far UV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatha; Hennessy, John; Raouf, Nasrat; Nikzad, Shouleh; Ayala, Michael; Shaklan, Stuart; Scowen, Paul; Del Hoyo, Javier; Quijada, Manuel

    2015-01-01

    NASA Cosmic Origins (COR) Program identified the development of high reflectivity mirror coatings for large astronomical telescopes particularly for the far ultra violet (FUV) part of the spectrum as a key technology requiring significant materials research and process development. In this paper we describe the challenges and accomplishments in producing stable high reflectance aluminum mirror coatings with conventional evaporation and advanced Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) techniques. We present the current status of process development with reflectance of approx. 55 to 80% in the FUV achieved with little or no degradation over a year. Keywords: Large telescope optics, Aluminum mirror, far UV astrophysics, ALD, coating technology development.

  9. The JWST Extragalactic Mock Catalog: Modeling Galaxy Populations from the UV through the Near-IR over 13 Billion Years of Cosmic History

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Christina C.; Curtis-Lake, Emma; Hainline, Kevin N.; Chevallard, Jacopo; Robertson, Brant E.; Charlot, Stephane; Endsley, Ryan; Stark, Daniel P.; Willmer, Christopher N. A.; Alberts, Stacey; Amorin, Ricardo; Arribas, Santiago; Baum, Stefi; Bunker, Andrew; Carniani, Stefano; Crandall, Sara; Egami, Eiichi; Eisenstein, Daniel J.; Ferruit, Pierre; Husemann, Bernd; Maseda, Michael V.; Maiolino, Roberto; Rawle, Timothy D.; Rieke, Marcia; Smit, Renske; Tacchella, Sandro; Willott, Chris J.

    2018-06-01

    We present an original phenomenological model to describe the evolution of galaxy number counts, morphologies, and spectral energy distributions across a wide range of redshifts (0.2colors, sizes, star formation, and chemical properties of the observed galaxy population. Unlike other existing approaches, our model includes a self-consistent treatment of stellar and photoionized gas emission and dust attenuation based on the BEAGLE tool. The mock galaxy catalogs generated with our new model can be used to simulate and optimize extragalactic surveys with future facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and to enable critical assessments of analysis procedures, interpretation tools, and measurement systematics for both photometric and spectroscopic data. As a first application of this work, we make predictions for the upcoming JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), a joint program of the JWST/NIRCam and NIRSpec Guaranteed Time Observations teams. We show that JADES will detect, with NIRCam imaging, 1000s of galaxies at z ≳ 6, and 10s at z ≳ 10 at {m}{AB}≲ 30 (5σ) within the 236 arcmin2 of the survey. The JADES data will enable accurate constraints on the evolution of the UV luminosity function at z > 8, and resolve the current debate about the rate of evolution of galaxies at z ≳ 8. Ready-to-use mock catalogs and software to generate new realizations are publicly available as the JAdes extraGalactic Ultradeep Artificial Realizations (JAGUAR) package.

  10. The Laser Guide Star System for Adaptive Optics at Subaru Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayano, Y.; Saito, Y.; Ito, M.; Saito, N.; Akagawa, K.; Takazawa, A.; Ito, M.; Wada, S.; Takami, H.; Iye, M.

    We report on the current status of developing the new laser guide star (LGS) system for the Subaru adaptive optics (AO) system. We have three major subsystems: the laser unit, the relay optical fiber and the laser launching telescope. A 4W-class all-solid-state 589nm laser has been developed as a light source for sodium laser guide star. We use two mode-locked Nd:YAG lasers operated at the wavelength of 1064nm and 1319nm to generate sum-frequency conversion into 589nm. The side-LD pumped configuration is used for the mode-locked Nd:YAG lasers. We have carefully considered the thermal lens effect in the cavity to achieve a high beam quality with TEM00; M2 = 1.06. The mode-locked frequency is selected at 143 MHz. We obtained the output powers of 16.5 W and 5.0 W at 1064nm and 1319 nm. Sum frequency generated by mixing two synchronized Nd:YAG mode-locked pulsed beams is precisely tuned to the sodium D2 line by thermal control of the etalon in the 1064nm Nd:YAG laser by observing the maximum fluorescence intensity of heated sodium vapor cell. The maximum output power at 589.159 nm reaches to 4.6 W using a PPMgOSLT crystal as a nonlinear optical crystal. And the output power can be maintained within a stability of +/- 1.2% for more than 3 days without optical damage. We developed a single-mode photonic crystal fiber (PCF) to relay the laser beam from laser clean room, in which the laser unit is located on the Nasmyth platform, to the laser launching telescope mounted behind the secondary mirror of Subaru Telescope. The photonic crystal fiber has solid pure silica core with the mode field diameter of 14 micron, which is relatively larger than that of the conventional step-index type single mode fiber. The length of the PCF is 35m and transmission loss due to the pure silica is 10dB/km at 589nm, which means PCF transmits 92% of the laser beam. We have preliminary achieved 75% throughput in total. Small mode-locked pulse width in time allows us to transmit the high

  11. EXPLORING BIASES OF ATMOSPHERIC RETRIEVALS IN SIMULATED JWST TRANSMISSION SPECTRA OF HOT JUPITERS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rocchetto, M.; Waldmann, I. P.; Tinetti, G.; Venot, O.; Lagage, P.-O.

    2016-01-01

    With a scheduled launch in 2018 October, the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) is expected to revolutionize the field of atmospheric characterization of exoplanets. The broad wavelength coverage and high sensitivity of its instruments will allow us to extract far more information from exoplanet spectra than what has been possible with current observations. In this paper, we investigate whether current retrieval methods will still be valid in the era of JWST , exploring common approximations used when retrieving transmission spectra of hot Jupiters. To assess biases, we use 1D photochemical models to simulate typical hot Jupiter cloud-free atmospheres and generate synthetic observations for a range of carbon-to-oxygen ratios. Then, we retrieve these spectra using TauREx, a Bayesian retrieval tool, using two methodologies: one assuming an isothermal atmosphere, and one assuming a parameterized temperature profile. Both methods assume constant-with-altitude abundances. We found that the isothermal approximation biases the retrieved parameters considerably, overestimating the abundances by about one order of magnitude. The retrieved abundances using the parameterized profile are usually within 1 σ of the true state, and we found the retrieved uncertainties to be generally larger compared to the isothermal approximation. Interestingly, we found that by using the parameterized temperature profile we could place tight constraints on the temperature structure. This opens the possibility of characterizing the temperature profile of the terminator region of hot Jupiters. Lastly, we found that assuming a constant-with-altitude mixing ratio profile is a good approximation for most of the atmospheres under study.

  12. EXPLORING BIASES OF ATMOSPHERIC RETRIEVALS IN SIMULATED JWST TRANSMISSION SPECTRA OF HOT JUPITERS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rocchetto, M.; Waldmann, I. P.; Tinetti, G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E6BT London (United Kingdom); Venot, O. [Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Lagage, P.-O., E-mail: m.rocchetto@ucl.ac.uk [Irfu, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-9119 Gif-sur Yvette (France)

    2016-12-10

    With a scheduled launch in 2018 October, the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) is expected to revolutionize the field of atmospheric characterization of exoplanets. The broad wavelength coverage and high sensitivity of its instruments will allow us to extract far more information from exoplanet spectra than what has been possible with current observations. In this paper, we investigate whether current retrieval methods will still be valid in the era of JWST , exploring common approximations used when retrieving transmission spectra of hot Jupiters. To assess biases, we use 1D photochemical models to simulate typical hot Jupiter cloud-free atmospheres and generate synthetic observations for a range of carbon-to-oxygen ratios. Then, we retrieve these spectra using TauREx, a Bayesian retrieval tool, using two methodologies: one assuming an isothermal atmosphere, and one assuming a parameterized temperature profile. Both methods assume constant-with-altitude abundances. We found that the isothermal approximation biases the retrieved parameters considerably, overestimating the abundances by about one order of magnitude. The retrieved abundances using the parameterized profile are usually within 1 σ of the true state, and we found the retrieved uncertainties to be generally larger compared to the isothermal approximation. Interestingly, we found that by using the parameterized temperature profile we could place tight constraints on the temperature structure. This opens the possibility of characterizing the temperature profile of the terminator region of hot Jupiters. Lastly, we found that assuming a constant-with-altitude mixing ratio profile is a good approximation for most of the atmospheres under study.

  13. A new optical transmission spectrum of WASP-43b from ACCESS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weaver, Ian; University of Arizona, Católica, Carnegie

    2018-01-01

    We present a new ground-based optical transmission spectrum of the Hot Jupiter WASP--43b obtained with the Inamori-Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) on the Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. These observations were made as part of the Arizona-CfA-Catolica+Carnegie Exoplanet Spectroscopy Survey (ACCESS), which aims at providing a uniform, large sample of visible transmission spectra of gaseous exoplanets that will become key in the era of JWST and comparative exoplanetology. Using multi-object differential spectrophotometry, we produce a high precision spectrum of this planet between 400 and 900 nm, combining three different transit epochs. In this analysis, we search for signals of Na I, H-alpha, and K I, as well as for the presence of hazes/clouds.

  14. Standardization of XML Database Exchanges and the James Webb Space Telescope Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gal-Edd, Jonathan; Detter, Ryan; Jones, Ron; Fatig, Curtis C.

    2007-01-01

    Personnel from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Project have been working with various standard communities such the Object Management Group (OMG) and the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) to assist in the definition of a common extensible Markup Language (XML) for database exchange format. The CCSDS and OMG standards are intended for the exchange of core command and telemetry information, not for all database information needed to exercise a NASA space mission. The mission-specific database, containing all the information needed for a space mission, is translated from/to the standard using a translator. The standard is meant to provide a system that encompasses 90% of the information needed for command and telemetry processing. This paper will discuss standardization of the XML database exchange format, tools used, and the JWST experience, as well as future work with XML standard groups both commercial and government.

  15. Discovery Channel Telescope active optics system early integration and test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venetiou, Alexander J.; Bida, Thomas A.

    2012-09-01

    The Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) is a 4.3-meter telescope with a thin meniscus primary mirror (M1) and a honeycomb secondary mirror (M2). The optical design is an f/6.1 Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) with an unvignetted 0.5° Field of View (FoV) at the Cassegrain focus. We describe the design, implementation and performance of the DCT active optics system (AOS). The DCT AOS maintains collimation and controls the figure of the mirror to provide seeing-limited images across the focal plane. To minimize observing overhead, rapid settling times are achieved using a combination of feed-forward and low-bandwidth feedback control using a wavefront sensing system. In 2011, we mounted a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor at the prime focus of M1, the Prime Focus Test Assembly (PFTA), to test the AOS with the wavefront sensor, and the feedback loop. The incoming wavefront is decomposed using Zernike polynomials, and the mirror figure is corrected with a set of bending modes. Components of the system that we tested and tuned included the Zernike to Bending Mode transformations. We also started open-loop feed-forward coefficients determination. In early 2012, the PFTA was replaced by M2, and the wavefront sensor moved to its normal location on the Cassegrain instrument assembly. We present early open loop wavefront test results with the full optical system and instrument cube, along with refinements to the overall control loop operating at RC Cassegrain focus.

  16. The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Telescope Optical System Designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassiliev, Vladimir; Buckley, Jim; Falcone, Abe; Fegan, Steven; Finley, John; Gaurino, Victor; Hanna, David; Kaaret, Philip; Konopelko, Alex; Krawczynski, Henric; Romani, Roger; Weekes, Trevor

    2008-04-01

    AGIS is a conceptual design for a future ground-based gamma-ray observatory based on an array of ˜100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) with a sensitivity to gamma-rays in the energy range 40 GeV-100 TeV. The anticipated improvement of AGIS sensitivity, angular resolution, and reliability of operation imposes demanding technological and cost requirements on the design of the IACTs. In this submission we focus on the optical system (OS) of the AGIS telescopes and consider options which include traditional Davies-Cotton and the other prime- focus telescope designs, as well as a novel two-mirror aplanatic OS originally proposed by Schwarzschild. Emerging new mirror production technologies based on replication processes such as cold and hot glass slumping, cured CFRP, and electroforming provide new opportunities for cost effective solutions for the design of the OS. We evaluate the capabilities of these mirror fabrication methods for the AGIS project.

  17. Tests of lobster eye optics for small space X-ray telescope

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tichý, V.; Barbera, M.; Collura, A.; Hromčík, M.; Hudec, René; Inneman, A.; Jakůbek, J.; Maršík, J.; Maršíková, V.; Pína, L.; Varisco, S.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 633, č. 1 (2011), S169-S171 ISSN 0168-9002. [International Workshop on Radiation Imaging Detectors /11./. Praha, 29.06.2009-03.07.2009] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : X-ray optics * X-ray telescope * all-sky monitor Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 1.207, year: 2011

  18. Predicting the High Redshift Galaxy Population for JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flynn, Zoey; Benson, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope will be launched in Oct 2018 with the goal of observing galaxies in the redshift range of z = 10 - 15. As redshift increases, the age of the Universe decreases, allowing us to study objects formed only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. This will provide a valuable opportunity to test and improve current galaxy formation theory by comparing predictions for mass, luminosity, and number density to the observed data. We have made testable predictions with the semi-analytical galaxy formation model Galacticus. The code uses Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to determine viable sets of model parameters that match current astronomical data. The resulting constrained model was then set to match the specifications of the JWST Ultra Deep Field Imaging Survey. Predictions utilizing up to 100 viable parameter sets were calculated, allowing us to assess the uncertainty in current theoretical expectations. We predict that the planned UDF will be able to observe a significant number of objects past redshift z > 9 but nothing at redshift z > 11. In order to detect these faint objects at redshifts z = 11-15 we need to increase exposure time by at least a factor of 1.66.

  19. The afocal telescope optical design and tolerance analysis for the ESA ARIEL mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da Deppo, Vania; Middleton, Kevin; Focardi, Mauro; Morgante, Gianluca; Grella, Samuele; Claudi, Riccardo; Pace, Emanuele; Ficai Veltroni, Iacopo; Micela, Giuseppina

    2017-11-01

    ARIEL (Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey) is one of the three present candidates for the next ESA medium-class science mission (M4) to be launched in 2026. During its 3.5 years of scientific operations from L2 orbit, this mission will observe spectroscopically in the infrared (IR) a large population of known transiting planets in the neighbourhood of the Solar System. The aim is to enable a deep understanding of the physics and chemistry of these exoplanets. ARIEL is based on a 1-m class telescope ahead of a suite of instruments: two spectrometer channels covering the band 1.95 to 7.80 µm and four photometric channels (two wide and two narrow band) in the range 0.5 to 1.9 μm. The ARIEL optical design is conceived as a fore-module common afocal telescope that will feed the spectrometer and photometric channels. The telescope optical design is based on an eccentric pupil two-mirror classic Cassegrain configuration coupled to a tertiary paraboloidal mirror. An all-aluminum structure has been considered for the telescope layout, and a detailed tolerance analysis has been conducted to assess the telescope feasibility. This analysis has been done including the different parts of the realization and life of the instrument, from integration on-ground to in-flight stability during the scientific acquisitions. The primary mirror (M1) temperature will be monitored and finely tuned via an active thermal control system based on thermistors and heaters. The heaters will be switched on and off to maintain the M1 temperature within ±1K thanks to a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller.

  20. Customized overhead cranes for installation of India's largest 3.6m optical telescope at Devasthal, Nainital, India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bangia, Tarun; Yadava, Shobhit; Kumar, Brijesh; Ghanti, A. S.; Hardikar, P. M.

    2016-07-01

    India's largest 3.6 m aperture optical telescope facility has been recently established at Devasthal site by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observation Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous Institute under Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The telescope is equipped with active optics and it is designed to be used for seeinglimited observations at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. A steel building with rotating cylindrical steel Dome was erected to house 3.6m telescope and its accessories at hilltop of Devasthal site. Customized cranes were essentially required inside the building as there were space constraints around the telescope building for operating big external heavy duty cranes from outside, transportation constraints in route for bringing heavy weight cranes, altitude of observatory, and sharp bends etc. to site. To meet the challenge of telescope installation from inside the telescope building by lifting components through its hatch, two Single Girder cranes and two Under Slung cranes of 10 MT capacity each were specifically designed and developed. All the four overhead cranes were custom built to achieve the goal of handling telescope mirror and its various components during installation and assembly. Overhead cranes were installed in limited available space inside the building and tested as per IS 3177. Cranes were equipped with many features like VVVFD compatibility, provision for tandem operation, digital load display, anti-collision mechanism, electrical interlocks, radio remote, low hook height and compact carriage etc. for telescope integration at site.

  1. Reliability-centered maintenance for ground-based large optical telescopes and radio antenna arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchiori, G.; Formentin, F.; Rampini, F.

    2014-07-01

    In the last years, EIE GROUP has been more and more involved in large optical telescopes and radio antennas array projects. In this frame, the paper describes a fundamental aspect of the Logistic Support Analysis (LSA) process, that is the application of the Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) methodology for the generation of maintenance plans for ground-based large optical telescopes and radio antennas arrays. This helps maintenance engineers to make sure that the telescopes continue to work properly, doing what their users require them to do in their present operating conditions. The main objective of the RCM process is to establish the complete maintenance regime, with the safe minimum required maintenance, carried out without any risk to personnel, telescope and subsystems. At the same time, a correct application of the RCM allows to increase the cost effectiveness, telescope uptime and items availability, and to provide greater understanding of the level of risk that the organization is managing. At the same time, engineers shall make a great effort since the initial phase of the project to obtain a telescope requiring easy maintenance activities and simple replacement of the major assemblies, taking special care on the accesses design and items location, implementation and design of special lifting equipment and handling devices for the heavy items. This maintenance engineering framework is based on seven points, which lead to the main steps of the RCM program. The initial steps of the RCM process consist of: system selection and data collection (MTBF, MTTR, etc.), definition of system boundaries and operating context, telescope description with the use of functional block diagrams, and the running of a FMECA to address the dominant causes of equipment failure and to lay down the Critical Items List. In the second part of the process the RCM logic is applied, which helps to determine the appropriate maintenance tasks for each identified failure mode. Once

  2. Cryogenic Fiber Optic Assemblies for Spaceflight Environments: Design, Manufacturing, Testing, and Integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomes, W. Joe; Ott, Melanie N.; Chuska, Richard; Switzer, Robert; Onuma, Eleanya; Blair, Diana; Frese, Erich; Matyseck, Marc

    2016-01-01

    Fiber optic assemblies have been used on spaceflight missions for many years as an enabling technology for routing, transmitting, and detecting optical signals. Due to the overwhelming success of NASA in implementing fiber optic assemblies on spaceflight science-based instruments, system scientists increasingly request fibers that perform in extreme environments while still maintaining very high optical transmission, stability, and reliability. Many new applications require fiber optic assemblies that will operate down to cryogenic temperatures as low as 20 Kelvin. In order for the fiber assemblies to operate with little loss in optical throughput at these extreme temperatures requires a system level approach all the way from how the fiber assembly is manufactured to how it is held, routed, and integrated. The NASA Goddard Code 562 Photonics Group has been designing, manufacturing, testing, and integrating fiber optics for spaceflight and other high reliability applications for nearly 20 years. Design techniques and lessons learned over the years are consistently applied to developing new fiber optic assemblies that meet these demanding environments. System level trades, fiber assembly design methods, manufacturing, testing, and integration will be discussed. Specific recent examples of ground support equipment for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST); the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2); and others will be included.

  3. The Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope, I: Introduction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rieke, G. H.; Wright, G. S.; Böker, T.

    2015-01-01

    MIRI (the Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope [JWST]) operates from 5 to 28: 5 μm and combines over this range: (1) unprecedented sensitivity levels; (2) subarcsecond angular resolution; (3) freedom from atmospheric interference; (4) the inherent stability of observing...... in space; and (5) a suite of versatile capabilities including imaging, low- and medium-resolution spectroscopy (with an integral field unit), and coronagraphy. We illustrate the potential uses of this unique combination of capabilities with various science examples: (1) imaging exoplanets; (2) transit...

  4. Multi-PMT optical module for the KM3NeT neutrino telescope

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kavatsyuk, O.; Dorosti-Hasankiadeh, Q.; Löhner, H.

    2012-01-01

    The future cubic kilometre scale neutrino telescope KM3NeT will employ a novel type of a Digital Optical Module (DOM), developed during the recent FP6 Design Study. A pressure-resistant glass sphere hosts 31 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) of 3-in, diameter, together with all the electronics for

  5. NIRSpec optics development: final report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geyl, R.; Ruch, E.; Vayssade, H.; Leplan, H.; Rodolfo, J.

    2017-11-01

    As shown and discussed on a Sagem poster presented at the ICSO 2010 conference [1], scientific or commercial earth observation space instruments are more and more taking advantage of the remarkable properties of Silicon Carbide in term of hardness, stiffness and thermal stability combined with a reasonable density which are indeed of primary importance for all space applications. Sagem-REOSC High Performance Optics Unit works on the polishing, coating and integration technologies of SiC mirrors since more than ten year through various successful space programs for various customers: INSAT 3D scan mirror, ROCSAT II and SPIRALE main telescopes, GAIA large primary mirrors and Auto-collimation flats, …). This paper aims to provide to the international space community an exhaustive vision of the work performed by Sagem-REOSC on the polishing, coating and integration of the three Three Mirror Anastigmats of the NIRSpec spectrographic instrument which is the main ESA contribution to the JWST.

  6. UV--Visible observations with HST in the JWST North Ecliptic Pole Time-Domain Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansen, Rolf A.; Windhorst, Rogier; Grogin, Norman; Koekemoer, Anton; Royle, Patricia; Hathi, Nimish; Jones, Victoria; Cohen, Seth; Ashcraft, Teresa; Willmer, Christopher; Conselice, Christopher; White, Cameron; Frye, Brenda; HST-GO-15278 team; and the Webb Medium Deep Fields IDS GTO team.

    2018-01-01

    We report the first results from a UV–Visible HST imaging survey of the JWST North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) Time-Domain Field (TDF). Using CVZ and near-CVZ opportunities we observed the first two out of nine tiles with WFC3/UVIS in F275W and with ACS/WFC in F435W and F606W. Over the course of the next 13 months, this survey is designed to provide near-contiguous 3-filter coverage of the central r ≤ 5‧ of this new community field for time-domain science with JWST. The JWST NEP TDF is located within JWST's northern Continuous Viewing Zone, will span ~14‧ in diameter (~10‧ with NIRISS coverage), is devoid of sources bright enough to saturate the NIRCam detectors, has low Galactic foreground extinction, and will be roughly circular in shape (initially sampled during Cycle 1 at 4 distinct orientations with JWST/NIRCam — the JWST “windmill”). NIRISS slitless grism spectroscopy will be taken in parallel, overlapping an alternate NIRCam orientation. This is the only region in the sky where JWST can observe a clean extragalactic deep survey field of this size at arbitrary cadence or at arbitrary orientation. This will crucially enable a wide range of new and exciting time-domain science, including high redshift transient searches and monitoring (e.g., SNe), variability studies from Active Galactic Nuclei to brown dwarf atmospheres, as well as proper motions of extreme scattered Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud Objects, and of nearby Galactic brown dwarfs, low-mass stars, and ultracool white dwarfs. Ancillary data across the electromagnetic spectrum will exist for this field when JWST science operations commence in the second half of 2019. This includes deep (mAB ~ 26 mag) wide-field (~23‧×25‧) Ugriz photometry of this field and its surroundings from LBT/LBC and Subaru/HSC, JHK from MMT/MMIRS, VLA 3 GHz and VLBA 4.5 GHz radio observations, and Chandra/ACIS X-ray images. Proposals for (sub)mm observations and spectroscopy to mAB ~ 24 mag are pending.

  7. End-to-End Assessment of a Large Aperture Segmented Ultraviolet Optical Infrared (UVOIR) Telescope Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinberg, Lee; Bolcar, Matt; Liu, Alice; Guyon, Olivier; Stark,Chris; Arenberg, Jon

    2016-01-01

    Key challenges of a future large aperture, segmented Ultraviolet Optical Infrared (UVOIR) Telescope capable of performing a spectroscopic survey of hundreds of Exoplanets will be sufficient stability to achieve 10-10 contrast measurements and sufficient throughput and sensitivity for high yield Exo-Earth spectroscopic detection. Our team has collectively assessed an optimized end to end architecture including a high throughput coronagraph capable of working with a segmented telescope, a cost-effective and heritage based stable segmented telescope, a control architecture that minimizes the amount of new technologies, and an Exo-Earth yield assessment to evaluate potential performance.

  8. Adaptive optics system application for solar telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukin, V. P.; Grigor'ev, V. M.; Antoshkin, L. V.; Botugina, N. N.; Emaleev, O. N.; Konyaev, P. A.; Kovadlo, P. G.; Krivolutskiy, N. P.; Lavrionova, L. N.; Skomorovski, V. I.

    2008-07-01

    The possibility of applying adaptive correction to ground-based solar astronomy is considered. Several experimental systems for image stabilization are described along with the results of their tests. Using our work along several years and world experience in solar adaptive optics (AO) we are assuming to obtain first light to the end of 2008 for the first Russian low order ANGARA solar AO system on the Big Solar Vacuum Telescope (BSVT) with 37 subapertures Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor based of our modified correlation tracker algorithm, DALSTAR video camera, 37 elements deformable bimorph mirror, home made fast tip-tip mirror with separate correlation tracker. Too strong daytime turbulence is on the BSVT site and we are planning to obtain a partial correction for part of Sun surface image.

  9. The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS) Telescope Optical System Designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bugaev, V.; Buckley, J.; Diegel, S.; Falcone, A.; Fegan, S.; Finley, J.; Guarino, V.; Hanna, D.; Kaaret, P.; Konopelko, A.; Krawczynski, H.; Ramsey, B.; Romani, R.; Vassiliev, V.; Weekes, T.

    2008-12-01

    AGIS is a conceptual design for a future ground-based gamma-ray observatory operating in the energy range 25 GeV-100 TeV, which is based on an array of ~20-100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). The desired improvement in sensitivity, angular resolution, and reliability of operation of AGIS imposes demanding technological and cost requirements on the design of the IACTs. We are considering several options for the optical system (OS) of the AGIS telescopes, which include the traditional Davies-Cotton design as well as novel two-mirror design. Emerging mirror production technologies based on replication processes such as cold and hot glass slumping, cured carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and electroforming provide new opportunities for cost-effective solutions for the design of the OS.

  10. The MEarth Project: Status Update and the Commissioning of a Brand New Telescope Array in the Southern Hemisphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Irwin, Jonathan; Charbonneau, David; Newton, Elisabeth R.; Dittmann, Jason

    2014-06-01

    The MEarth Project is an ongoing all-sky survey for Earth-like planets transiting the closest, smallest M dwarfs. MEarth aims to find good targets for atmospheric characterization with JWST and the next generation of enormous ground-based telescopes. MEarth's yearly data releases, containing precise light curves of nearby mid-to-late M dwarfs, provide a unique window into the photometric variability of the stars that will forever be among the most interesting targets in the search for potentially habitable exoplanets. We present a status update on the MEarth Project, including a detailed map of the progress we’ve made so far with 8 telescopes in the Northern hemisphere and promising early results from our new installation of 8 more telescopes in the Southern hemisphere.

  11. Precision Optical Coatings for Large Space Telescope Mirrors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheikh, David

    This proposal “Precision Optical Coatings for Large Space Telescope Mirrors” addresses the need to develop and advance the state-of-the-art in optical coating technology. NASA is considering large monolithic mirrors 1 to 8-meters in diameter for future telescopes such as HabEx and LUVOIR. Improved large area coating processes are needed to meet the future requirements of large astronomical mirrors. In this project, we will demonstrate a broadband reflective coating process for achieving high reflectivity from 90-nm to 2500-nm over a 2.3-meter diameter coating area. The coating process is scalable to larger mirrors, 6+ meters in diameter. We will use a battery-driven coating process to make an aluminum reflector, and a motion-controlled coating technology for depositing protective layers. We will advance the state-of-the-art for coating technology and manufacturing infrastructure, to meet the reflectance and wavefront requirements of both HabEx and LUVOIR. Specifically, we will combine the broadband reflective coating designs and processes developed at GSFC and JPL with large area manufacturing technologies developed at ZeCoat Corporation. Our primary objectives are to: Demonstrate an aluminum coating process to create uniform coatings over large areas with near-theoretical aluminum reflectance Demonstrate a motion-controlled coating process to apply very precise 2-nm to 5- nm thick protective/interference layers to large areas, Demonstrate a broadband coating system (90-nm to 2500-nm) over a 2.3-meter coating area and test it against the current coating specifications for LUVOIR/HabEx. We will perform simulated space-environment testing, and we expect to advance the TRL from 3 to >5 in 3-years.

  12. Hartmann wavefront sensing of the corrective optics for the Hubble Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davila, Pam S.; Eichhorn, William L.; Wilson, Mark E.

    1994-06-01

    There is no doubt that astronomy with the `new, improved' Hubble Space Telescope will significantly advance our knowledge and understanding of the universe for years to come. The Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) was designed to restore the image quality to nearly diffraction limited performance for three of the first generation instruments; the faint object camera, the faint object spectrograph, and the Goddard high resolution spectrograph. Spectacular images have been obtained from the faint object camera after the installation of the corrective optics during the first servicing mission in December of 1993. About 85% of the light in the central core of the corrected image is contained within a circle with a diameter of 0.2 arcsec. This is a vast improvement over the previous 15 to 17% encircled energies obtained before COSTAR. Clearly COSTAR is a success. One reason for the overwhelming success of COSTAR was the ambitious and comprehensive test program conducted by various groups throughout the program. For optical testing of COSTAR on the ground, engineers at Ball Aerospace designed and built the refractive Hubble simulator to produce known amounts of spherical aberration and astigmatism at specific points in the field of view. The design goal for this refractive aberrated simulator (RAS) was to match the aberrations of the Hubble Space Telescope to within (lambda) /20 rms over the field at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. When the COSTAR optics were combined with the RAS optics, the corrected COSTAR output images were produced. These COSTAR images were recorded with a high resolution 1024 by 1024 array CCD camera, the Ball image analyzer (BIA). The image quality criteria used for assessment of COSTAR performance was encircled energy in the COSTAR focal plane. This test with the BIA was very important because it was a direct measurement of the point spread function. But it was difficult with this test to say anything quantitative about the

  13. First-order error budgeting for LUVOIR mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lightsey, Paul A.; Knight, J. Scott; Feinberg, Lee D.; Bolcar, Matthew R.; Shaklan, Stuart B.

    2017-09-01

    Future large astronomical telescopes in space will have architectures that will have complex and demanding requirements to meet the science goals. The Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LUVOIR) mission concept being assessed by the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center is expected to be 9 to 15 meters in diameter, have a segmented primary mirror and be diffraction limited at a wavelength of 500 nanometers. The optical stability is expected to be in the picometer range for minutes to hours. Architecture studies to support the NASA Science and Technology Definition teams (STDTs) are underway to evaluate systems performance improvements to meet the science goals. To help define the technology needs and assess performance, a first order error budget has been developed. Like the JWST error budget, the error budget includes the active, adaptive and passive elements in spatial and temporal domains. JWST performance is scaled using first order approximations where appropriate and includes technical advances in telescope control.

  14. The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Schwarzschild-Couder (SC) Telescope Mechanical and Optical System Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrum, Karen L.; Vassiliev, V.; AGIS Collaboration

    2010-03-01

    AGIS is a concept for the next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory. It will be an array of 36 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) sensitive in the energy range from 50 GeV to 200 TeV. The required improvements in sensitivity, angular resolution, and reliability of operation relative to the present generation instruments imposes demanding technological and cost requirements on the design of AGIS telescopes. In this submission, we outline the status of the development of the optical and mechanical systems for a novel Schwarzschild-Couder two-mirror aplanatic telescope. This design can provide a field of view and angular resolution significantly better to those offered by the traditional Davies-Cotton optics utilized in present-day IACTs. Other benefits of the novel design include isochronous focusing and compatibility with cost-effective, high quantum efficiency image sensors such as multi-anode PMTs, silicon PMTs (SiPMs), or image intensifiers.

  15. Intraocular Telescopic System Design: Optical and Visual Simulation in a Human Eye Model

    OpenAIRE

    Zoulinakis, Georgios; Ferrer-Blasco, Teresa

    2017-01-01

    Purpose. To design an intraocular telescopic system (ITS) for magnifying retinal image and to simulate its optical and visual performance after implantation in a human eye model. Methods. Design and simulation were carried out with a ray-tracing and optical design software. Two different ITS were designed, and their visual performance was simulated using the Liou-Brennan eye model. The difference between the ITS was their lenses’ placement in the eye model and their powers. Ray tracing in bot...

  16. Science Programs for a 2-m Class Telescope at Dome C, Antarctica: PILOT, the Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, M. G.; Lawrence, J. S.; Ashley, M. C. B.; Bailey, J. A.; Blake, C.; Bedding, T. R.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Bond, I. A.; Glazebrook, K.; Hidas, M. G.; Lewis, G.; Longmore, S. N.; Maddison, S. T.; Mattila, S.; Minier, V.; Ryder, S. D.; Sharp, R.; Smith, C. H.; Storey, J. W. V.; Tinney, C. G.; Tuthill, P.; Walsh, A. J.; Walsh, W.; Whiting, M.; Wong, T.; Woods, D.; Yock, P. C. M.

    2005-08-01

    The cold, dry, and stable air above the summits of the Antarctic plateau provides the best ground-based observing conditions from optical to sub-millimetre wavelengths to be found on the Earth. Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope (PILOT) is a proposed 2m telescope, to be built at Dome C in Antarctica, able to exploit these conditions for conducting astronomy at optical and infrared wavelengths. While PILOT is intended as a pathfinder towards the construction of future grand-design facilities, it will also be able to undertake a range of fundamental science investigations in its own right. This paper provides the performance specifications for PILOT, including its instrumentation. It then describes the kinds of projects that it could best conduct. These range from planetary science to the search for other solar systems, from star formation within the Galaxy to the star formation history of the Universe, and from gravitational lensing caused by exo-planets to that produced by the cosmic web of dark matter. PILOT would be particularly powerful for wide-field imaging at infrared wavelengths, achieving near diffraction-limited performance with simple tip-tilt wavefront correction. PILOT would also be capable of near diffraction-limited performance in the optical wavebands, as well be able to open new wavebands for regular ground-based observation, in the mid-IR from 17 to 40μm and in the sub-millimetre at 200μm.

  17. Preservation of Thermal Control Specular Gold Baffle Surface on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) Electronics Compartment (IEC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    MonteedeGarcia, Kristina; Patel, Jignasha; Perry, Radford, III

    2010-01-01

    Extremely tight thermal control property degradation allowances on the vapor-deposited, gold-coated IEC baffle surface, made necessary by the cryogenic JWST Observatory operations, dictate tight contamination requirements on adjacent surfaces. Theoretical degradation in emittance with contaminant thickness was calculated. Maximum allowable source outgassing rates were calculated using worst case view factors from source to baffle surface. Tight requirements pushed the team to change the design of the adjacent surfaces to minimize the outgassing sources

  18. The Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope, II: Design and Build

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wright, G. S.; Wright, David; Goodson, G. B.

    2015-01-01

    The Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) provides measurements over the wavelength range 5 to 28: 5 µm. MIRI has, within a single "package," four key scientific functions: photometric imaging, coronagraphy, single-source low-spectral resolving power (R similar...... in terms of the "as-built" instrument. It also describes the test program that led to delivery of the tested and calibrated Flight Model to NASA in 2012, and the confirmation after delivery of the key interface requirements....

  19. Lessons Learned During Cryogenic Optical Testing of the Advanced Mirror System Demonstrators (AMSDs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadaway, James; Reardon, Patrick; Geary, Joseph; Robinson, Brian; Stahl, Philip; Eng, Ron; Kegley, Jeff

    2004-01-01

    Optical testing in a cryogenic environment presents a host of challenges above and beyond those encountered during room temperature testing. The Advanced Mirror System Demonstrators (AMSDs) are 1.4 m diameter, ultra light-weight (mA2), off-axis parabolic segments. They are required to have 250 nm PV & 50 nm RMS surface figure error or less at 35 K. An optical testing system, consisting of an Instantaneous Phase Interferometer (PI), a diffractive null corrector (DNC), and an Absolute Distance Meter (ADM), was used to measure the surface figure & radius-of-curvature of these mirrors at the operational temperature within the X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The Ah4SD program was designed to improve the technology related to the design, fabrication, & testing of such mirrors in support of NASA s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This paper will describe the lessons learned during preparation & cryogenic testing of the AMSDs.

  20. Time-resolved Polarimetry of the Superluminous SN 2015bn with the Nordic Optical Telescope

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leloudas, Giorgos; Maund, Justyn R.; Gal-Yam, Avishay

    2017-01-01

    We present imaging polarimetry of the superluminous supernova SN 2015bn, obtained over nine epochs between -20 and +46 days with the Nordic Optical Telescope. This was a nearby, slowly evolving Type I superluminous supernova that has been studied extensively and for which two epochs of spectropol......We present imaging polarimetry of the superluminous supernova SN 2015bn, obtained over nine epochs between -20 and +46 days with the Nordic Optical Telescope. This was a nearby, slowly evolving Type I superluminous supernova that has been studied extensively and for which two epochs...... of spectropolarimetry are also available. Based on field stars, we determine the interstellar polarization in the Galaxy to be negligible. The polarization of SN 2015bn shows a statistically significant increase during the last epochs, confirming previous findings. Our well-sampled imaging polarimetry series allows us...

  1. The Infrared-Optical Telescope (IRT) of the Exist Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutyrev, Alexander; Bloom, Joshua; Gehrels, Neil; Golisano, Craig; Gong, Quan; Grindlay, Jonathan; Moseley, Samuel; Woodgate, Bruce

    2010-01-01

    The IRT is a 1.1m visible and infrared passively cooled telescope, which can locate, identify and obtain spectra of GRB afterglows at redshifts up to z 20. It will also acquire optical-IR, imaging and spectroscopy of AGN and transients discovered by the EXIST (The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope). The IRT imaging and spectroscopic capabilities cover a broad spectral range from 0.32.2m in four bands. The identical fields of view in the four instrument bands are each split in three subfields: imaging, objective prism slitless for the field and objective prism single object slit low resolution spectroscopy, and high resolution long slit on single object. This allows the instrument, to do simultaneous broadband photometry or spectroscopy of the same object over the full spectral range, thus greatly improving the efficiency of the observatory and its detection limits. A prompt follow up (within three minutes) of the transient discovered by the EXIST makes IRT a unique tool for detection and study of these events, which is particularly valuable at wavelengths unavailable to the ground based observatories.

  2. Lessons from Coronagraphic Imaging with HST that may apply to JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grady, C. A.; Hines, Dean C.; Schneider, Glenn; McElwain, Michael W.

    2017-06-01

    One of the major capabilities offered by JWST is coronagraphic imaging from space, covering the near through mid-IR and optimized for study of planet formation and the evolution of planetary systems. Planning for JWST has resulted in expectations for instrument performance, observation strategies and data reduction approaches. HST with 20 years of coronagraphic imaging offers some experience which may be useful to those planning for JWST. 1) Real astronomical sources do not necessarily conform to expectations. Debris disks may be accompanied by more distant material, and some systems may be conspicuous in scattered light when offering only modest IR excesses. Proto-planetary disks are not constantly illuminated, and thus a single epoch observation of the source may not be sufficient to reveal everything about it. 2) The early expectation with NICMOS was that shallow, 2-roll observations would reveal a wealth of debris disks imaged in scattered light, and that only a limited set of PSF observations would be required. Instead, building up a library of spatially resolved disks in scattered light has proven to require alternate observing strategies, is still on-going, and has taken far longer than expected. 3) A wealth of coronagraphic options with an instrument may not be scientifically informative, unless there is a similar time investment in acquisition of calibration data in support of the science observations. 4) Finally, no one anticipated what can be gleaned from coronagraphic imaging. We should expect similar, unexpected, and ultimately revolutionary discoveries with JWST.

  3. Liverpool Telescope and Liverpool Telescope 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Copperwheat, C. M.; Steele, I. A.; Barnsley, R. M.; Bates, S. D.; Clay, N. R.; Jermak, H.; Marchant, J. M.; Mottram, C. J.; Piascik, A.; Smith, R. J.

    2016-12-01

    The Liverpool Telescope is a fully robotic optical/near-infrared telescope with a 2-metre clear aperture, located at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on the Canary Island of La Palma. The telescope is owned and operated by Liverpool John Moores University, with financial support from the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council. The telescope began routine science operations in 2004 and is a common-user facility with time available through a variety of committees via an open, peer reviewed process. Seven simultaneously mounted instruments support a broad science programme, with a focus on transient follow-up and other time domain topics well suited to the characteristics of robotic observing. Development has also begun on a successor facility, with the working title `Liverpool Telescope 2', to capitalise on the new era of time domain astronomy which will be brought about by the next generation of survey facilities such as LSST. The fully robotic Liverpool Telescope 2 will have a 4-metre aperture and an improved response time. In this paper we provide an overview of the current status of both facilities.

  4. History of optical theory of reflecting telescopes and implications for future projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Raymond N.

    1997-03-01

    This contribution, The History of Optical Theory of Reflecting Telescopes and Implications for Future Projects, is a shortened form of the Karl Schwarzschild lecture given in Bochum in September 1993. Some material has been added from an invited paper given in Padua in December 1992. For a full account, with figures and tables, the reader is referred to these two papers.

  5. Observatories and Telescopes of Modern Times

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leverington, David

    2016-11-01

    Preface; Part I. Optical Observatories: 1. Palomar Mountain Observatory; 2. The United States Optical Observatory; 3. From the Next Generation Telescope to Gemini and SOAR; 4. Competing primary mirror designs; 5. Active optics, adaptive optics and other technical innovations; 6. European Northern Observatory and Calar Alto; 7. European Southern Observatory; 8. Mauna Kea Observatory; 9. Australian optical observatories; 10. Mount Hopkins' Whipple Observatory and the MMT; 11. Apache Point Observatory; 12. Carnegie Southern Observatory (Las Campanas); 13. Mount Graham International Optical Observatory; 14. Modern optical interferometers; 15. Solar observatories; Part II. Radio Observatories: 16. Australian radio observatories; 17. Cambridge Mullard Radio Observatory; 18. Jodrell Bank; 19. Early radio observatories away from the Australian-British axis; 20. The American National Radio Astronomy Observatory; 21. Owens Valley and Mauna Kea; 22. Further North and Central American observatories; 23. Further European and Asian radio observatories; 24. ALMA and the South Pole; Name index; Optical observatory and telescope index; Radio observatory and telescope index; General index.

  6. Building the Hubble Space Telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'dell, C.R.

    1989-01-01

    The development of the design for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is discussed. The HST optical system is described and illustrated. The financial and policy issues related to the development of the HST are considered. The actual construction of the HST optical telescope is examined. Also, consideration is given to the plans for the HST launch

  7. Estimating the mirror seeing for a large optical telescope with a numerical method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, En-Peng; Cui, Xiang-Qun; Li, Guo-Ping; Zhang, Yong; Shi, Jian-Rong; Zhao, Yong-Heng

    2018-05-01

    It is widely accepted that mirror seeing is caused by turbulent fluctuations in the index of air refraction in the vicinity of a telescope mirror. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a useful tool to evaluate the effects of mirror seeing. In this paper, we present a numerical method to estimate the mirror seeing for a large optical telescope (∼ 4 m) in cases of natural convection with the ANSYS ICEPAK software. We get the FWHM of the image for different inclination angles (i) of the mirror and different temperature differences (ΔT) between the mirror and ambient air. Our results show that the mirror seeing depends very weakly on i, which agrees with observational data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. The numerical model can be used to estimate mirror seeing in the case of natural convection although with some limitations. We can determine ΔT for thermal control of the primary mirror according to the simulation, empirical data and site seeing.

  8. Optical Property Retention Methods for the T-170M Space Telescope Mirrors Surface in the Project «Spektr-UF» at the Preflight Preparation Stage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F L. Chubarov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Astrophysical observations in the ultraviolet band have many advantages. At present, the «Spektr-UF» project is under implementation to create a large space observatory for operation in the ultraviolet spectrum.Requirements for the ultraviolet telescope optics quality are extremely high. Therefore, both to manufacture such a large space telescope as the T-170M and to transport it to the launch complex are rather difficult challenges in terms of technology.When manufacturing optical elements of the telescope T-170M, a combination of Al+MgF2 coatings has been preferred. At the same time, atmospheric oxygen penetrates through the pores in the magnesium fluoride, thereby forming a Al2O3 oxide layer on the sputtered aluminum, which significantly degrades the UV reflectivity of the mirror surface. It is also necessary to fulfill the requirements for surface cleanliness of optical system elements of the telescope during the finished product transportation and its storage and to provide for the autonomous operation of the system that maintains atmosphere control.To solve the set tasks:1    a dust-proof-and-moisture-proof sheath (DPAMPS was designed to prevent the optical system mirror surfaces of the telescope from coming in contact with atmosphere;2    to provide a controlled atmosphere inside the DPAMPS the need is justified to blow gaseous nitrogen of special purity (grade 1 in accordance with GOST 9293-74 with a dew point temperature of -50°С, at most, inside the telescope; calculations have proved that charging with the super-atmospheric pressure of 10 kPa provides the optimal conditions for maintaining the optical properties of the space telescope mirrors surface, and also minimizes the loads on the easily damaging elements of the telescope;3    to ensure the required cleanliness of the optical system elements surfaces of the telescope inside the DPAMPS, a class of purity Class 7 ISO, at worst, is established in accordance with GOST

  9. Cryogenic Pupil Alignment Test Architecture for Aberrated Pupil Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, Brent; Kubalak, David A.; Antonille, Scott; Ohl, Raymond; Hagopian, John G.

    2009-01-01

    A document describes cryogenic test architecture for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) integrated science instrument module (ISIM). The ISIM element primarily consists of a mechanical metering structure, three science instruments, and a fine guidance sensor. One of the critical optomechanical alignments is the co-registration of the optical telescope element (OTE) exit pupil with the entrance pupils of the ISIM instruments. The test architecture has been developed to verify that the ISIM element will be properly aligned with the nominal OTE exit pupil when the two elements come together. The architecture measures three of the most critical pupil degrees-of-freedom during optical testing of the ISIM element. The pupil measurement scheme makes use of specularly reflective pupil alignment references located inside the JWST instruments, ground support equipment that contains a pupil imaging module, an OTE simulator, and pupil viewing channels in two of the JWST flight instruments. Pupil alignment references (PARs) are introduced into the instrument, and their reflections are checked using the instrument's mirrors. After the pupil imaging module (PIM) captures a reflected PAR image, the image will be analyzed to determine the relative alignment offset. The instrument pupil alignment preferences are specularly reflective mirrors with non-reflective fiducials, which makes the test architecture feasible. The instrument channels have fairly large fields of view, allowing PAR tip/tilt tolerances on the order of 0.5deg.

  10. Optics of Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII): Delay Lines and Alignment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhabal, Arnab; Rinehart, Stephen A.; Rizzo, Maxime J.; Mundy, Lee; Fixsen, Dale; Sampler, Henry; Mentzell, Eric; Veach, Todd; Silverberg, Robert F.; Furst, Stephen; hide

    2016-01-01

    We present the optics of Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII) as it gets ready for launch. BETTII is an 8-meter baseline far-infrared (30-90 microns) interferometer mission with capabilities of spatially resolved spectroscopy aimed at studying star formation and galaxy evolution. The instrument collects light from its two arms, makes them interfere, divides them into two science channels (30-50 microns and 60-90 microns), and focuses them onto the detectors. It also separates out the NIR light (1-2.5 microns) and uses it for tip-tilt corrections of the telescope pointing. Currently, all the optical elements have been fabricated, heat treated, coated appropriately and are mounted on their respective assemblies. We are presenting the optical design challenges for such a balloon borne spatio-spectral interferometer, and discuss how they have been mitigated. The warm and cold delay lines are an important part of this optics train. The warm delay line corrects for path length differences between the left and the right arm due to balloon pendulation, while the cold delay line is aimed at introducing a systematic path length difference, thereby generating our interferograms from where we can derive information about the spectra. The details of their design and the results of the testing of these opto-mechanical parts are also discussed. The sensitivities of different optical elements on the interferograms produced have been determined with the help of simulations using FRED software package. Accordingly, an alignment plan is drawn up which makes use of a laser tracker, a CMM, theodolites and a LUPI interferometer.

  11. Extending Supernova Spectral Templates for Next Generation Space Telescope Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts-Pierel, Justin; Rodney, Steven A.; Steven Rodney

    2018-01-01

    Widely used empirical supernova (SN) Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) have not historically extended meaningfully into the ultraviolet (UV), or the infrared (IR). However, both are critical for current and future aspects of SN research including UV spectra as probes of poorly understood SN Ia physical properties, and expanding our view of the universe with high-redshift James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) IR observations. We therefore present a comprehensive set of SN SED templates that have been extended into the UV and IR, as well as an open-source software package written in Python that enables a user to generate their own extrapolated SEDs. We have taken a sampling of core-collapse (CC) and Type Ia SNe to get a time-dependent distribution of UV and IR colors (U-B,r’-[JHK]), and then generated color curves are used to extrapolate SEDs into the UV and IR. The SED extrapolation process is now easily duplicated using a user’s own data and parameters via our open-source Python package: SNSEDextend. This work develops the tools necessary to explore the JWST’s ability to discriminate between CC and Type Ia SNe, as well as provides a repository of SN SEDs that will be invaluable to future JWST and WFIRST SN studies.

  12. Opto-mechanical design and gravity-deformation analysis on optical telescope in laser communication system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Sen; Du, Jindan; Song, Yiwei; Gao, Tianyu; Zhang, Daqing; Wang, Yongzhi

    2017-11-01

    In space laser communication, optical antennas are one of the main components and the precision of optical antennas is very high. In this paper, it is based on the R-C telescope and it is carried out that the design and simulation of optical lens and supporting truss, according to the parameters of the systems. And a finite element method (FEM) was used to analyze the deformation of the optical lens. Finally, the Zernike polynomial was introduced to fit the primary mirror with a diameter of 250mm. The objective of this study is to determine whether the wave-front aberration of the primary mirror can meet the imaging quality. The results show that the deterioration of the imaging quality caused by the gravity deformation of primary and secondary mirrors. At the same time, the optical deviation of optical antenna increase with the diameter of the pupil.

  13. Infrared up-conversion telescope

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2014-01-01

    There is presented to an up-conversion infrared telescope (110) arranged for imaging an associated scene (130), wherein the up-conversion infrared telescope (110) comprises a non-linear crystal (120) arranged for up-conversion of infrared electromagnetic radiation, and wherein a first optical...

  14. Scientific Performance Analysis of the SYZ Telescope Design versus the RC Telescope Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Donglin; Cai, Zheng

    2018-02-01

    Recently, Su et al. propose an innovative design, referred as the “SYZ” design, for China’s new project of a 12 m optical-infrared telescope. The SYZ telescope design consists of three aspheric mirrors with non-zero power, including a relay mirror below the primary mirror. SYZ design yields a good imaging quality and has a relatively flat field curvature at Nasmyth focus. To evaluate the science-compatibility of this three-mirror telescope, in this paper, we thoroughly compare the performance of SYZ design with that of Ritchey–Chrétien (RC) design, a conventional two-mirror telescope design. Further, we propose the Observing Information Throughput (OIT) as a metric for quantitatively evaluating the telescopes’ science performance. We find that although a SYZ telescope yields a superb imaging quality over a large field of view, a two-mirror (RC) telescope design holds a higher overall throughput, a better diffraction-limited imaging quality in the central field of view (FOV < 5‧) which is better for the performance of extreme Adaptive Optics (AO), and a generally better scientific performance with a higher OIT value. D. Ma & Z. Cai contributed equally to this paper.

  15. End-to-End Assessment of a Large Aperture Segmented Ultraviolet Optical Infrared (UVOIR) Telescope Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinberg, Lee; Rioux, Norman; Bolcar, Matthew; Liu, Alice; Guyon, Oliver; Stark, Chris; Arenberg, Jon

    2016-01-01

    Key challenges of a future large aperture, segmented Ultraviolet Optical Infrared (UVOIR) Telescope capable of performing a spectroscopic survey of hundreds of Exoplanets will be sufficient stability to achieve 10^-10 contrast measurements and sufficient throughput and sensitivity for high yield Exo-Earth spectroscopic detection. Our team has collectively assessed an optimized end to end architecture including a high throughput coronagraph capable of working with a segmented telescope, a cost-effective and heritage based stable segmented telescope, a control architecture that minimizes the amount of new technologies, and an Exo-Earth yield assessment to evaluate potential performance. These efforts are combined through integrated modeling, coronagraph evaluations, and Exo-Earth yield calculations to assess the potential performance of the selected architecture. In addition, we discusses the scalability of this architecture to larger apertures and the technological tall poles to enabling it.

  16. Normalized Point Source Sensitivity for Off-Axis Optical Performance Evaluation of the Thirty Meter Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Byoung-Joon; Nissly, Carl; Troy, Mitchell; Angeli, George

    2010-01-01

    The Normalized Point Source Sensitivity (PSSN) has previously been defined and analyzed as an On-Axis seeing-limited telescope performance metric. In this paper, we expand the scope of the PSSN definition to include Off-Axis field of view (FoV) points and apply this generalized metric for performance evaluation of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). We first propose various possible choices for the PSSN definition and select one as our baseline. We show that our baseline metric has useful properties including the multiplicative feature even when considering Off-Axis FoV points, which has proven to be useful for optimizing the telescope error budget. Various TMT optical errors are considered for the performance evaluation including segment alignment and phasing, segment surface figures, temperature, and gravity, whose On-Axis PSSN values have previously been published by our group.

  17. Simulated JWST/NIRISS Transit Spectroscopy of Anticipated Tess Planets Compared to Select Discoveries from Space-based and Ground-based Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louie, Dana R.; Deming, Drake; Albert, Loic; Bouma, L. G.; Bean, Jacob; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes

    2018-04-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will embark in 2018 on a 2 year wide-field survey mission, discovering over a thousand terrestrial, super-Earth and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets ({R}pl}≤slant 4 {R}\\oplus ) potentially suitable for follow-up observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This work aims to understand the suitability of anticipated TESS planet discoveries for atmospheric characterization by JWST’s Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) by employing a simulation tool to estimate the signal-to-noise (S/N) achievable in transmission spectroscopy. We applied this tool to Monte Carlo predictions of the TESS expected planet yield and then compared the S/N for anticipated TESS discoveries to our estimates of S/N for 18 known exoplanets. We analyzed the sensitivity of our results to planetary composition, cloud cover, and presence of an observational noise floor. We find that several hundred anticipated TESS discoveries with radii 1.5 {R}\\oplus R}pl}≤slant 2.5 {R}\\oplus will produce S/N higher than currently known exoplanets in this radius regime, such as K2-3b or K2-3c. In the terrestrial planet regime, we find that only a few anticipated TESS discoveries will result in higher S/N than currently known exoplanets, such as the TRAPPIST-1 planets, GJ1132b, and LHS1140b. However, we emphasize that this outcome is based upon Kepler-derived occurrence rates, and that co-planar compact multi-planet systems (e.g., TRAPPIST-1) may be under-represented in the predicted TESS planet yield. Finally, we apply our calculations to estimate the required magnitude of a JWST follow-up program devoted to mapping the transition region between hydrogen-dominated and high molecular weight atmospheres. We find that a modest observing program of between 60 and 100 hr of charged JWST time can define the nature of that transition (e.g., step function versus a power law).

  18. The South Pole Telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruhl, J.E.; Ade, P.A.R.; Carlstrom, J.E.; Cho, H.M.; Crawford,T.; Dobbs, M.; Greer, C.H.; Halverson, N.W.; Holzapfel, W.L.; Lanting,T.M.; Lee, A.T.; Leitch, E.M.; Leong, J.; Lu, W.; Lueker, M.; Mehl, J.; Meyer, S.S.; Mohr, J.J.; Padin, S.; Plagge, T.; Pryke, C.; Runyan, M.C.; Schwan, D.; Sharp, M.K.; Spieler, H.; Staniszewski, Z.; Stark, A.A.

    2004-11-04

    A new 10 meter diameter telescope is being constructed for deployment at the NSF South Pole research station. The telescope is designed for conducting large-area millimeter and sub-millimeter wave surveys of faint, low contrast emission, as required to map primary and secondary anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. To achieve the required sensitivity and resolution, the telescope design employs an off-axis primary with a 10 m diameter clear aperture. The full aperture and the associated optics will have a combined surface accuracy of better than 20 microns rms to allow precision operation in the submillimeter atmospheric windows. The telescope will be surrounded with a large reflecting ground screen to reduce sensitivity to thermal emission from the ground and local interference. The optics of the telescope will support a square degree field of view at 2mm wavelength and will feed a new 1000-element micro-lithographed planar bolometric array with superconducting transition-edge sensors and frequency-multiplexed readouts. The first key project will be to conduct a survey over 4000 degrees for galaxy clusters using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect. This survey should find many thousands of clusters with a mass selection criteria that is remarkably uniform with redshift. Armed with redshifts obtained from optical and infrared follow-up observations, it is expected that the survey will enable significant constraints to be placed on the equation of state of the dark energy.

  19. SCIENTIFIC EFFICIENCY OF GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abt, Helmut A.

    2012-01-01

    I scanned the six major astronomical journals of 2008 for all 1589 papers that are based on new data obtained from ground-based optical/IR telescopes worldwide. Then I collected data on numbers of papers, citations to them in 3+ years, the most-cited papers, and annual operating costs. These data are assigned to four groups by telescope aperture. For instance, while the papers from telescopes with an aperture >7 m average 1.29 more citations than those with an aperture of 2 to 7 m) telescopes. I wonder why the large telescopes do so relatively poorly and suggest possible reasons. I also found that papers based on archival data, such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, produce 10.6% as many papers and 20.6% as many citations as those based on new data. Also, the 577.2 papers based on radio data produced 36.3% as many papers and 33.6% as many citations as the 1589 papers based on optical/IR telescopes.

  20. Telescope Construction: A Hands-On Approach to Astronomy Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarrazine, Angela R.; Albin, E.

    2009-01-01

    We report on a popular semester-long telescope making course offered at Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta, GA. The program is tailored for junior / senior level high school students and incorporates the current educational performance standards for the state of Georgia. This course steps out of the traditional classroom environment and allows students to explore optics and astronomical concepts by constructing their own telescopes. Student telescopes follow the classic six-inch f/8 Newtonian reflector design, which has proven to be a good compromise between portability and aperture. Participants meet for a few hours, twice weekly, to build their telescopes. Over the course of the semester, raw one-inch thick Pyrex mirror blanks are ground, polished, and figured by hand into precision telescope objectives. Along the way, students are introduced to the Ronchi and Foucault methods for testing optics and once figured, completed mirrors are then chemically silvered. A plywood Dobsonian-style base is built and eventually mated with an optical tube made from a standard eight-inch concrete form tube or sonotube. An evening of star testing the optics and observation is planned at the end of the semester to insure the proper operation of each telescope. In summary, we believe that a hands-on approach to the understanding and use of optical telescopes is a great way not only to instill enthusiasm among students for the night sky, but may perhaps inspire the next generation of professional telescope makers.

  1. Evolving Design Criteria for Very Large Aperture Space-Based Telescopes and Their Influence on the Need for Integrated Tools in the Optimization Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, William R., Sr.

    2015-01-01

    NASA's Advanced Mirror Technology Development (AMTD) program has been developing the means to design and build the future generations of space based telescopes. With the nearing completion of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astrophysics community is already starting to define the requirements for follow on observatories. The restrictions of available launch vehicles and the possibilities of planned future vehicles have fueled the competition between monolithic primaries (with better optical quality) and segmented primaries (with larger apertures, but with diffraction, costs and figure control issues). Regardless of the current shroud sizes and lift capacities, these competing architectures share the need for rapid design tools. As part of the AMTD program a number of tools have been developed and tested to speed up the design process. Starting with the Arnold Mirror Modeler (which creates Finite Element Models (FEM) for structural analysis) and now also feeds these models into thermal stability analyses. They share common file formats and interchangeable results. During the development of the program, numerous trade studies were created for 4 meter and 8 meter monolithic primaries, complete with support systems. Evaluation of these results has led to a better understanding of how the specification drives the results. This paper will show some of the early trade studies for typical specification requirements such as lowest mirror bending frequency and suspension system lowest frequency. The results use representative allowable stress values for each mirror substrate material and construction method and generic material properties. These studies lead to some interesting relationships between feasible designs and the realities of actually trying to build these mirrors. Much of the traditional specifications were developed for much smaller systems, where the mass and volume of the primary where a small portion of the overall satellite. JWST shows us that as

  2. Probing the Diffuse Optical-IR Background with TeV Blazars Detected with the MAGIC Telescopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prandini, Elisa [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, University of Padova, Padua (Italy); Domínguez, Alberto [Departamento de Física Atómica, Universidad Complutense, Madrid (Spain); Fallah Ramazani, Vandad [Tuorla observatory, University of Turku, Turku (Finland); Hassan, Tarek [IFAE, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Bellaterra (Spain); Mazin, Daniel [Max Planck Institute for Physics, Munich (Germany); Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Moralejo, Abelardo [IFAE, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Bellaterra (Spain); Nievas Rosillo, Mireia [Departamento de Física Atómica, Universidad Complutense, Madrid (Spain); Vanzo, Gaia; Vazquez Acosta, Monica, E-mail: prandini@pd.infn.it [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Tenerife (Spain); Departamento de Astrofisica, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)

    2017-11-22

    Blazars are radio loud quasars whose jet points toward the observer. The observed emission is mostly non-thermal, dominated by the jet emission, and in some cases extends up to the very high energy gamma rays (VHE; E > 100 GeV). To date, more than 60 blazars have been detected at VHE mainly with ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) such as MAGIC, H.E.S.S., and VERITAS. Energetic photons from a blazar may interact with the diffuse optical and IR background (the extragalactic background light, EBL) leaving an imprint on the blazar energy spectrum. This effect can be used to constrain the EBL, with basic assumptions on the intrinsic energy spectrum. Current generation of IACTs is providing valuable measurements of the EBL density and energy spectrum from optical to infrared frequencies. In this contribution, we present the latest results obtained with the data taken with the MAGIC telescopes: using 32 spectra from 12 blazars, the scale factor of the optical density predicted by the EBL model from Domínguez et al. (2011) is constrained to be 0.95 (+0.11, −0.12){sub stat} (+0.16, −0.07){sub sys}, where a value of 1 means the perfect match with the model.

  3. Probing the Diffuse Optical-IR Background with TeV Blazars Detected with the MAGIC Telescopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa Prandini

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Blazars are radio loud quasars whose jet points toward the observer. The observed emission is mostly non-thermal, dominated by the jet emission, and in some cases extends up to the very high energy gamma rays (VHE; E > 100 GeV. To date, more than 60 blazars have been detected at VHE mainly with ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs such as MAGIC, H.E.S.S., and VERITAS. Energetic photons from a blazar may interact with the diffuse optical and IR background (the extragalactic background light, EBL leaving an imprint on the blazar energy spectrum. This effect can be used to constrain the EBL, with basic assumptions on the intrinsic energy spectrum. Current generation of IACTs is providing valuable measurements of the EBL density and energy spectrum from optical to infrared frequencies. In this contribution, we present the latest results obtained with the data taken with the MAGIC telescopes: using 32 spectra from 12 blazars, the scale factor of the optical density predicted by the EBL model from Domínguez et al. (2011 is constrained to be 0.95 (+0.11, −0.12stat (+0.16, −0.07sys, where a value of 1 means the perfect match with the model.

  4. Spectroscopic Classification of Nine Optical Transients with the 2.5-m du Pont Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bose, Subhash; Holoien, Tom; Prieto, Jose L.; Dong, Subo; Chen, P.; Stanek, K. Z.

    2018-04-01

    We report spectroscopic observations and classifications of optical transients using the du Pont 2.5-m telescope (+ WFCCD) at Las Campanas Observatory. Targets were discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN, Shappee et al. 2014) (ATel #11391, ATel #11343, ATel #11459), Gaia Alerts (http://gsaweb.ast.cam.ac.uk/alerts/alertsindex) and A. Rest et al. (for 2018agk).

  5. Performance Improvement of Near Earth Space Survey (NESS Wide-Field Telescope (NESS-2 Optics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Yeol Yu

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available We modified the optical system of 500 mm wide-field telescope of which point spread function showed an irregularity. The telescope has been operated for Near Earth Space Survey (NESS located at Siding Spring Observatory (SSO in Australia, and the optical system was brought back to Korea in January 2008. After performing a numerical simulation with the tested value of surface figure error of the primary mirror using optical design program, we found that the surface figure error of the mirror should be fabricated less than root mean square (RMS λ/10 in order to obtain a stellar full width at half maximum (FWHM below 28 μm. However, we started to figure the mirror for the target value of RMS λ/20, because system surface figure error would be increased by the error induced by the optical axis adjustment, mirror cell installation, and others. The radius of curvature of the primary mirror was 1,946 mm after the correction. Its measured surface figure error was less than RMS λ/20 on the table of polishing machine, and RMS λ/15 after installation in the primary mirror cell. A test observation performed at Daeduk Observatory at Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute by utilizing the exiting mount, and resulted in 39.8 μm of stellar FWHM. It was larger than the value from numerical simulation, and showed wing-shaped stellar image. It turned out that the measured-curvature of the secondary mirror, 1,820 mm, was not the same as the designed one, 1,795.977 mm. We fabricated the secondary mirror to the designed value, and finally obtained a stellar FWHM of 27 μm after re-installation of the optical system into SSO NESS Observatory in Australia.

  6. First-light instrument for the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope: 4Kx4K CCD Imager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, Shashi Bhushan; Yadav, Rama Kant Singh; Nanjappa, Nandish; Yadav, Shobhit; Reddy, Bheemireddy Krishna; Sahu, Sanjit; Srinivasan, Ramaiyengar

    2018-04-01

    As a part of in-house instrument developmental activity at ARIES, the 4Kx4K CCD Imager is designed and developed as a first-light instrument for the axial port of the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT). The f/9 beam of the telescope having a plate-scale of 6.4"/mm is utilized to conduct deeper photom-etry within the central 10' field of view. The pixel size of the blue-enhanced liquid nitrogen cooled STA4150 4Kx4K CCD chip is 15 μm, with options to select gain and speed values to utilize the dynamic range. Using the Imager, it is planned to image the central 6.5'x6.5' field of view of the telescope for various science goals by getting deeper images in several broad-band filters for point sources and objects with low surface brightness. The fully assembled Imager along with automated filter wheels having Bessel UBV RI and SDSS ugriz filters was tested in late 2015 at the axial port of the 3.6-m DOT. This instrument was finally mounted at the axial port of the 3.6-m DOT on 30 March 2016 when the telescope was technically activated jointly by the Prime Ministers of India and Belgium. It is expected to serve as a general purpose multi-band deep imaging instrument for a variety of science goals including studies of cosmic transients, active galaxies, star clusters and optical monitoring of X-ray sources discovered by the newly launched Indian space-mission called ASTROSAT, and follow-up of radio bright objects discovered by the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope.

  7. Optical telescopes for COMPASS RICH1 up-grade

    CERN Document Server

    Sulc, M; Alekseev, M; Angerer, H; Appolonio, M; Birsa, R; Bordalo, P; Bradamante, F; Bressan, A; Busso, L; Chiosso, V M; Ciliberti, P; Colantoni, M L; Costa, S; Dibiase, N; Dafni, T; Dalla Torre, S; Diaz, V; Duic, V; Delagnes, E; Deschamps, H; Eyrich, W; Faso, D; Ferrero, A; Finger, M; Finger, M Jr; Fischer, H; Gerassimov, S; Giorgi, M; Gobbo, B; Hagemann, R; von Harrach, D; Heinsius, F H; Joosten, R; Ketzer, B; Königsmann, K; Kolosov, V N; Konorov, I; Kramer, D; Kunne, F; Levorato, S; Maggiora, A; Magnon, A; Mann, A; Martin, A; Menon, G; Mutter, A; Nähle, O; Neyret, D; Nerling, F; Pagano, P; Paul, S; Panebianco, S; Panzieri, D; Pesaro, G; Pizzolotto, C; Polak, J; Rebourgeard, P; Rocco, E; Robinet, F; Schiavon, P; Schill, C; Schoenmeier, P; Silva, L; Slunecka, M; Steiger, L; Sozzi, F; Svec, M; Tessarotto, F; Teufel, A; Wollny, H

    2006-01-01

    The central photon detection area of the Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector at COMPASS, a particle physics experiment at CERN SPS dedicated to hadron physics, has been upgraded from the previous system formed by wire chambers with CsI layers to a very fast UV extended multi anode photo multiplier tube array (MAPMT), including 576 tubes. The active area covered by the MAPMTs is 7.3 times smaller than the one previously equipped with CsI photocathodes, so 576 optical concentrators transforming the image from the old system focal plane to the new photocathode plane were needed. The telescope system formed by two fused silica lenses was designed, produced and assembled. The first prismatic plano-convex field lens is placed in the focal plane of the RICH mirrors. The second condenser lens is off centered and tilted and has one aspherical surface. All lenses have antireflection coating.

  8. Modeling update for the Thirty Meter Telescope laser guide star dual-conjugate adaptive optics system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilles, Luc; Wang, Lianqi; Ellerbroek, Brent

    2010-07-01

    This paper describes the modeling efforts undertaken in the past couple of years to derive wavefront error (WFE) performance estimates for the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS), which is the facility laser guide star (LGS) dual-conjugate adaptive optics (AO) system for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The estimates describe the expected performance of NFIRAOS as a function of seeing on Mauna Kea, zenith angle, and galactic latitude (GL). They have been developed through a combination of integrated AO simulations, side analyses, allocations, lab and lidar experiments.

  9. Model-based thermal system design optimization for the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cataldo, Giuseppe; Niedner, Malcolm B.; Fixsen, Dale J.; Moseley, Samuel H.

    2017-10-01

    Spacecraft thermal model validation is normally performed by comparing model predictions with thermal test data and reducing their discrepancies to meet the mission requirements. Based on thermal engineering expertise, the model input parameters are adjusted to tune the model output response to the test data. The end result is not guaranteed to be the best solution in terms of reduced discrepancy and the process requires months to complete. A model-based methodology was developed to perform the validation process in a fully automated fashion and provide mathematical bases to the search for the optimal parameter set that minimizes the discrepancies between model and data. The methodology was successfully applied to several thermal subsystems of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Global or quasiglobal optimal solutions were found and the total execution time of the model validation process was reduced to about two weeks. The model sensitivities to the parameters, which are required to solve the optimization problem, can be calculated automatically before the test begins and provide a library for sensitivity studies. This methodology represents a crucial commodity when testing complex, large-scale systems under time and budget constraints. Here, results for the JWST Core thermal system will be presented in detail.

  10. Laser guide stars for daytime thermal IR observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckers, Jacques M.

    2008-04-01

    In connection with the planning for Extremely Large Telescopes, I revisit a 2001 paper in which Cacciani and I describe the use of Sodium Laser Guide Stars (LGSs) for diffraction limited daytime astronomical observations. The enabling technology for seeing LGSs in broad daylight is the availability of very narrow band magneto-optical filters. Considering the dominance of the atmospheric scattering of sunlight at wavelengths below 3.5 μm, daytime use is only indicated for mid- and thermal IR observations. The launch of the 6.5 meter aperture James Web Space Telescope (JWST) appears to be assured and planned for 2013, preceding the most optimistic projections for the completion date of the first ELT. The projected thermal background of the JWST is very much less than that of ground-based telescopes so that any competing ground-based observations are limited to those parameters not covered by the JWST: angular resolution (requiring apertures > 6.5 meter) and spectral resolution (R>3000). I compare the benefits of daytime observations with Na-LGS equipped telescopes and interferometers at moderate latitudes and in the Antarctic (specifically Dome C). In both cases daytime observations extend the amount of observing time available for TIR observations. Antarctic observations have the advantage of having very good seeing during the daytime, significantly better than nighttime seeing. In contrast the seeing at moderate latitude sites significantly deteriorates during daytime resulting in lower quality observations than during nighttime. In addition Antarctic sites are less hostile to maintenance and operations during daytime (summer) observations as compared to nighttime (winter) observations.

  11. Planck intermediate results. XXVI. Optical identification and redshifts of Planck clusters with the RTT150 telescope

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Arnaud, M.

    2015-01-01

    We present the results of approximately three years of observations of Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources with the Russian-Turkish 1.5m telescope (RTT150), as a part of the optical follow-up programme undertaken by the Planck collaboration. During this time period approximately 20% of all dark...

  12. ATST telescope mount: telescope of machine tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffers, Paul; Stolz, Günter; Bonomi, Giovanni; Dreyer, Oliver; Kärcher, Hans

    2012-09-01

    The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) will be the largest solar telescope in the world, and will be able to provide the sharpest views ever taken of the solar surface. The telescope has a 4m aperture primary mirror, however due to the off axis nature of the optical layout, the telescope mount has proportions similar to an 8 meter class telescope. The technology normally used in this class of telescope is well understood in the telescope community and has been successfully implemented in numerous projects. The world of large machine tools has developed in a separate realm with similar levels of performance requirement but different boundary conditions. In addition the competitive nature of private industry has encouraged development and usage of more cost effective solutions both in initial capital cost and thru-life operating cost. Telescope mounts move relatively slowly with requirements for high stability under external environmental influences such as wind buffeting. Large machine tools operate under high speed requirements coupled with high application of force through the machine but with little or no external environmental influences. The benefits of these parallel development paths and the ATST system requirements are being combined in the ATST Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA). The process of balancing the system requirements with new technologies is based on the experience of the ATST project team, Ingersoll Machine Tools who are the main contractor for the TMA and MT Mechatronics who are their design subcontractors. This paper highlights a number of these proven technologies from the commercially driven machine tool world that are being introduced to the TMA design. Also the challenges of integrating and ensuring that the differences in application requirements are accounted for in the design are discussed.

  13. The Liverpool Telescope: rapid follow-up observation of targets of opportunity with a 2 m robotic telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomboc, Andreja; Bode, Michael F.; Carter, David; Mundell, Carol G.; Newsam, Andrew; Smith, Robert J.; Steele, Iain A.

    2004-01-01

    The Liverpool Telescope, situated at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma, Canaries, is the first 2-m, fully instrumented robotic telescope. It recently began observations. Among Liverpool Telescope's primary scientific goals is to monitor variable objects on all timescales from seconds to years. An additional benefit of its robotic operation is rapid reaction to unpredictable phenomena and their systematic follow up, simultaneous or coordinated with other facilities. The Target of Opportunity Programme of the Liverpool Telescope includes the prompt search for and observation of GRB and XRF counterparts. A special over-ride mode implemented for GRB/XRF follow-up enables observations commencing less than a minute after the alert, including optical and near infrared imaging and spectroscopy. In particular, the moderate aperture and rapid automated response make the Liverpool Telescope excellently suited to help solving the mystery of optically dark GRBs and for the investigation of currently unstudied short bursts and XRFs

  14. Tests of a prototype multiplexed fiber-optic ultra-fast FADC data acquisition system for the MAGIC telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartko, H.; Goebel, F.; Mirzoyan, R.; Pimpl, W.; Teshima, M.

    2005-01-01

    Ground-based Atmospheric Air Cherenkov Telescopes (ACTs) are successfully used to observe very high energy (VHE) gamma rays from celestial objects. The light of the night sky (LONS) is a strong background for these telescopes. The gamma ray pulses being very short, an ultra-fast read-out of an ACT can minimize the influence of the LONS. This allows one to lower the so-called tail cuts of the shower image and the analysis energy threshold. It could also help to suppress other unwanted backgrounds. Fast 'flash' analog-to-digital converters (FADCs) with GSamples/s are available commercially; they are, however, very expensive and power consuming. Here we present a novel technique of Fiber-Optic Multiplexing which uses a single 2 GSamples/s FADC to digitize 16 read-out channels consecutively. The analog signals are delayed by using optical fibers. The multiplexed (MUX) FADC read-out reduces the cost by about 85% compared to using one ultra-fast FADC per read-out channel. Two prototype multiplexers, each digitizing data from 16 channels, were built and tested. The ultra-fast read-out system will be described and the test results will be reported. The new system will be implemented for the read-out of the 17 m diameter MAGIC telescope camera

  15. The Dutch Open Telescope: History, Status, Prospects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rutten, R.J.

    1999-01-01

    After many years of persistent telescope design and telescope construction, R.H. Hammerschlag has installed his Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on La Palma. I brie y review its history and design. The future of optical solar physics at Utrecht hinges on a recently-funded three- year DOT science

  16. Operating performance of the gamma-ray Cherenkov telescope: An end-to-end Schwarzschild–Couder telescope prototype for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dournaux, J.L., E-mail: jean-laurent.dournaux@obspm.fr [GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot, Place J. Janssen, 92190 Meudon (France); De Franco, A. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Laporte, P. [GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot, Place J. Janssen, 92190 Meudon (France); White, R. [Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Greenshaw, T. [University of Liverpool, Oliver Lodge Laboratory, P.O. Box 147, Oxford Street, Liverpool L69 3BX (United Kingdom); Sol, H. [LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, Place J. Janssen, 92190 Meudon (France); Abchiche, A. [CNRS, Division technique DT-INSU, 1 Place Aristide Briand, 92190 Meudon (France); Allan, D. [Department of Physics and Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Amans, J.P. [GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot, Place J. Janssen, 92190 Meudon (France); Armstrong, T.P. [Department of Physics and Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Balzer, A.; Berge, D. [GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam (Netherlands); Boisson, C. [LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, Place J. Janssen, 92190 Meudon (France); and others

    2017-02-11

    The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) consortium aims to build the next-generation ground-based very-high-energy gamma-ray observatory. The array will feature different sizes of telescopes allowing it to cover a wide gamma-ray energy band from about 20 GeV to above 100 TeV. The highest energies, above 5 TeV, will be covered by a large number of Small-Sized Telescopes (SSTs) with a field-of-view of around 9°. The Gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescope (GCT), based on Schwarzschild–Couder dual-mirror optics, is one of the three proposed SST designs. The GCT is described in this contribution and the first images of Cherenkov showers obtained using the telescope and its camera are presented. These were obtained in November 2015 in Meudon, France.

  17. ESO Telescope Designer Raymond Wilson Wins Prestigious Kavli Award for Astrophysics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-01

    Raymond Wilson, whose pioneering optics research at ESO made today's giant telescopes possible thanks to "active optics" technology, has been awarded the 2010 Kavli Prize in astrophysics. The founder and original leader of the Optics and Telescopes Group at ESO, Wilson shares the million-dollar prize with two American scientists, Jerry Nelson and Roger Angel. The biennial prize, presented by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Kavli Foundation, and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, was instituted in 2008 and is given to researchers who significantly advance knowledge in the fields of nanoscience, neuroscience, and astrophysics, acting as a complement to the Nobel Prize. The award is named for and funded by Fred Kavli, the Norwegian entrepreneur and phi­lanthropist who later founded the Kavlico Corpora­tion in the US - today one of the world's largest suppliers of sensors for aeronautic, automotive and industrial applications. Wilson, who joined ESO in 1972, strived to achieve optical perfection, developing the concept of active optics as a way to enhance the size of telescopic primary mirrors. It is the size of these mirrors that determines the ability of a telescope to gather light and study faint and distant objects. Before active optics, mirrors over six metres in diameter were impossible, being too heavy, costly, and likely to bend from gravity and temperature changes. The use of active optics, which preserves optimal image quality by continually adjusting the mirror's shape during observations, made lighter, thinner so-called "meniscus mirrors" possible. Wilson first led the implementation of active optics in the revolutionary New Technology Telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory, and continued to develop and improve the technology until his retirement in 1993. Since then, active optics have become a standard part of modern astronomy, applied in every big telescope including ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), a telescope array

  18. Cost Modeling for Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H. Philip

    2011-01-01

    Parametric cost models are an important tool for planning missions, compare concepts and justify technology investments. This paper presents on-going efforts to develop single variable and multi-variable cost models for space telescope optical telescope assembly (OTA). These models are based on data collected from historical space telescope missions. Standard statistical methods are used to derive CERs for OTA cost versus aperture diameter and mass. The results are compared with previously published models.

  19. A new concept of imaging system: telescope windows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourgenot, Cyril; Cowie, Euan; Young, Laura; Love, Gordon; Girkin, John; Courtial, Johannes

    2018-02-01

    A Telescope window is a novel concept of transformation-optics consisting of an array of micro-telescopes, in our configuration, of a Galilean type. When the array is considered as one multifaceted device, it acts as a traditional Galilean telescope with distinctive and attractive properties such as compactness and modularity. Each lenslet, can in principle, be independently designed for a specific optical function. In this paper, we report on the design, manufacture and prototyping, by diamond precision machining, of 2 concepts of telescope windows, and discuss both their performances and limitations with a view to use them as potential low vision aid devices to support patients with macular degeneration.

  20. Digital optical modules for the KM3NeT neutrino telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalekin, Oleg [Universitaet Erlangen, ECAP (Germany); Collaboration: ANTARES-KM3NeT-Erlangen-Collaboration

    2015-07-01

    KM3NeT is multi-cubic-kilometer neutrino telescope under construction in the Mediterranean Sea. In the currently running Phase 1 of the project, almost 30 detection units - 700 m tall vertical structures holding 18 Digital Optical Modules (DOMs) each - will be produced and deployed. A KM3NeT DOM consists of a pressure resistant glass sphere encapsulating 31 photomultiplier tubes of 80 mm diameter, readout electronics and additional instrumentation for calibration and monitoring. The Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics is one of the DOM integration sites of the project. This contribution describes the design, functionality and integration procedure of the KM3NeT DOM.

  1. Creating the Thermal Environment for Safely Testing the James Webb Space Telescope at the Johnson Space Center's Chamber A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homan, Jonathan L.; Lauterbach, John; Garcia, Sam

    2016-01-01

    Chamber A is the largest thermal vacuum chamber at the Johnson Space Center and is one of the largest space environment chambers in the world. The chamber is 19.8 m (65 ft) in diameter and 36.6 m (120 ft) tall and is equipped with cryogenic liquid nitrogen panels (shrouds) and gaseous helium shrouds to create a simulated space environment. The chamber was originally built to support testing of the Apollo Service and Command Module for lunar missions, but underwent major modifications to be able to test the James Webb Space Telescope in a simulated deep space environment. To date seven tests have been performed in preparation of testing the flight optics for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Each test has had a uniquie thermal profile and set of thermal requirements for cooling down and warming up, controlling contamination, and releasing condensed air. These range from temperatures from 335K to 15K, with tight uniformity and controllability for maintining thermal stability and pressure control. One unique requirement for two test was structurally proof loading hardware by creating thermal gradients at specific temperatures. This paper will discuss the thermal requirements and goals of the tests, the original requirements of the chamber thermal systems for planned operation, and how the new requirements were met by the team using the hardware, system flexiblilty, and engineering creativity. It will also discuss the mistakes and successes to meet the unique goals, especially when meeting the thermal proof load.

  2. Chromospheric telescope of Baikal Astrophysical Observatory. New light

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Skomorovsky V.I.

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A chromospheric telescope is an important instrument for synoptic observations and solar research. After several decades of observations with the chromospheric telescope at the Baikal Astrophysical Observatory, a need arose to improve the characteristics of this telescope and filter. A new reimaging lens to produce full-disk solar images 18 mm in diameter at the CCD camera Hamamatsu C-124 with a 36×24 mm detector (4000×2672 pixels was designed and manufactured to replace the out-of-operation 50×50 mm Princeton Instruments camera. A contrast interference blocking filter and new calcite and quartz crystal plates were made and installed instead of damaged ones in the Hα birefringent filter (BF, manufactured by Bernhard Hallе Nachfl. The optical immersion in the filter was changed. All telescope optics was cleaned and adjusted. We describe for the first time the design features and their related BF passband tuning. The wavefront interferograms of optical elements and telescope as a whole show that the wavefront distortion of the optical path is within 0.25 λ. The BF and prefilter spectral parameters provide high-contrast monochromatic images. Besides, we give examples of solar chromospheric images in the Hα line core and wing.

  3. Mobile Tracking Systems Using Meter Class Reflective Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturzenbecher, K.; Ehrhorn, B.

    This paper is a discussion on the use of large reflective telescopes on mobile tracking systems with modern instrument control systems. Large optics can be defined as reflective telescopes with an aperture of at least 20 inches in diameter. New carbon composite construction techniques allow for larger, stronger, and lighter telescopes ranging from 240 pounds for a 20 inch, to 800 pounds for a 32 inch, making them ideal for mobile tracking systems. These telescopes have better light gathering capability and produce larger images with greater detail at a longer range than conventional refractive lenses. In a mobile configuration these systems provide the ability to move the observation platform to the optimal location anywhere in the world. Mounting and systems integration - We will discuss how large telescopes can be physically fit to the mobile tracking system and the integration with the tracking systems' digital control system. We will highlight the remote control capabilities. We will discuss special calibration techniques available in a modern instrument control system such as star calibration, calibration of sensors. Tracking Performance - We will discuss the impact of using large telescopes on the performance of the mobile tracking system. We will highlight the capabilities for auto-tracking and sidereal rate tracking in a mobile mount. Large optics performance - We will discuss the advantages of two-mirror Ritchey-Chrétien reflective optics which offer in-focus imaging across the spectrum, from visible to Long Wave Infrared. These zero expansion optics won't lose figure or focus during temperature changes. And the carbon composite telescope tube is thermally inert. The primary mirror is a modern lightweight "dish" mirror for low thermal mass and is center supported/self balancing. Applications - We will discuss Visible - IR Imaging requirements, Optical Rangefinders, and capabilities for special filters to increase resolution in difficult conditions such as

  4. Mechanical design of SST-GATE, a dual-mirror telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dournaux, Jean-Laurent; Huet, Jean-Michel; Amans, Jean-Philippe; Dumas, Delphine; Laporte, Philippe; Sol, Hélène; Blake, Simon

    2014-07-01

    The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project aims to create the next generation Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray telescope array. It will be devoted to the observation of gamma rays over a wide band of energy, from a few tens of GeV to more than 100 TeV. Two sites are foreseen to view the whole sky where about 100 telescopes, composed of three different classes, related to the specific energy region to be investigated, will be installed. Among these, the Small Size class of Telescopes, SSTs, are devoted to the highest energy region, to beyond 100 TeV. Due to the large number of SSTs, their unit cost is an important parameter. At the Observatoire de Paris, we have designed a prototype of a Small Size Telescope named SST-GATE, based on the dual-mirror Schwarzschild-Couder optical formula, which has never before been implemented in the design of a telescope. Over the last two years, we developed a mechanical design for SST-GATE from the optical and preliminary mechanical designs made by the University of Durham. The integration of this telescope is currently in progress. Since the early stages of mechanical design of SST-GATE, finite element method has been used employing shape and topology optimization techniques to help design several elements of the telescope. This allowed optimization of the mechanical stiffness/mass ratio, leading to a lightweight and less expensive mechanical structure. These techniques and the resulting mechanical design are detailed in this paper. We will also describe the finite element analyses carried out to calculate the mechanical deformations and the stresses in the structure under observing and survival conditions.

  5. Secondary mirror system for the European Solar Telescope (EST)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavaller, L.; Siegel, B.; Prieto, G.; Hernandez, E.; Casalta, J. M.; Mercader, J.; Barriga, J.

    2010-07-01

    The European Solar Telescope (EST) is a European collaborative project to build a 4m class solar telescope in the Canary Islands, which is now in its design study phase. The telescope will provide diffraction limited performance for several instruments observing simultaneously at the Coudé focus at different wavelengths. A multi-conjugated adaptive optics system composed of a tip-tilt mirror and several deformable mirrors will be integrated in the telescope optical path. The secondary mirror system is composed of the mirror itself (Ø800mm), the alignment drives and the cooling system needed to remove the solar heat load from the mirror. During the design study the feasibility to provide fast tip-tilt capabilities at the secondary mirror to work as the adaptive optics tip-tilt mirror is also being evaluated.

  6. HE 1113-0641: THE SMALLEST-SEPARATION QUADRUPLE LENS IDENTIFIED BY A GROUND-BASED OPTICAL TELESCOPE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blackburne, Jeffrey A.; Schechter, Paul L.; Wisotzki, Lutz

    2008-01-01

    The Hamburg/ESO quasar HE 1113-0641 is found to be a quadruple gravitational lens, based on observations with the twin 6.5 m Magellan telescopes at the Las Campanas Observatory, and subsequently with the Hubble Space Telescope. The z S = 1.235 quasar appears in a cross configuration, with i' band magnitudes ranging from 18.0 to 18.8. With a maximum image separation of 0''.67, this is the smallest-separation quadruple ever identified using a ground-based optical telescope. Point-spread function (PSF) subtraction reveals a faint lensing galaxy. A simple lens model succeeds in predicting the observed positions of the components, but fails to match their observed flux ratios by up to a magnitude. We estimate the redshift of the lensing galaxy to be z L ∼ 0.7. Time delay estimates are on the order of a day, suggesting that the flux ratio anomalies are not due to variability of the quasar, but may result from substructure or microlensing in the lens galaxy.

  7. Care of astronomical telescopes and accessories a manual for the astronomical observer and amateur telescope maker

    CERN Document Server

    Pepin, M Barlow

    2005-01-01

    Commercially-made astronomical telescopes are better and less expensive than ever before, and their optical and mechanical performance can be superb. When a good-quality telescope fails to perform as well as it might, the reason is quite probably that it needs a little care and attention! Here is a complete guide for anyone who wants to understand more than just the basics of astronomical telescopes and accessories, and how to maintain them in the peak of condition. The latest on safely adjusting, cleaning, and maintaining your equipment is combined with thoroughly updated methods from the old masters. Here, too, are details of choosing new and used optics and accessories, along with enhancements you can make to extend their versatility and useful lifetime. This book is for you. Really. Looking after an astronomical telescope isn't only for the experts - although there are some things that only an expert should attempt - and every serious amateur astronomer will find invaluable information here, gleaned from ...

  8. LOBSTER: new space x-ray telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudec, R.; Sveda, L.; Pína, L.; Inneman, A.; Semencova, V.; Skulinova, M.

    2017-11-01

    The LOBSTER telescopes are based on the optical arrangement of the lobster eye. The main difference from classical X-ray space telescopes in wide use is the very large field of view while the use of optics results in higher efficiency if compared with detectors without optics. Recent innovative technologies have enabled to design, to develop and to test first prototypes. They will provide deep sensitive survey of the sky in X-rays for the first time which is essential for both long-term monitoring of celestial high-energy sources as well as in understanding transient phenomena. The technology is now ready for applications in space.

  9. Supernovae and cosmology with future European facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hook, I M

    2013-06-13

    Prospects for future supernova surveys are discussed, focusing on the European Space Agency's Euclid mission and the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), both expected to be in operation around the turn of the decade. Euclid is a 1.2 m space survey telescope that will operate at visible and near-infrared wavelengths, and has the potential to find and obtain multi-band lightcurves for thousands of distant supernovae. The E-ELT is a planned, general-purpose ground-based, 40-m-class optical-infrared telescope with adaptive optics built in, which will be capable of obtaining spectra of type Ia supernovae to redshifts of at least four. The contribution to supernova cosmology with these facilities will be discussed in the context of other future supernova programmes such as those proposed for DES, JWST, LSST and WFIRST.

  10. The Hunt for Low-Mass Black Holes in the JWST Era

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cann, Jenna; Satyapal, Shobita; Abel, Nicholas; Ricci, Claudio; Gliozzi, Mario; Blecha, Laura; Secrest, Nathan

    2018-01-01

    Most, if not all, massive galaxies have a central supermassive black hole (SMBH) millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun. While the properties of SMBHs and their host galaxies have been well-studied in massive galaxies, very few SMBHs have been found in galaxies with low masses and those with small bulges. This is a significant deficiency, because the study of this population allows us to gain an understanding of merger-free pathways to black hole growth, and to gain insight into the origin and growth of SMBH ‘seeds’, thought to have formed at high redshift. Most studies aimed at finding SMBHs have been conducted using optical spectroscopic studies, where active SMBHs (active galactic nuclei or AGNs) display distinctive optical emission lines indicative of accreting SMBHs. However, in low mass (dwarf) galaxies, the SMBHs will likely be less massive, and can be energetically weak and possibly deeply embedded in their host galaxies. As a result, the optical emission lines may be dominated by star formation regions, severely limiting the diagnostic power of optical surveys in finding and characterizing the properties of the AGN in dwarf galaxies. In such galaxies, infrared coronal lines provide a robust method of finding AGNs. Furthermore, as the black hole mass decreases, the Schwarzschild radius of the black hole decreases, and in response, the temperature of the surrounding accretion disk increases. The shape of the ionizing radiation spectral energy distribution therefore changes with black hole mass, which will affect the emission line spectrum from the surrounding gas. In this work, we investigate the diagnostic power of infrared coronal lines and the effect of black hole mass on the emission line spectra from AGNs, with a particular focus on the emission lines accessible by JWST.

  11. OVERVIEW OF THE ATACAMA COSMOLOGY TELESCOPE: RECEIVER, INSTRUMENTATION, AND TELESCOPE SYSTEMS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swetz, D. S.; Devlin, M. J.; Dicker, S. R.; Ade, P. A. R.; Amiri, M.; Battistelli, E. S.; Burger, B.; Halpern, M.; Hasselfield, M.; Appel, J. W.; Essinger-Hileman, T.; Fisher, R. P.; Fowler, J. W.; Hincks, A. D.; Jarosik, N.; Chervenak, J.; Doriese, W. B.; Hilton, G. C.; Irwin, K. D.; Duenner, R.

    2011-01-01

    The Atacama Cosmology Telescope was designed to measure small-scale anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background and detect galaxy clusters through the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. The instrument is located on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert, at an altitude of 5190 m. A 6 m off-axis Gregorian telescope feeds a new type of cryogenic receiver, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera. The receiver features three 1000-element arrays of transition-edge sensor bolometers for observations at 148 GHz, 218 GHz, and 277 GHz. Each detector array is fed by free space millimeter-wave optics. Each frequency band has a field of view of approximately 22' x 26'. The telescope was commissioned in 2007 and has completed its third year of operations. We discuss the major components of the telescope, camera, and related systems, and summarize the instrument performance.

  12. Overview of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Receiver, Instrumentation, and Telescope Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swetz, D. S.; Ade, P. A. R.; Amiri, M.; Appel, J. W.; Battistelli, E. S.; Burger, B.; Chervenak, J.; Devlin, M. J.; Dicker, S. R.; Doriese, W. B.; Dünner, R.; Essinger-Hileman, T.; Fisher, R. P.; Fowler, J. W.; Halpern, M.; Hasselfield, M.; Hilton, G. C.; Hincks, A. D.; Irwin, K. D.; Jarosik, N.; Kaul, M.; Klein, J.; Lau, J. M.; Limon, M.; Marriage, T. A.; Marsden, D.; Martocci, K.; Mauskopf, P.; Moseley, H.; Netterfield, C. B.; Niemack, M. D.; Nolta, M. R.; Page, L. A.; Parker, L.; Staggs, S. T.; Stryzak, O.; Switzer, E. R.; Thornton, R.; Tucker, C.; Wollack, E.; Zhao, Y.

    2011-06-01

    The Atacama Cosmology Telescope was designed to measure small-scale anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background and detect galaxy clusters through the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. The instrument is located on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert, at an altitude of 5190 m. A 6 m off-axis Gregorian telescope feeds a new type of cryogenic receiver, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera. The receiver features three 1000-element arrays of transition-edge sensor bolometers for observations at 148 GHz, 218 GHz, and 277 GHz. Each detector array is fed by free space millimeter-wave optics. Each frequency band has a field of view of approximately 22' × 26'. The telescope was commissioned in 2007 and has completed its third year of operations. We discuss the major components of the telescope, camera, and related systems, and summarize the instrument performance.

  13. The large binocular telescope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, John M

    2010-06-01

    The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) Observatory is a collaboration among institutions in Arizona, Germany, Italy, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Virginia. The telescope on Mount Graham in Southeastern Arizona uses two 8.4 m diameter primary mirrors mounted side by side. A unique feature of the LBT is that the light from the two Gregorian telescope sides can be combined to produce phased-array imaging of an extended field. This cophased imaging along with adaptive optics gives the telescope the diffraction-limited resolution of a 22.65 m aperture and a collecting area equivalent to an 11.8 m circular aperture. This paper describes the design, construction, and commissioning of this unique telescope. We report some sample astronomical results with the prime focus cameras. We comment on some of the technical challenges and solutions. The telescope uses two F/15 adaptive secondaries to correct atmospheric turbulence. The first of these adaptive mirrors has completed final system testing in Firenze, Italy, and is planned to be at the telescope by Spring 2010.

  14. Tip-tilt compensation: Resolution limits for ground-based telescopes using laser guide star adaptive optics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olivier, S.S.; Max, C.E.; Gavel, D.T.; Brase, J.M.

    1992-01-01

    The angular resolution of long-exposure images from ground-based telescopes equipped with laser guide star adaptive optics systems is fundamentally limited by the the accuracy with which the tip-tilt aberrations introduced by the atmosphere can be corrected. Assuming that a natural star is used as the tilt reference, the residual error due to tilt anisoplanatism can significantly degrade the long-exposure resolution even if the tilt reference star is separated from the object being imaged by a small angle. Given the observed distribution of stars in the sky, the need to find a tilt reference star quite close to the object restricts the fraction of the sky over which long-exposure images with diffraction limited resolution can be obtained. In this paper, the authors present a comprehensive performance analysis of tip-tilt compensation systems that use a natural star as a tilt reference, taking into account properties of the atmosphere and of the Galactic stellar populations, and optimizing over the system operating parameters to determine the fundamental limits to the long-exposure resolution. Their results show that for a ten meter telescope on Mauna Kea, if the image of the tilt reference star is uncorrected, about half the sky can be imaged in the V band with long-exposure resolution less than 60 milli-arc-seconds (mas), while if the image of the tilt reference star is fully corrected, about half the sky can be imaged in the V band with long-exposure resolution less than 16 mas. Furthermore, V band images long-exposure resolution of less than 16 mas may be obtained with a ten meter telescope on Mauna Kea for unresolved objects brighter than magnitude 22 that are fully corrected by a laser guide star adaptive optics system. This level of resolution represents about 70% of the diffraction limit of a ten meter telescope in the V band and is more than a factor of 45 better than the median seeing in the V band on Mauna Kea

  15. Where size does matter: foldable telescope design for microsat application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segert, Tom; Danziger, Björn; Lieder, Matthias

    2017-11-01

    The DOBSON SPACE TELESCOPE Project (DST) at the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) believes that micro satellites can be a challenging competitor in the high resolution remote sensing market. Using a micro satellite as basis for a remote sensing platform will dramatically reduce the cost for the end users thereby initiating the predicted remote sensing boom. The Challenging task is that an optic required for a GSD smaller than 1m is much bigger than the given room for secondary payload. In order to break the volume limits of hitchhiker payloads the DST team develops an optical telescope with deployable structures. The core piece of DST is a 20 inch modified Cassegrain optic. Stored during ascend the instrument fits in a box measuring 60 x 60 x 30cm (including telescope and optical plane assembly). After the satellite was released into free space the telescope unfolds and collimates automatically.

  16. OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS OF GAMMA-RAY BLAZAR CANDIDATES. VI. FURTHER OBSERVATIONS FROM TNG, WHT, OAN, SOAR, AND MAGELLAN TELESCOPES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Álvarez Crespo, N.; Massaro, F. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Pietro Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino (Italy); Milisavljevic, D.; Paggi, A.; Smith, Howard A. [Harvard—Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Landoni, M. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Emilio Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (Italy); Chavushyan, V.; Patiño-Álvarez, V. [Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, Apartado Postal 51-216, 72000 Puebla, México (Mexico); Masetti, N. [INAF—Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Bologna, via Gobetti 101, I-40129, Bologna (Italy); Jiménez-Bailón, E. [Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 877, Ensenada, 22800 Baja California, México (Mexico); Strader, J.; Chomiuk, L. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States); Katagiri, H.; Kagaya, M. [College of Science, Ibaraki University, 2-1-1, Bunkyo, Mito 310-8512 (Japan); Cheung, C. C. [Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); D’Abrusco, R. [Department of Physical Sciences, University of Napoli Federico II, via Cinthia 9, I-80126 Napoli (Italy); Ricci, F.; La Franca, F. [Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università Roma Tre, via della Vasca Navale 84, I-00146, Roma (Italy); and others

    2016-04-15

    Blazars, one of the most extreme classes of active galaxies, constitute so far the largest known population of γ-ray sources, and their number is continuously growing in the Fermi catalogs. However, in the latest release of the Fermi catalog there is still a large fraction of sources that are classified as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs) for which optical spectroscopic observations are necessary to confirm their nature and their associations. In addition, about one-third of the γ-ray point sources listed in the Third Fermi-LAT Source Catalog (3FGL) are still unassociated and lacking an assigned lower-energy counterpart. Since 2012 we have been carrying out an optical spectroscopic campaign to observe blazar candidates to confirm their nature. In this paper, the sixth of the series, we present optical spectroscopic observations for 30 γ-ray blazar candidates from different observing programs we carried out with the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, William Herschel Telescope, Observatorio Astronómico Nacional, Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope, and Magellan Telescopes. We found that 21 out of 30 sources investigated are BL Lac objects, while the remaining targets are classified as flat-spectrum radio quasars showing the typical broad emission lines of normal quasi-stellar objects. We conclude that our selection of γ-ray blazar candidates based on their multifrequency properties continues to be a successful way to discover potential low-energy counterparts of the Fermi unidentified gamma-ray sources and to confirm the nature of BCUs.

  17. A generalized ray-tracing procedure for an atmospheric Cherenkov imaging telescope and optical characteristics of the TACTIC light collector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tickoo, A.K.; Suthar, R.L.; Koul, R.; Sapru, M.L.; Kumar, N.; Kaul, C.L.; Yadav, K.K.; Thoudam, S.; Kaul, S.K.; Venugopal, K.; Kothari, M.; Goyal, H.C.; Chandra, P.; Dhar, V.K.; Rannot, R.C.; Koul, M.K.; Kaul, S.R.

    2005-01-01

    A generalized ray-tracing procedure has been developed, which facilitates the design of a multimirror-based light collector used in atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. This procedure has been employed to study the optical characteristics of the 3.5 m diameter light collector of the TACTIC Imaging telescope. Comparison of the measured point-spread function of the light collector with the simulated performance of ideal Davies-Cotton and paraboloid designs has been made to determine an optimum arrangement of the 34 spherical mirror facets used in the telescope to obtain the best possible point-spread function. A description of the ray-tracing subroutine used for processing CORSIKA-generated Cherenkov data, required for carrying out Monte-Carlo simulation studies, is also discussed in the paper

  18. Simbol-X: Synergies with JWST, ALMA and Herschel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maiolino, R.

    2009-05-01

    I discuss the synergies between Simbol-X and three among the major astronomical facilities that, in the next decade, will be operative in the infrared-millimeter spectral range, namely JWST, Herschel and ALMA. I first provide a brief overview of the main features and observing capabilities offered by these facilities. Then I will discuss a few research fields (mostly extragalactic) that will geatly benefit of the joint exploitation of Simbol-X and these IR-mm observatories.

  19. Opto-mechanical design of ShaneAO: the adaptive optics system for the 3-meter Shane Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ratliff, C.; Cabak, J.; Gavel, D.; Kupke, R.; Dillon, D.; Gates, E.; Deich, W.; Ward, J.; Cowley, D.; Pfister, T.; Saylor, M.

    2014-07-01

    A Cassegrain mounted adaptive optics instrument presents unique challenges for opto-mechanical design. The flexure and temperature tolerances for stability are tighter than those of seeing limited instruments. This criteria requires particular attention to material properties and mounting techniques. This paper addresses the mechanical designs developed to meet the optical functional requirements. One of the key considerations was to have gravitational deformations, which vary with telescope orientation, stay within the optical error budget, or ensure that we can compensate with a steering mirror by maintaining predictable elastic behavior. Here we look at several cases where deformation is predicted with finite element analysis and Hertzian deformation analysis and also tested. Techniques used to address thermal deformation compensation without the use of low CTE materials will also be discussed.

  20. Development of a SiPM Camera for a Schwarzschild-Couder Cherenkov Telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    CERN Document Server

    Otte, A N; Dickinson, H.; Funk, S.; Jogler, T.; Johnson, C.A.; Karn, P.; Meagher, K.; Naoya, H.; Nguyen, T.; Okumura, A.; Santander, M.; Sapozhnikov, L.; Stier, A.; Tajima, H.; Tibaldo, L.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Wakely, S.; Weinstein, A.; Williams, D.A.

    2015-01-01

    We present the development of a novel 11328 pixel silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) camera for use with a ground-based Cherenkov telescope with Schwarzschild-Couder optics as a possible medium-sized telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The finely pixelated camera samples air-shower images with more than twice the optical resolution of cameras that are used in current Cherenkov telescopes. Advantages of the higher resolution will be a better event reconstruction yielding improved background suppression and angular resolution of the reconstructed gamma-ray events, which is crucial in morphology studies of, for example, Galactic particle accelerators and the search for gamma-ray halos around extragalactic sources. Packing such a large number of pixels into an area of only half a square meter and having a fast readout directly attached to the back of the sensors is a challenging task. For the prototype camera development, SiPMs from Hamamatsu with through silicon via (TSV) technology are used. We give ...

  1. A Proposal to Localize Fermi GBM GRBs Through Coordinated Scanning of the GBM Error Circle via Optical Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ukwatta, T. N.; Linnemann, J. T.; Tollefson, K.; Abeysekara, A. U.; Bhat, P. N.; Sonbas, E.; Gehrels, N.

    2011-01-01

    We investigate the feasibility of implementing a system that will coordinate ground-based optical telescopes to cover the Fermi GBM Error Circle (EC). The aim of the system is to localize GBM detected GRBs and facilitate multi-wavelength follow-up from space and ground. This system will optimize the observing locations in the GBM EC based on individual telescope location, Field of View (FoV) and sensitivity. The proposed system will coordinate GBM EC scanning by professional as well as amateur astronomers around the world. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the feasibility of the project are presented.

  2. The science case and data processing strategy for the Thinned Aperture Light Collector (TALC): a project for a 20 m far-infrared space telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sauvage, Marc; Durand, Gilles A.; Rodriguez, Louis R.; Starck, Jean-Luc; Ronayette, Samuel; Aussel, Herve; Minier, Vincent; Motte, Frederique; Pantin, Eric J.; Sureau, Florent

    2014-01-01

    The future of far-infrared observations rests on our capacity to reach sub-arc-second angular resolution around 100 μm, in order to achieve a significant advance with respect to our current capabilities. Furthermore, by reaching this angular resolution we can bridge the gap between capacities offered by the JWST in the near infrared and those allowed by ALMA in the submillimeter, and thus benefit from similar resolving capacities over the whole wavelength range where interstellar dust radiates and where key atomic and molecular transitions are found. In an accompanying paper, we present a concept of a deployable annular telescope, named TALC for Thinned Aperture Light Collector, reaching 20 m in diameter. Being annular, this telescope features a main beam width equivalent to that of a 27 m telescope, i.e. an angular resolution of 0.92'' at 100 μm. In this paper we focus on the science case of such a telescope as well on the aspects of unconventional data processing that come with this unconventional optical configuration. The principal science cases of TALC revolve around its imaging capacities, that allow resolving the Kuiper belt in extra-solar planetary systems, or the filamentary scale in star forming clouds all the way to the Galactic Center, or the Narrow Line Region in Active Galactic Nuclei of the Local Group, or breaking the confusion limit to resolve the Cosmic Infrared Background. Equipping this telescope with detectors capable of imaging polarimetry offers as well the extremely interesting perspective to study the influence of the magnetic field in structuring the interstellar medium. We will then present simulations of the optical performance of such a telescope. The main feature of an annular telescope is the small amount of energy contained in the main beam, around 30% for the studied configuration, and the presence of bright diffraction rings. Using simulated point spread functions for realistic broad-band filters, we study the observing

  3. Thermal design trades for SAFIR architecture concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yorke, Harold W.; Paine, Christopher; Bradford, Matt; Dragovan, Mark; Nash, Al; Dooley, Jennifer; Lawrence, Charles

    2004-01-01

    SAFIR is a IO-meter, 4 K space telescope optimized for wavelengths between 20 microns and 1 mm. The combination of aperture diameter and telescope temperature will provide a raw sensitivity improvement of more than a factor of 1000 over presently-planned missions. The sensitivity will be comparable to that of the JWST and ALMA, but at the critical far-IR wavelengths where much of the universe's radiative energy has emerged since the origin of stars and galaxies. We examine several of the critical technologies for SAFIR which enable the large cold aperture, and present results of studies examining the telescope optics and the spacecraft thermal architecture. Both the method by which the aperture is filled, and the overall optical design for the telescope can impact the potential scientific return of SAFIR. Thermal architecture that goes far beyond the sunshades developed for the James Webb Space Telescope will be necessary to achieve the desired sensitivity of SAFIR. By combining active and passive cooling at critical points within the observatory, a significant reduction of the required level of active cooling can be obtained.

  4. European Extremely Large Telescope: progress report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamai, R.; Spyromilio, J.

    2014-07-01

    The European Extremely Large Telescope is a project of the European Southern Observatory to build and operate a 40-m class optical near-infrared telescope. The telescope design effort is largely concluded and construction contracts are being placed with industry and academic/research institutes for the various components. The siting of the telescope in Northern Chile close to the Paranal site allows for an integrated operation of the facility providing significant economies. The progress of the project in various areas is presented in this paper and references to other papers at this SPIE meeting are made.

  5. A telescope with augmented reality functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Qichao; Cheng, Dewen; Wang, Qiwei; Wang, Yongtian

    2016-10-01

    This study introduces a telescope with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) functions. In this telescope, information on the micro-display screen is integrated to the reticule of telescope through a beam splitter and is then received by the observer. The design and analysis of telescope optical system with AR and VR ability is accomplished and the opto-mechanical structure is designed. Finally, a proof-of-concept prototype is fabricated and demonstrated. The telescope has an exit pupil diameter of 6 mm at an eye relief of 19 mm, 6° field of view, 5 to 8 times visual magnification , and a 30° field of view of the virtual image.

  6. Hubble Space Telescope, Faint Object Camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-01-01

    This drawing illustrates Hubble Space Telescope's (HST's), Faint Object Camera (FOC). The FOC reflects light down one of two optical pathways. The light enters a detector after passing through filters or through devices that can block out light from bright objects. Light from bright objects is blocked out to enable the FOC to see background images. The detector intensifies the image, then records it much like a television camera. For faint objects, images can be built up over long exposure times. The total image is translated into digital data, transmitted to Earth, and then reconstructed. The purpose of the HST, the most complex and sensitive optical telescope ever made, is to study the cosmos from a low-Earth orbit. By placing the telescope in space, astronomers are able to collect data that is free of the Earth's atmosphere. The HST detects objects 25 times fainter than the dimmest objects seen from Earth and provides astronomers with an observable universe 250 times larger than visible from ground-based telescopes, perhaps as far away as 14 billion light-years. The HST views galaxies, stars, planets, comets, possibly other solar systems, and even unusual phenomena such as quasars, with 10 times the clarity of ground-based telescopes. The HST was deployed from the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31 mission) into Earth orbit in April 1990. The Marshall Space Flight Center had responsibility for design, development, and construction of the HST. The Perkin-Elmer Corporation, in Danbury, Cornecticut, developed the optical system and guidance sensors.

  7. Calibration of the High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES) Hard X-ray Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.; Gaskin, Jessica; Christe, Steven; Shih, Albert; Tennant, Allyn; Swartz, Doug; Kilaru, Kiranmayee; Elsner, Ron; Kolodziejczak, Jeff; Ramsey, Brian

    2014-01-01

    On September 21-22, 2013, the High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES) hard X-ray telescope, flew as a balloon payload from Ft. Sumner, N.M. HEROES observed the Sun, the black hole binary GRS 1915+105, and the Crab Nebula during its 27 hour flight. In this paper we describe laboratory calibration measurements of the HEROES detectors using line and continuum sources, applications of these measurements to define channel to energy (gain) corrections for observed events and to define detector response matrices. We characterize the HEROES X-ray grazing incidence optics using measurements taken in the Stray-Light (SLF) Facility in Huntsville, AL, and using ray traces.

  8. Modular Orbital Demonstration of an Evolvable Space Telescope (MODEST)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldauf, Brian; Conti, Alberto

    2016-01-01

    The "Search for Life" via imaging of exoplanets is a mission that requires extremely stable telescopes with apertures in the 10 m to 20 m range. The High Definition Space Telescope (HDST) envisioned for this mission would have an aperture >10 m, which is a larger payload than what can be delivered to space using a single launch vehicle. Building and assembling the mirror segments enabling large telescopes will likely require multiple launches and assembly in space. Space-based telescopes with large apertures will require major changes to system architectures.The Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA) for HDST is a primary mission cost driver. Enabling and affordable solutions for this next generation of large aperture space-based telescope are needed.This paper reports on the concept for the Modular Orbital Demonstration of an Evolvable Space Telescope (MODEST), which demonstrates on-orbit robotic and/or astronaut assembly of a precision optical telescope in space. It will also facilitate demonstration of active correction of phase and mirror shape. MODEST is proposed to be delivered to the ISS using standard Express Logistics Carriers (ELCs) and can mounted to one of a variety of ISS pallets. Post-assembly value includes space, ground, and environmental studies, and a testbed for new instruments. This demonstration program for next generation mirror technology provides significant risk reduction and demonstrates the technology in a six-mirror phased telescope. Other key features of the demonstration include the use of an active primary optical surface with wavefront feedback control that allows on-orbit optimization and demonstration of precise surface control to meet optical system wavefront and stability requirements.MODEST will also be used to evaluate advances in lightweight mirror and metering structure materials such as SiC or Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer that have excellent mechanical and thermal properties, e.g. high stiffness, high modulus, high thermal

  9. Review of lunar telescope studies at MSFC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilchey, John D.; Nein, Max E.

    1993-09-01

    In the near future astronomers can take advantage of the lunar surface as the new 'high ground' from which to study the universe. Optical telescopes placed and operated on the lunar surface would be successors to NASA's Great Observatories. Four telescopes, ranging in aperture from a 16-m, IR/Vis/UV observatory down to a 1-m, UV 'transit' instrument, have been studied by the Lunar Telescope Working Group and the LUTE (lunar telescope ultraviolet experiment) Task Team of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). This paper presents conceptual designs of the telescopes, provides descriptions of the telescope subsystem options selected for each concept, and outlines the potential evolution of their science capabilities.

  10. LOBSTER - New Space X-Ray telescopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudec, R.; Pina, L.; Simon, V.; Sveda, L.; Inneman, A.; Semencova, V.; Skulinova, M.

    2007-01-01

    We discuss the technological and scientific aspects of fully innovative very wide-field X-ray telescopes with high sensitivity. The prototypes of Lobster telescopes designed, developed and tested are very promising, allowing the proposals for space projects with very wide-field Lobster Eye X-ray optics to be considered for the first time. The novel telescopes will monitor the sky with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution of order of 1 arcmin. They are expected to contribute essentially to study of various astrophysical objects such as AGN, SNe, Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), X-ray flashes (XRFs), galactic binary sources, stars, CVs, X-ray novae, various transient sources, etc. For example, the Lobster optics based X-ray All Sky Monitor is capable to detect around 20 GRBs and 8 XRFs yearly and this will surely significantly contribute to the related science

  11. KMTNET: A Network of 1.6 m Wide-Field Optical Telescopes Installed at Three Southern Observatories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seung-Lee; Lee, Chung-Uk; Park, Byeong-Gon; Kim, Dong-Jin; Cha, Sang-Mok; Lee, Yongseok; Han, Cheongho; Chun, Moo-Young; Yuk, Insoo

    2016-02-01

    The Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) is a wide-field photometric system installed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). Here, we present the overall technical specifications of the KMTNet observation system, test observation results, data transfer and image processing procedure, and finally, the KMTNet science programs. The system consists of three 1.6 m wide-field optical telescopes equipped with mosaic CCD cameras of 18k by 18k pixels. Each telescope provides a 2.0 by 2.0 square degree field of view. We have finished installing all three telescopes and cameras sequentially at the Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in South Africa, and the Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) in Australia. This network of telescopes, which is spread over three different continents at a similar latitude of about -30 degrees, enables 24-hour continuous monitoring of targets observable in the Southern Hemisphere. The test observations showed good image quality that meets the seeing requirement of less than 1.0 arcsec in I-band. All of the observation data are transferred to the KMTNet data center at KASI via the international network communication and are processed with the KMTNet data pipeline. The primary scientific goal of the KMTNet is to discover numerous extrasolar planets toward the Galactic bulge by using the gravitational microlensing technique, especially earth-mass planets in the habitable zone. During the non-bulge season, the system is used for wide-field photometric survey science on supernovae, asteroids, and external galaxies.

  12. Evolving Design Criteria for Very Large Aperture Space Based Telescopes and Their Influence on the Need for Integrated Tools in the Optimization Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, William R., Sr.

    2015-01-01

    NASA's Advanced Mirror Technology Development (AMTD) program has been developing the means to design and build the future generations of space based telescopes. With the nearing completion of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astrophysics community is already starting to define the requirements for follow-on observatories. The restrictions of available launch vehicles and the possibilities of planned future vehicles have fueled the competition between monolithic primaries (with better optical quality) and segmented primaries (with larger apertures, but with diffraction, costs and figure control issues). Regardless of the current shroud sizes and lift capacities, these competing architectures share the need for rapid design tools. As part of the AMTD program a number of tools have been developed and tested to speed up the design process. Starting with the Arnold Mirror Modeler (which creates Finite Element Models (FEM) for structural analysis) and now also feeds these models into thermal stability analyses. They share common file formats and interchangeable results. During the development of the program, numerous trade studies were created for 4-meter and 8-meter monolithic primaries, complete with support systems. Evaluation of these results has led to a better understanding of how the specification drives the results. This paper will show some of the early trade studies for typical specification requirements such as lowest mirror bending frequency and suspension system lowest frequency. The results use representative allowable stress values for each mirror substrate material and construction method and generic material properties. These studies lead to some interesting relationships between feasible designs and the realities of actually trying to build these mirrors. Much of the traditional specifications were developed for much smaller systems, where the mass and volume of the primary where a small portion of the overall satellite. JWST shows us that as

  13. Planck intermediate results XXXVI. Optical identification and redshifts of Planck SZ sources with telescopes at the Canary Islands observatories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Arnaud, M.

    2016-01-01

    We present the results of approximately three years of observations of Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources with telescopes at the Canary Islands observatories as part of the general optical follow-up programme undertaken by the Planck Collaboration. In total, 78 SZ sources are discussed. Deep-i...

  14. Unique Spectroscopy and Imaging of Mars with the James Webb Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villanueva, Geronimo L.; Altieri, Francesca; Clancy, R. Todd; Encrenaz, Therese; Fouchet, Thierry; Hartogh, Paul; Lellouch, Emmanuel; Lopez-Valverde, Miguel A.; Mumma, Michael J.; Novak, Robert E.; hide

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we summarize the main capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for performing observations of Mars. The distinctive vantage point of JWST at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2) will allow sampling the full observable disk, permitting the study of short-term phenomena, diurnal processes (across the east-west axis), and latitudinal processes between the hemispheres (including seasonal effects) with excellent spatial resolutions (0.''07 at 2 micron). Spectroscopic observations will be achievable in the 0.7-5 micron spectral region with NIRSpec at a maximum resolving power of 2700 and with 8000 in the 1-1.25 micron range. Imaging will be attainable with the Near-Infrared Camera at 4.3 micrometers and with two narrow filters near 2 micron, while the nightside will be accessible with several filters in 0.5 to 2 micron. Such a powerful suite of instruments will be a major asset for the exploration and characterization of Mars. Some science cases include the mapping of the water D/H ratio, investigations of the Martian mesosphere via the characterization of the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium CO2 emission at 4.3 micron, studies of chemical transport via observations of the O2 nightglow at 1.27 micron, high-cadence mapping of the variability dust and water-ice clouds, and sensitive searches for trace species and hydrated features on the Martian surface. In-flight characterization of the instruments may allow for additional science opportunities.

  15. Transit Recovery of Kepler-167e: Providing JWST with an Unprecedented Jupiter-analog Exoplanet Target

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalba, Paul; Muirhead, Philip; Tamburo, Patrick

    2018-05-01

    The Kepler Mission has uncovered a handful of long-period transiting exoplanets that orbit in the cold outer reaches of their systems, despite their low transit probabilities. Recent work suggests that cold gas giant exoplanet atmospheres are amenable to transmission spectroscopy (the analysis of the transit depth versus wavelength) enabling novel tests of planetary formation and evolution theories. Of particular scientific interest is Kepler-167e, a low-eccentricity Jupiter-analog exoplanet with a 1,071-day orbital period residing well beyond the snow-line. Transmission spectroscopy of Kepler-167e from JWST can reveal the composition of this planet's atmosphere, constrain its heavy-element abundance, and identify atmospheric photochemical processes. JWST characterization also enables unprecedented direct comparison with Jupiter and Saturn, which show a striking diversity in physical properties that is best investigated through comparative exoplanetology. Since Kepler only observed two transits of Kepler-167e, it is not known if this exoplanet exhibits transit timing variations (TTVs). About half of Kepler's long-period exoplanets have TTVs of up to 40 hours. Such a large uncertainty jeopardizes attempts to characterize the atmosphere of this unique Jovian exoplanet with JWST. To mitigate this risk, the upcoming third transit of Kepler-167e must be observed to test for TTVs. We propose a simple 10-hour, single-channel observation to capture ingress or egress of the next transit of Kepler-167e in December 2018. In the absence of TTVs, our observation will reduce the ephemeris uncertainty from an unknown value to approximately 3 minutes, thereby removing the risk in future transit observations with JWST. The excellent photometric precision of Spitzer is sufficient to identify the transit of Kepler-167e. Given the timing and nature of this program, Spitzer is the only observatory--on the ground or in space--that can make this pivotal observation.

  16. Toward Adaptive X-Ray Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Dell, Stephen L.; Atkins, Carolyn; Button, Tim W.; Cotroneo, Vincenzo; Davis, William N.; Doel, Peer; Feldman, Charlotte H.; Freeman, Mark D.; Gubarev, Mikhail V.; Kolodziejczak, Jeffrey J.; hide

    2011-01-01

    Future x-ray observatories will require high-resolution (less than 1 inch) optics with very-large-aperture (greater than 25 square meter) areas. Even with the next generation of heavy-lift launch vehicles, launch-mass constraints and aperture-area requirements will limit the surface areal density of the grazing-incidence mirrors to about 1 kilogram per square meter or less. Achieving sub-arcsecond x-ray imaging with such lightweight mirrors will require excellent mirror surfaces, precise and stable alignment, and exceptional stiffness or deformation compensation. Attaining and maintaining alignment and figure control will likely involve adaptive (in-space adjustable) x-ray optics. In contrast with infrared and visible astronomy, adaptive optics for x-ray astronomy is in its infancy. In the middle of the past decade, two efforts began to advance technologies for adaptive x-ray telescopes: The Generation-X (Gen-X) concept studies in the United States, and the Smart X-ray Optics (SXO) Basic Technology project in the United Kingdom. This paper discusses relevant technological issues and summarizes progress toward adaptive x-ray telescopes.

  17. Active telescope systems; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Mar. 28-31, 1989

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roddier, Francois J.

    1989-09-01

    The present conference discusses topics in the fundamental limitations of adaptive optics in astronomical telescopy, integrated telescope systems designs, novel components for adaptive telescopes, active interferometry, flexible-mirror and segmented-mirror telescopes, and various aspects of the NASA Precision Segmented Reflectors Program. Attention is given to near-ground atmospheric turbulence effects, a near-IR astronomical adaptive optics system, a simplified wavefront sensor for adaptive mirror control, excimer laser guide star techniques for adaptive astronomical imaging, active systems in long-baseline interferometry, mirror figure control primitives for a 10-m primary mirror, and closed-loop active optics for large flexible mirrors subject to wind buffet deformations. Also discussed are active pupil geometry control for a phased-array telescope, extremely lightweight space telescope mirrors, segmented-mirror manufacturing tolerances, and composite deformable mirror design.

  18. LSST telescope and site status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gressler, William J.

    2016-07-01

    The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Project1 received its construction authorization from the National Science Foundation in August 2014. The Telescope and Site (T and S) group has made considerable progress towards completion in subsystems required to support the scope of the LSST science mission. The LSST goal is to conduct a wide, fast, deep survey via a 3-mirror wide field of view optical design, a 3.2-Gpixel camera, and an automated data processing system. The summit facility is currently under construction on Cerro Pachón in Chile, with major vendor subsystem deliveries and integration planned over the next several years. This paper summarizes the status of the activities of the T and S group, tasked with design, analysis, and construction of the summit and base facilities and infrastructure necessary to control the survey, capture the light, and calibrate the data. All major telescope work package procurements have been awarded to vendors and are in varying stages of design and fabrication maturity and completion. The unique M1M3 primary/tertiary mirror polishing effort is completed and the mirror now resides in storage waiting future testing. Significant progress has been achieved on all the major telescope subsystems including the summit facility, telescope mount assembly, dome, hexapod and rotator systems, coating plant, base facility, and the calibration telescope. In parallel, in-house efforts including the software needed to control the observatory such as the scheduler and the active optics control, have also seen substantial advancement. The progress and status of these subsystems and future LSST plans during this construction phase are presented.

  19. Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope [WFIRST]: telescope design and simulated performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goullioud, R.; Content, D. A.; Kuan, G. M.; Moore, J. D.; Chang, Z.; Sunada, E. T.; Villalvazo, J.; Hawk, J. P.; Armani, N. V.; Johnson, E. L.; Powell, C. A.

    2012-09-01

    The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission concept was ranked first in new space astrophysics missions by the Astro2010 Decadal Survey, incorporating the Joint Dark Energy Mission payload concept and multiple science white papers. This mission is based on a space telescope at L2 studying exoplanets [via gravitational microlensing], probing dark energy, and surveying the near infrared sky. Since the release of the Astro2010 Decadal Survey, the team has been working with the WFIRST Science Definition Team to refine mission and payload concepts. We present the current interim reference mission point design of the payload, based on the use of a 1.3m unobscured aperture three mirror anastigmat form, with focal imaging and slit-less spectroscopy science channels. We also present the first results of Structural/Thermal/Optical performance modeling of the telescope point design.

  20. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornton, Robert J.; Atacama Cosmology Telescope Team

    2010-01-01

    The 6-meter Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is making detailed maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background at Cerro Toco in northern Chile. In this talk, I focus on the design and operation of the telescope and its commissioning instrument, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera. The camera contains three independent sets of optics that operate at 148 GHz, 217 GHz, and 277 GHz with arcminute resolution, each of which couples to a 1024-element array of Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers. I will report on the camera performance, including the beam patterns, optical efficiencies, and detector sensitivities. Under development for ACT is a new polarimeter based on feedhorn-coupled TES devices that have improved sensitivity and are planned to operate at 0.1 K.

  1. Adaptive Optics Simulation for the World's Largest Telescope on Multicore Architectures with Multiple GPUs

    KAUST Repository

    Ltaief, Hatem

    2016-06-02

    We present a high performance comprehensive implementation of a multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) simulation on multicore architectures with hardware accelerators in the context of computational astronomy. This implementation will be used as an operational testbed for simulating the de- sign of new instruments for the European Extremely Large Telescope project (E-ELT), the world\\'s biggest eye and one of Europe\\'s highest priorities in ground-based astronomy. The simulation corresponds to a multi-step multi-stage pro- cedure, which is fed, near real-time, by system and turbulence data coming from the telescope environment. Based on the PLASMA library powered by the OmpSs dynamic runtime system, our implementation relies on a task-based programming model to permit an asynchronous out-of-order execution. Using modern multicore architectures associated with the enormous computing power of GPUS, the resulting data-driven compute-intensive simulation of the entire MOAO application, composed of the tomographic reconstructor and the observing sequence, is capable of coping with the aforementioned real-time challenge and stands as a reference implementation for the computational astronomy community.

  2. Pre-selecting muon events in the camera server of the ASTRI telescopes for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maccarone, Maria C.; Mineo, Teresa; Capalbi, Milvia; Conforti, Vito; Coffaro, Martina

    2016-08-01

    The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the next generation of ground based observatories for very high energy gamma ray astronomy. The CTA will consist of two arrays at two different sites, one in the northern and one in the southern hemisphere. The current CTA design foresees, in the southern site, the installation of many tens of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes of three different classes, namely large, medium, and small, so defined in relation to their mirror area; the northern hemisphere array would consist of few tens of the two larger telescope types. The telescopes will be equipped with cameras composed either of photomultipliers or silicon photomultipliers, and with different trigger and read-out electronics. In such a scenario, several different methods will be used for the telescopes' calibration. Nevertheless, the optical throughput of any CTA telescope, independently of its type, can be calibrated analyzing the characteristic image produced by local atmospheric highly energetic muons that induce the emission of Cherenkov light which is imaged as a ring onto the focal plane if their impact point is relatively close to the telescope optical axis. Large sized telescopes would be able to detect useful muon events under stereo coincidence and such stereo muon events will be directly addressed to the central CTA array data acquisition pipeline to be analyzed. For the medium and small sized telescopes, due to their smaller mirror area and large inter-telescope distance, the stereo coincidence rate will tend to zero; nevertheless, muon events will be detected by single telescopes that must therefore be able to identify them as possible useful calibration candidates, even if no stereo coincidence is available. This is the case for the ASTRI telescopes, proposed as pre-production units of the small size array of the CTA, which are able to detect muon events during regular data taking without requiring any dedicated trigger. We present two fast

  3. Solar Adaptive Optics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas R. Rimmele

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Adaptive optics (AO has become an indispensable tool at ground-based solar telescopes. AO enables the ground-based observer to overcome the adverse effects of atmospheric seeing and obtain diffraction limited observations. Over the last decade adaptive optics systems have been deployed at major ground-based solar telescopes and revitalized ground-based solar astronomy. The relatively small aperture of solar telescopes and the bright source make solar AO possible for visible wavelengths where the majority of solar observations are still performed. Solar AO systems enable diffraction limited observations of the Sun for a significant fraction of the available observing time at ground-based solar telescopes, which often have a larger aperture than equivalent space based observatories, such as HINODE. New ground breaking scientific results have been achieved with solar adaptive optics and this trend continues. New large aperture telescopes are currently being deployed or are under construction. With the aid of solar AO these telescopes will obtain observations of the highly structured and dynamic solar atmosphere with unprecedented resolution. This paper reviews solar adaptive optics techniques and summarizes the recent progress in the field of solar adaptive optics. An outlook to future solar AO developments, including a discussion of Multi-Conjugate AO (MCAO and Ground-Layer AO (GLAO will be given.

  4. Merz telescopes a global heritage worth preserving

    CERN Document Server

    2017-01-01

    This book comprises a fascinating collection of contributions on the Merz telescopes in Italy that collectively offer the first survey on historical large refracting telescopes in the country, drawing on original documents and photographs. It opens with a general introduction on the importance of Merz telescopes in the history of astronomy and analyses of the local and international contexts in which the telescopes were made. After examination of an example of the interaction between the maker and the astronomer in the construction and maintenance of these refractors, the history of the Merz telescopes at the main Italian observatories in the nineteenth century is described in detail. Expert testimony is also provided on how these telescopes were successfully used until the second half of the twentieth century for research purposes, thus proving their excellent optical qualities.

  5. Telescope Kits: A Teaching Vehicle for the International Year of Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pompea, Stephen M.; Fienberg, R. T.; Isbell, D.; Deustua, S.

    2007-12-01

    We are examining a variety of telescope kits suitable for assembly by school-age children in order to design a cornerstone educational program for the International Year of Astronomy 2009-400 years after Galileo's observations. In our experience, telescope kits are superior to pre-assembled telescopes for use in an educational setting as the students feels a stronger sense of ownership and have a better understanding of the components and how they work. We examined several low to medium power refracting telescope kits including one kit used in the Hands-On Optics project at NOAO. We describe the advantages and disadvantages of each kit from an educational and optical perspective and what modifications may be made to enhance their educational utility. We also describe the optical and education requirements for a low-powered "Galileoscope", to be distributed widely during the IYA. We also describe how the "Galileoscope” will be embedded in an educational program disseminated through science centers, amateur astronomy clubs and other Hands-On Optics centers and partners.

  6. Design Evolution of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope Using Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST-AFTA) and Lessons Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peabody, Hume L.; Peters, Carlton V.; Rodriguez-Ruiz, Juan E.; McDonald, Carson S.; Content, David A.; Jackson, Clifton E.

    2015-01-01

    The design of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope using Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST-AFTA) continues to evolve as each design cycle is analyzed. In 2012, two Hubble sized (2.4 m diameter) telescopes were donated to NASA from elsewhere in the Federal Government. NASA began investigating potential uses for these telescopes and identified WFIRST as a mission to benefit from these assets. With an updated, deeper, and sharper field of view than previous design iterations with a smaller telescope, the optical designs of the WFIRST instruments were updated and the mechanical and thermal designs evolved around the new optical layout. Beginning with Design Cycle 3, significant analysis efforts yielded a design and model that could be evaluated for Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance (STOP) purposes for the Wide Field Imager (WFI) and provided the basis for evaluating the high level observatory requirements. Development of the Cycle 3 thermal model provided some valuable analysis lessons learned and established best practices for future design cycles. However, the Cycle 3 design did include some major liens and evolving requirements which were addressed in the Cycle 4 Design. Some of the design changes are driven by requirements changes, while others are optimizations or solutions to liens from previous cycles. Again in Cycle 4, STOP analysis was performed and further insights into the overall design were gained leading to the Cycle 5 design effort currently underway. This paper seeks to capture the thermal design evolution, with focus on major design drivers, key decisions and their rationale, and lessons learned as the design evolved.

  7. Opto-mechanical design and development of a 460mm diffractive transmissive telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Bo; Wang, Lihua; Cui, Zhangang; Bian, Jiang; Xiang, Sihua; Ma, Haotong; Fan, Bin

    2018-01-01

    Using lightweight, replicated diffractive optics, we can construct extremely large aperture telescopes in space.The transmissive primary significantly reduces the sensitivities to out of plane motion as compared to reflective systems while reducing the manufacturing time and costs. This paper focuses on the design, fabrication and ground demonstration of a 460mm diffractive transmissive telescope the primary F/# is 6, optical field of view is 0.2° imagine bandwidth is 486nm 656nm.The design method of diffractive optical system was verified, the ability to capture a high-quality image using diffractive telescope collection optics was tested.The results show that the limit resolution is 94lp/mm, the diffractive system has a good imagine performance with broad bandwidths. This technology is particularly promising as a means to achieve extremely large optical primaries from compact, lightweight packages.

  8. Hartman Testing of X-Ray Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Timo T.; Biskasch, Michael; Zhang, William W.

    2013-01-01

    Hartmann testing of x-ray telescopes is a simple test method to retrieve and analyze alignment errors and low-order circumferential errors of x-ray telescopes and their components. A narrow slit is scanned along the circumference of the telescope in front of the mirror and the centroids of the images are calculated. From the centroid data, alignment errors, radius variation errors, and cone-angle variation errors can be calculated. Mean cone angle, mean radial height (average radius), and the focal length of the telescope can also be estimated if the centroid data is measured at multiple focal plane locations. In this paper we present the basic equations that are used in the analysis process. These equations can be applied to full circumference or segmented x-ray telescopes. We use the Optical Surface Analysis Code (OSAC) to model a segmented x-ray telescope and show that the derived equations and accompanying analysis retrieves the alignment errors and low order circumferential errors accurately.

  9. GLAS: engineering a common-user Rayleigh laser guide star for adaptive optics on the William Herschel Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talbot, Gordon; Abrams, Don Carlos; Apostolakos, Nikolaos; Bassom, Richard; Blackburn, Colin; Blanken, Maarten; Cano Infantes, Diego; Chopping, Alan; Dee, Kevin; Dipper, Nigel; Elswijk, Eddy; Enthoven, Bernard; Gregory, Thomas; ter Horst, Rik; Humphreys, Ron; Idserda, Jan; Jolley, Paul; Kuindersma, Sjouke; McDermid, Richard; Morris, Tim; Myers, Richard; Pico, Sergio; Pragt, Johan; Rees, Simon; Rey, Jürg; Reyes, Marcos; Rutten, René; Schoenmaker, Ton; Skvarc, Jure; Tromp, Niels; Tulloch, Simon; Veninga, Auke

    2006-06-01

    The GLAS (Ground-layer Laser Adaptive-optics System) project is to construct a common-user Rayleigh laser beacon that will work in conjunction with the existing NAOMI adaptive optics system, instruments (near IR imager INGRID, optical integral field spectrograph OASIS, coronagraph OSCA) and infrastructure at the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on La Palma. The laser guide star system will increase sky coverage available to high-order adaptive optics from ~1% to approaching 100% and will be optimized for scientific exploitation of the OASIS integral-field spectrograph at optical wavelengths. Additionally GLAS will be used in on-sky experiments for the application of laser beacons to ELTs. This paper describes the full range of engineering of the project ranging through the laser launch system, wavefront sensors, computer control, mechanisms, diagnostics, CCD detectors and the safety system. GLAS is a fully funded project, with final design completed and all equipment ordered, including the laser. Integration has started on the WHT and first light is expected summer 2006.

  10. eLISA Telescope In-field Pointing and Scattered Light Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livas, J.; Sankar, S.; West, G.; Seals, L.; Howard, J.; Fitzsimons, E.

    2017-05-01

    The orbital motion of the three spacecraft that make up the eLISA Observatory constellation causes long-arm line of sight variations of approximately ± one degree over the course of a year. The baseline solution is to package the telescope, the optical bench, and the gravitational reference sensor (GRS) into an optical assembly at each end of the measurement arm, and then to articulate the assembly. An optical phase reference is exchanged between the moving optical benches with a single mode optical fiber (“backlink” fiber). An alternative solution, referred to as in-field pointing, embeds a steering mirror into the optical design, fixing the optical benches and eliminating the backlink fiber, but requiring the additional complication of a two-stage optical design for the telescope. We examine the impact of an in-field pointing design on the scattered light performance.

  11. GISOT: a giant solar telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammerschlag, Robert H.; von der Lühe, Oskar F.; Bettonvil, Felix C.; Jägers, Aswin P.; Snik, Frans

    2004-10-01

    A concept is presented for an extremely large high-resolution solar telescope with an aperture of 11 m and diffraction limited for visual wavelengths. The structure of GISOT will be transparent to wind and placed on a transparent stiff tower. For efficient wind flushing, all optics, including the primary mirror, will be located above the elevation axis. The aperture will be of the order of 11 m, not rotatively symmetrical, but of an elongated shape with dimensions 11 x 4 m. It consists of a central on-axis 4 m mirror with on both sides 3 pieces of 2 m mirrors. The optical layout will be kept simple to guarantee quality and minimize stray light. A Coudé room for instruments is planned below the telescope. The telescope will not be housed in a dome-like construction, which interferes with the open principle. Instead the telescope will be protected by a foldable tent construction with a diameter of the order of 30 m, which doesn"t form any obstruction during observations, but can withstand the severe weather circumstances on mountain sites. Because of the nature of the solar scene, extremely high resolution in only one dimension is sufficient to solve many exciting problems in solar physics and in this respect the concept of GISOT is very promising.

  12. Scientific management of Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odell, C. R.

    1981-01-01

    A historical summay is given on the science management of the Space Telescope, the inception of which began in 1962, when scientists and engineers first recommended the development of a nearly diffraction limited substantial-size optical telescope. Phase A, the feasibility requirements generation phase, began in 1971 and consisted largely of NASA scientists and a NASA design. Phase B, the preliminary design phase, established a tiered structure of scientists, led by the Large Space Telescope operations and Management Work Group. A Mission Operations Working Group headed six instrument definition teams to develop the essential instrument definitions. Many changes took place during Phase B, before design and development, which began in 1978 and still continues today.

  13. Solar Adaptive Optics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimmele, Thomas R; Marino, Jose

    Adaptive optics (AO) has become an indispensable tool at ground-based solar telescopes. AO enables the ground-based observer to overcome the adverse effects of atmospheric seeing and obtain diffraction limited observations. Over the last decade adaptive optics systems have been deployed at major ground-based solar telescopes and revitalized ground-based solar astronomy. The relatively small aperture of solar telescopes and the bright source make solar AO possible for visible wavelengths where the majority of solar observations are still performed. Solar AO systems enable diffraction limited observations of the Sun for a significant fraction of the available observing time at ground-based solar telescopes, which often have a larger aperture than equivalent space based observatories, such as HINODE. New ground breaking scientific results have been achieved with solar adaptive optics and this trend continues. New large aperture telescopes are currently being deployed or are under construction. With the aid of solar AO these telescopes will obtain observations of the highly structured and dynamic solar atmosphere with unprecedented resolution. This paper reviews solar adaptive optics techniques and summarizes the recent progress in the field of solar adaptive optics. An outlook to future solar AO developments, including a discussion of Multi-Conjugate AO (MCAO) and Ground-Layer AO (GLAO) will be given. Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.12942/lrsp-2011-2.

  14. The search for optical emission on and before the GRB trigger with the WIDGET telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamagawa, T.; Usui, F.

    2005-01-01

    WIDGET is a robotic telescope for monitoring the HETE-2 field-of-view to detect Gamma-Ray Burst optical flashes or possible optical precursors. The system has 62 o wide field-of-view which covers about 80% of HETE-2 one with a 2k x 2k Apogee U10 CCD camera and a Canon EF 24 mm f/1.4 wide-angle lens without a band pass filter. WIDGET has been in operation since June 2004 at Akeno observing site where is about 200 Km apart from Tokyo. Typical limiting magnitude with S/N = 3 at the site is V = 10 mag for 5 seconds exposure and V = 11 mag for 30 seconds exposure. We had already six coincident observations with the HETE-2 position alerts. It was, however, cloudy for all cases due to rainy season in Japan. The expected number of coincident observations under clear sky is about 5 events per year. We will extend the system in early 2005 for Swift era to monitor optical transients in wider field-of-view, multi-color or polarization modes

  15. Using the ISS as a testbed to prepare for the next generation of space-based telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Postman, Marc; Sparks, William B.; Liu, Fengchuan; Ess, Kim; Green, Joseph; Carpenter, Kenneth G.; Thronson, Harley; Goullioud, Renaud

    2012-09-01

    The infrastructure available on the ISS provides a unique opportunity to develop the technologies necessary to assemble large space telescopes. Assembling telescopes in space is a game-changing approach to space astronomy. Using the ISS as a testbed enables a concentration of resources on reducing the technical risks associated with integrating the technologies, such as laser metrology and wavefront sensing and control (WFS&C), with the robotic assembly of major components including very light-weight primary and secondary mirrors and the alignment of the optical elements to a diffraction-limited optical system in space. The capability to assemble the optical system and remove and replace components via the existing ISS robotic systems such as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), or by the ISS Flight Crew, allows for future experimentation as well as repair if necessary. In 2015, first light will be obtained by the Optical Testbed and Integration on ISS eXperiment (OpTIIX), a small 1.5-meter optical telescope assembled on the ISS. The primary objectives of OpTIIX include demonstrating telescope assembly technologies and end-to-end optical system technologies that will advance future large optical telescopes.

  16. Optical and thermal design of 1.5-m aperture solar UV visible and IR observing telescope for Solar-C mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suematsu, Y.; Katsukawa, Y.; Shimizu, T.; Ichimoto, K.; Horiuchi, T.; Matsumoto, Y.; Takeyama, N.

    2017-11-01

    The next Japanese solar mission, SOLAR-C, which has been envisaged after successful science operation of Hinode (SOLAR-B) mission, is perusing two plans: plan-A and plan-B, and under extensive study from science objectives as well as engineering point of view. The plan-A aims at performing out-of-ecliptic observations for investigating, with helioseismic approach, internal structure and dynamo mechanisms of the Sun. It also explores polar regions where fast solar wind is believed to originate. A baseline orbit for plan-A is a circular orbit of 1 AU distance from the Sun with its inclination at around or greater than 40 degrees. The plan-B aims to study small-scale plasma processes and structures in the solar atmosphere which attract researchers' growing interest, followed by many Hinode discoveries [1], for understanding fully dynamism and magnetic nature of the atmosphere. With plan-B, high-angular-resolution investigation of the entire solar atmosphere (from the photosphere to the corona, including their interface layers, i.e., chromosphere and transition region) is to be performed with enhanced spectroscopic and spectro-polarimetric capability as compared with Hinode, together with enhanced sensitivity towards ultra-violet wavelengths. The orbit of plan-B is either a solar synchronous polar orbit of altitude around 600 km or a geosynchronous orbit to ensure continuous solar observations. After the decision of any one of the two plans, the SOLAR-C will be proposed for launch in mid-2010s. In this paper, we will present a basic design of one of major planned instrumental payload for the plan-B: the Solar Ultra-violet Visible and near IR observing Telescope (hereafter referred to as SUVIT). The basic concept in designing the SUVIT is to utilize as much as possible a heritage of successful telescope of the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) aboard Hinode [2]. Major differences of SUVIT from SOT are the three times larger aperture of 1.5 m, which enables to collect one

  17. Design considerations for large detector arrays on submillimeter-wave telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stark, Antony A.

    2000-07-01

    The emerging technology of large (approximately 10,000 pixel) submillimeter-wave bolometer arrays presents a novel optical design problem -- how can such arrays be fed by diffraction- limited telescope optics where the primary mirror is less than 100,000 wavelengths in diameter? Standard Cassegrain designs for radiotelescope optics exhibit focal surface curvature so large that detectors cannot be placed more than 25 beam diameters from the central ray. The problem is worse for Ritchey-Chretien designs, because these minimize coma while increasing field curvature. Classical aberrations, including coma, are usually dominated by diffraction in submillimeter- wave single dish telescopes. The telescope designer must consider (1) diffraction, (2) aberration, (3) curvature of field, (4) cross-polarization, (5) internal reflections, (6) the effect of blockages, (7) means of beam chopping on- and off-source, (8) gravitational and thermal deformations of the primary mirror, (9) the physical mounting of large detector packages, and (10) the effect of gravity and (11) vibration on those detectors. Simultaneous optimization of these considerations in the case of large detector arrays leads to telescopes that differ considerably from standard radiotelescope designs. Offset optics provide flexibility for mounting detectors, while eliminating blockage and internal reflections. Aberrations and cross-polarization can be the same as on-axis designs having the same diameter and focal length. Trade-offs include the complication of primary mirror homology and an increase in overall cost. A dramatic increase in usable field of view can be achieved using shaped optics. Solutions having one to six mirrors will be discussed, including possible six-mirror design for the proposed South Pole 10 m telescope.

  18. Design progress of the solar UV-Vis-IR telescope (SUVIT) aboard SOLAR-C

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsukawa, Y.; Ichimoto, K.; Suematsu, Y.; Hara, H.; Kano, R.; Shimizu, T.; Matsuzaki, K.

    2013-09-01

    We present a design progress of the Solar UV-Vis-IR Telescope (SUVIT) aboard the next Japanese solar mission SOLAR-C. SUVIT has an aperture diameter of ~1.4 m for achieving spectro-polarimetric observations with spatial and temporal resolution exceeding the Hinode Solar Optical Telescope (SOT). We have studied structural and thermal designs of the optical telescope as well as the optical interface between the telescope and the focal plane instruments. The focal plane instruments are installed into two packages, filtergraph and spectrograph packages. The spectropolarimeter is the instrument dedicated to accurate polarimetry in the three spectrum windows at 525 nm, 854 nm, and 1083 nm for observing magnetic fields at both the photospheric and chromospheric layers. We made optical design of the spectrograph accommodating the conventional slit spectrograph and the integral field unit (IFU) for two-dimensional coverage. We are running feasibility study of the IFU using fiber arrays consisting of rectangular cores.

  19. Readout of the UFFO Slewing Mirror Telescope to detect UV/optical photons from Gamma-Ray Bursts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, J E; Jung, A; Linder, E V; Na, G W; Lim, H; Nam, J W; Chen, P; Liu, T-C; Brandt, S; Budtz-Jorgensen, C; Castro-Tirado, A J; Choi, H S; Grossan, B; Huang, M A; Jeong, S; Kim, M B; Lee, J; Park, I H; Kim, S-W; Panasyuk, M I

    2013-01-01

    The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) was proposed for rapid response to prompt UV/optical photons from Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The SMT is a key component of the Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO)-pathfinder, which will be launched aboard the Lomonosov spacecraft at the end of 2013. The SMT utilizes a motorized mirror that slews rapidly forward to its target within a second after triggering by an X-ray coded mask camera, which makes unnecessary a reorientation of the entire spacecraft. Subsequent measurement of the UV/optical is accomplished by a 10 cm aperture Ritchey-Chrètien telescope and the focal plane detector of Intensified Charge-Coupled Device (ICCD). The ICCD is sensitive to UV/optical photons of 200–650 nm in wavelength by using a UV-enhanced S20 photocathode and amplifies photoelectrons at a gain of 10 4 –10 6 in double Micro-Channel Plates. These photons are read out by a Kodak KAI-0340 interline CCD sensor and a CCD Signal Processor with 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter. Various control clocks for CCD readout are implemented using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The SMT readout is in charge of not only data acquisition, storage and transfer, but also control of the slewing mirror, the ICCD high voltage adjustments, power distribution, and system monitoring by interfacing to the UFFO-pathfinder. These functions are realized in the FPGA to minimize power consumption and to enhance processing time. The SMT readout electronics are designed and built to meet the spacecraft's constraints of power consumption, mass, and volume. The entire system is integrated with the SMT optics, as is the UFFO-pathfinder. The system has been tested and satisfies the conditions of launch and those of operation in space: those associated with shock and vibration and those associated with thermal and vacuum, respectively. In this paper, we present the SMT readout electronics: the design, construction, and performance, as well as the results of space environment

  20. Detecting Proxima b’s Atmosphere with JWST Targeting CO{sub 2} at 15 μ m Using a High-pass Spectral Filtering Technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Snellen, I. A. G.; Van Dishoeck, E. F.; Brandl, B. R.; Van Eylen, V. [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Postbus 9513, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Désert, J.-M.; Waters, L. B. F. M.; Dominik, C.; Birkby, J. L. [Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam (Netherlands); Robinson, T. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Meadows, V. [Astronomy Department, University of Washington (United States); Henning, T.; Bouwman, J. [Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy, Koenigstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Lahuis, F.; Min, M. [SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht (Netherlands); Lovis, C. [Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 chemin des Maillettes, 1290 Versoix (Switzerland); Sing, D. [School of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter (United Kingdom); Anglada-Escudé, G. [School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS (United Kingdom); Brogi, M., E-mail: snellen@strw.leidenuniv.nl [Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

    2017-08-01

    Exoplanet Proxima b will be an important laboratory for the search for extraterrestrial life for the decades ahead. Here, we discuss the prospects of detecting carbon dioxide at 15 μ m using a spectral filtering technique with the Medium Resolution Spectrograph (MRS) mode of the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ). At superior conjunction, the planet is expected to show a contrast of up to 100 ppm with respect to the star. At a spectral resolving power of R  = 1790–2640, about 100 spectral CO{sub 2} features are visible within the 13.2–15.8 μ m (3B) band, which can be combined to boost the planet atmospheric signal by a factor of 3–4, depending on the atmospheric temperature structure and CO{sub 2} abundance. If atmospheric conditions are favorable (assuming an Earth-like atmosphere), with this new application to the cross-correlation technique, carbon dioxide can be detected within a few days of JWST observations. However, this can only be achieved if both the instrumental spectral response and the stellar spectrum can be determined to a relative precision of ≤1 × 10{sup −4} between adjacent spectral channels. Absolute flux calibration is not required, and the method is insensitive to the strong broadband variability of the host star. Precise calibration of the spectral features of the host star may only be attainable by obtaining deep observations of the system during inferior conjunction that serve as a reference. The high-pass filter spectroscopic technique with the MIRI MRS can be tested on warm Jupiters, Neptunes, and super-Earths with significantly higher planet/star contrast ratios than the Proxima system.

  1. Focusing Telescopes in Nuclear Astrophysics

    CERN Document Server

    Ballmoos, Peter von

    2007-01-01

    This volume is the first of its kind on focusing gamma-ray telescopes. Forty-eight refereed papers provide a comprehensive overview of the scientific potential and technical challenges of this nascent tool for nuclear astrophysics. The book features articles dealing with pivotal technologies such as grazing incident mirrors, multilayer coatings, Laue- and Fresnel-lenses - and even an optic using the curvature of space-time. The volume also presents an overview of detectors matching the ambitious objectives of gamma ray optics, and facilities for operating such systems on the ground and in space. The extraordinary scientific potential of focusing gamma-ray telescopes for the study of the most powerful sources and the most violent events in the Universe is emphasized in a series of introductory articles. Practicing professionals, and students interested in experimental high-energy astrophysics, will find this book a useful reference

  2. Probing the TRAPPIST-1 System with K2, JWST, and Beyond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luger, Rodrigo; Lustig-Yaeger, Jacob; Agol, Eric; TRAPPIST-1 Collaboration

    2018-01-01

    I will discuss recent work I have done to characterize TRAPPIST-1, a nearby exoplanet system hosting seven terrestrial-size planets, three of which are in the habitable zone. In the first part of this talk, I will report on my efforts to constrain the orbital properties of the smallest and farthest out planet in the system, TRAPPIST-1h, from K2 data de-trended with my systematics correction pipeline, EVEREST. I will further discuss how the detection of TRAPPIST-1h with K2 confirmed the intricate resonant structure of the system, whose planets are all linked to their neighbors via three-body Laplace resonances. This is the longest known chain in any exoplanet system and holds important clues for the formation and migration of the TRAPPIST-1 planets. In the second part of this talk, I will discuss ongoing work to characterize the TRAPPIST-1 system via planet-planet occultations (PPOs), events during which one planet occults the disk of another, imparting a small photometric signal as its thermal or reflected light is blocked. Because of the extreme coplanarity of the system, PPOs should occur on average 1 - 2 times per day in TRAPPIST-1. I will discuss how the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will likely be able to detect PPOs in this system in the mid-infrared, and how these can be used to place exquisite constraints on the masses, eccentricities, and mutual inclinations of its planets. I will also show how photodynamical modeling of these events can eventually be used to reveal a planet's day/night temperature contrast, infer various atmospheric properties, and construct crude two-dimensional surface maps of alien worlds.

  3. Constraining Lyman continuum escape using Machine Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giri, Sambit K.; Zackrisson, Erik; Binggeli, Christian; Pelckmans, Kristiaan; Cubo, Rubén; Mellema, Garrelt

    2018-05-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will observe the rest-frame ultraviolet/optical spectra of galaxies from the epoch of reionization (EoR) in unprecedented detail. While escaping into the intergalactic medium, hydrogen-ionizing (Lyman continuum; LyC) photons from the galaxies will contribute to the bluer end of the UV slope and make nebular emission lines less prominent. We present a method to constrain leakage of the LyC photons using the spectra of high redshift (z >~ 6) galaxies. We simulate JWST/NIRSpec observations of galaxies at z =6-9 by matching the fluxes of galaxies observed in the Frontier Fields observations of galaxy cluster MACS-J0416. Our method predicts the escape fraction fesc with a mean absolute error Δfesc ~ 0.14. The method also predicts the redshifts of the galaxies with an error .

  4. High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun: Hard X-ray balloon-borne telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaskin, J.; Apple, J.; Chavis, K. S.; Dietz, K.; Holt, M.; Koehler, H.; Lis, T.; O'Connor, B.; Otero, M. R.; Pryor, J.; Ramsey, B.; Rinehart-Dawson, M.; Smith, L.; Sobey, A.; Wilson-Hodge, C.; Christe, S.; Cramer, A.; Edgerton, M.; Rodriguez, M.; Shih, A.; Gregory, D.; Jasper, J.; Bohon, S.

    Set to fly in the Fall of 2013 from Ft. Sumner, NM, the High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES) mission is a collaborative effort between the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the Goddard Space Flight Center to upgrade an existing payload, the High Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) balloon-borne telescope, to make unique scientific measurements of the Sun and astrophysical targets during the same flight. The HEROES science payload consists of 8 mirror modules, housing a total of 109 grazing-incidence optics. These modules are mounted on a carbon-fiber - and Aluminum optical bench 6 m from a matching array of high pressure xenon gas scintillation proportional counters, which serve as the focal-plane detectors. The HERO gondola utilizes a differential GPS system (backed by a magnetometer) for coarse pointing in the azimuth and a shaft angle encoder plus inclinometer provides the coarse elevation. The HEROES payload will incorporate a new solar aspect system to supplement the existing star camera, for fine pointing during both the day and night. A mechanical shutter will be added to the star camera to protect it during solar observations. HEROES will also implement two novel alignment monitoring system that will measure the alignment between the optical bench and the star camera and between the optics and detectors for improved pointing and post-flight data reconstruction. The overall payload will also be discussed. This mission is funded by the NASA HOPE (Hands On Project Experience) Training Opportunity awarded by the NASA Academy of Program/Project and Engineering Leadership, in partnership with NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Office of the Chief Engineer and Office of the Chief Technologist.

  5. Innovative compact focal plane array for wide field vis and ir orbiting telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hugot, Emmanuel; Vives, Sébastien; Ferrari, Marc; Gaeremynck, Yann; Jahn, Wilfried

    2017-11-01

    The future generation of high angular resolution space telescopes will require breakthrough technologies to combine large diameters and large focal plane arrays with compactness and lightweight mirrors and structures. Considering the allocated volume medium-size launchers, short focal lengths are mandatory, implying complex optical relays to obtain diffraction limited images on large focal planes. In this paper we present preliminary studies to obtain compact focal plane arrays (FPA) for earth observations on low earth orbits at high angular resolution. Based on the principle of image slicers, we present an optical concept to arrange a 1D FPA into a 2D FPA, allowing the use of 2D detector matrices. This solution is particularly attractive for IR imaging requiring a cryostat, which volume could be considerably reduced as well as the relay optics complexity. Enabling the use of 2D matrices for such an application offers new possibilities. Recent developments on curved FPA allows optimization without concerns on the field curvature. This innovative approach also reduces the complexity of the telescope optical combination, specifically for fast telescopes. This paper will describe the concept and optical design of an F/5 - 1.5m telescope equipped with such a FPA, the performances and the impact on the system with a comparison with an equivalent 1.5m wide field Korsch telescope.

  6. Multivariable Parametric Cost Model for Ground Optical Telescope Assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H. Philip; Rowell, Ginger Holmes; Reese, Gayle; Byberg, Alicia

    2005-01-01

    A parametric cost model for ground-based telescopes is developed using multivariable statistical analysis of both engineering and performance parameters. While diameter continues to be the dominant cost driver, diffraction-limited wavelength is found to be a secondary driver. Other parameters such as radius of curvature are examined. The model includes an explicit factor for primary mirror segmentation and/or duplication (i.e., multi-telescope phased-array systems). Additionally, single variable models Based on aperture diameter are derived.

  7. Multivariable Parametric Cost Model for Ground Optical: Telescope Assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H. Philip; Rowell, Ginger Holmes; Reese, Gayle; Byberg, Alicia

    2004-01-01

    A parametric cost model for ground-based telescopes is developed using multi-variable statistical analysis of both engineering and performance parameters. While diameter continues to be the dominant cost driver, diffraction limited wavelength is found to be a secondary driver. Other parameters such as radius of curvature were examined. The model includes an explicit factor for primary mirror segmentation and/or duplication (i.e. multi-telescope phased-array systems). Additionally, single variable models based on aperture diameter were derived.

  8. Las Cumbres Observatory 1-Meter Global Science Telescope Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickles, Andrew; Dubberley, M.; Haldeman, B.; Haynes, R.; Posner, V.; Rosing, W.; staff, LCOGT

    2009-05-01

    We present the optical, mechanical and electronic design of the LCOGT 1-m telescope. These telescopes are planned to go in pairs to each of 6 sites worldwide, complementing 0.4m telescopes and 2-m telescopes at two existing sites. This science network is designed to provide continuously available photometric monitoring and spectroscopy of variable sources. The 1-m optical design is an f/8 quasi-RC system, with a doublet corrector and field flattener to provide good image quality out to 0.8 degrees. The field of view of the Fairchild 4K science CCD is 27 arcmin, with 0.39 arcsec pixels. The mechanical design includes a stiff C-ring equatorial mount and friction drive rollers, mounted on a triangular base that can be adjusted for latitude. Another friction drive is coupled at the Declination axis to the M1 mirror cell, that forms the main Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) structural element. The OTA design includes a stiff carbon fiber truss assembly, with offset vanes to an M2 drive that provides remote focus, tilt and collimation. The tube assembly weighs about 600 Kg, including Hextek mirrors, 4K science CCD, filter wheel, autoguiders and medium resolution spectrograph pick-off fiber. The telescopes will be housed in domes at existing observatory sites. They are designed to operate remotely and reliably under centralized control for automatic, optimized scheduling of observations with available hardware.

  9. Construction of the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimmele, T. R.; Keil, S.; McMullin, J.; Knölker, M.; Kuhn, J. R.; Goode, P. R.; Rosner, R.; Casini, R.; Lin, H.; Tritschler, A.; Wöger, F.; ATST Team

    2012-12-01

    The 4m Advance Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) will be the most powerful solar telescope and the world's leading ground-based resource for studying solar magnetism that controls the solar wind, flares, coronal mass ejections and variability in the Sun's output. The project has entered its construction phase. Major subsystems have been contracted. As its highest priority science driver ATST shall provide high resolution and high sensitivity observations of the dynamic solar magnetic fields throughout the solar atmosphere, including the corona at infrared wavelengths. With its 4m aperture, ATST will resolve features at 0.″03 at visible wavelengths and obtain 0.″1 resolution at the magnetically highly sensitive near infrared wavelengths. A high order adaptive optics system delivers a corrected beam to the initial set of state-of-the-art, facility class instrumentation located in the Coudé laboratory facility. The initial set of first generation instruments consists of five facility class instruments, including imagers and spectro-polarimeters. The high polarimetric sensitivity and accuracy required for measurements of the illusive solar magnetic fields place strong constraints on the polarization analysis and calibration. Development and construction of a four-meter solar telescope presents many technical challenges, including thermal control of the enclosure, telescope structure and optics and wavefront control. A brief overview of the science goals and observational requirements of the ATST will be given, followed by a summary of the design status of the telescope and its instrumentation, including design status of major subsystems, such as the telescope mount assembly, enclosure, mirror assemblies, and wavefront correction

  10. Radio and Optical Telescopes for School Students and Professional Astronomers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosmer, Laura; Langston, G.; Heatherly, S.; Towner, A. P.; Ford, J.; Simon, R. S.; White, S.; O'Neil, K. L.; Haipslip, J.; Reichart, D.

    2013-01-01

    The NRAO 20m telescope is now on-line as a part of UNC's Skynet worldwide telescope network. The NRAO is completing integration of radio astronomy tools with the Skynet web interface. We present the web interface and astronomy projects that allow students and astronomers from all over the country to become Radio Astronomers. The 20 meter radio telescope at NRAO in Green Bank, WV is dedicated to public education and also is part of an experiment in public funding for astronomy. The telescope has a fantastic new web-based interface, with priority queuing, accommodating priority for paying customers and enabling free use of otherwise unused time. This revival included many software and hardware improvements including automatic calibration and improved time integration resulting in improved data processing, and a new ultra high resolution spectrometer. This new spectrometer is optimized for very narrow spectral lines, which will allow astronomers to study complex molecules and very cold regions of space in remarkable detail. In accordance with focusing on broader impacts, many public outreach and high school education activities have been completed with many confirmed future activities. The 20 meter is now a fully automated, powerful tool capable of professional grade results available to anyone in the world. Drop by our poster and try out real-time telescope control!

  11. Imaging extrasolar planets with the European Extremely Large Telescope

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jolissaint L.

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT is the most ambitious of the ELTs being planned. With a diameter of 42 m and being fully adaptive from the start, the E-ELT will be more than one hundred times more sensitive than the present-day largest optical telescopes. Discovering and characterising planets around other stars will be one of the most important aspects of the E-ELT science programme. We model an extreme adaptive optics instrument on the E-ELT. The resulting contrast curves translate to the detectability of exoplanets.

  12. Development of a mid-sized Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cameron, Robert A.

    2012-06-28

    The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a ground-based observatory for very high-energy (10 GeV to 100 TeV) gamma rays, planned for operation starting in 2018. It will be an array of dozens of optical telescopes, known as Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (ACTs), of 8 m to 24 m diameter, deployed over an area of more than 1 square km, to detect flashes of Cherenkov light from showers initiated in the Earth's atmosphere by gamma rays. CTA will have improved angular resolution, a wider energy range, larger fields of view and an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity over current ACT arrays such as H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS. Several institutions have proposed a research and development program to eventually contribute 36 medium-sized telescopes (9 m to 12 m diameter) to CTA to enhance and optimize its science performance. The program aims to construct a prototype of an innovative, Schwarzschild-Couder telescope (SCT) design that will allow much smaller and less expensive cameras and much larger fields of view than conventional Davies-Cotton designs, and will also include design and testing of camera electronics for the necessary advances in performance, reliability and cost. We report on the progress of the mid-sized SCT development program.

  13. An afocal telescope configuration for the ESA Ariel mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da Deppo, V.; Middleton, K.; Focardi, M.; Morgante, G.; Pace, E.; Claudi, R.; Micela, G.

    2017-09-01

    ARIEL (Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey) is one of the three candidates for the next ESA medium-class science mission (M4) expected to be launched in 2026. This mission will be devoted to observing spectroscopically in the infrared (IR) a large population of known transiting planets in the neighborhood of the Solar System, opening a new discovery space in the field of extrasolar planets and enabling the understanding of the physics and chemistry of these far away worlds. ARIEL is based on a 1-m class telescope ahead of two spectrometer channels covering the band 1.95 to 7.8 microns. In addition there are four photometric channels: two wide band, also used as fine guidance sensors, and two narrow band. During its 3.5 years of operations from L2 orbit, ARIEL will continuously observe exoplanets transiting their host star. The ARIEL optical design is conceived as a fore-module common afocal telescope that will feed the spectrometer and photometric channels. The telescope optical design is composed of an off-axis portion of a two-mirror classic Cassegrain coupled to a tertiary off-axis paraboloidal mirror. The telescope and optical bench operating temperatures, as well as those of some subsystems, will be monitored and fine tuned/stabilised mainly by means of a thermal control subsystem (TCU-Telescope Control Unit) working in closed-loop feedback and hosted by the main Payload electronics unit, the Instrument Control Unit (ICU). Another important function of the TCU will be to monitor the telescope and optical bench thermistors when the Payload decontamination heaters will be switched on (when operating the instrument in Decontamination Mode) during the Commissioning Phase and cyclically, if required. Then the thermistors data will be sent by the ICU to the On Board Computer by means of a proper formatted telemetry. The latter (OBC) will be in charge of switching on and off the decontamination heaters on the basis of the thermistors readout

  14. Optical design and performance analysis of a 25 m class telescope with a segmented spherical primary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Owner-Petersen, Mette

    1996-01-01

    The basic design and an analysis of the performance possibilities of a 25 m class optical telescope are presented here. The configuration consists of a 28 m segmented spherical primary M1 followed by three highly aspherical corrective mirrors M2, M3 and M4 which also deviate from cartesian shape...... sag and windbuffeting. Several types of aspherical figuring of M2, M3 and M4 all resulting in a field performance better than characterized by a RMS spotradius smaller than 0.1 arcseconds within a full FOV of 21 arcminutes are presented....

  15. The ARC (Astrophysical Research Consortium) telescope project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, K. S.

    A consortium of universities intends to construct a 3.5 meter optical-infrared telescope at a site in south-central New Mexico. The use of innovative mirror technology, a fast primary, and an alt-azimuth mounting results in a compact and lightweight instrument. This telescope will be uniquely well-suited for addressing certain observational programs by virtue of its capability for fully remote operation and rapid instrument changes.

  16. The search for optical emission on and before the GRB trigger with the WIDGET telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tamagawa, T. [RIKEN, Saitama (Japan); Usui, F. [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Kanakawa (Japan). Institute of Space and Astronautical Science Sagamihara; Urata, Y. [RIKEN, Saitama (Japan); Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo (Japan)] (and others)

    2005-07-15

    WIDGET is a robotic telescope for monitoring the HETE-2 field-of-view to detect Gamma-Ray Burst optical flashes or possible optical precursors. The system has 62{sup o} wide field-of-view which covers about 80% of HETE-2 one with a 2k x 2k Apogee U10 CCD camera and a Canon EF 24 mm f/1.4 wide-angle lens without a band pass filter. WIDGET has been in operation since June 2004 at Akeno observing site where is about 200 Km apart from Tokyo. Typical limiting magnitude with S/N = 3 at the site is V = 10{sup mag} for 5 seconds exposure and V = 11{sup mag} for 30 seconds exposure. We had already six coincident observations with the HETE-2 position alerts. It was, however, cloudy for all cases due to rainy season in Japan. The expected number of coincident observations under clear sky is about 5 events per year. We will extend the system in early 2005 for Swift era to monitor optical transients in wider field-of-view, multi-color or polarization modes.

  17. Space Telescope maintenance and refurbishment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trucks, H. F.

    1983-01-01

    The Space Telescope (ST) represents a new concept regarding spaceborne astronomical observatories. Maintenance crews will be brought to the orbital worksite to make repairs and replace scientific instruments. For major overhauls the telescope can be temporarily returned to earth with the aid of the Shuttle. It will, thus, be possible to conduct astronomical studies with the ST for two decades or more. The five first-generation scientific instruments used with the ST include a wide field/planetary camera, a faint object camera, a faint object spectrograph, a high resolution spectrograph, and a high speed photometer. Attention is given to the optical telescope assembly, the support systems module, aspects of mission and science operations, unscheduled maintenance, contingency orbital maintenance, planned on-orbit maintenance, ground maintenance, ground refurbishment, and ground logistics.

  18. A decade of cost-reduction in very large telescopes - The SST as prototype of special-purpose telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Harlan J.

    1989-10-01

    Many design and technical innovations over the past ten or fifteen years have reduced the costs of very large telescopes by nearly an order of magnitude over those of classical designs. Still a further order of magnitude reduction is possible if the telescope is specialized for on-axis spectroscopy, giving up especially the luxuries of wide field, multiple focal positions, and access to all the sky at will. The SST (Spectroscopic Survey Telescope) will use eighty-five 1-m circular mirrors mounted in a steel frame composed of hundreds of interlocking tetrahedrons, keeping a fixed elevation angle of 60 deg with rotation only in azimuth. Using an optical fiber it will feed as much light to spectrographs as can be done by a conventional 8-m telescope, yet has a target basic completion cost of only $6 million.

  19. Design of off-axial Gregory telescope design with freeform mirror corrector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bazhanov, Yu.; Vlakhko, V.

    2017-08-01

    In this paper a well-known approach is used for calculation of off-axis three-mirror telescope. It includes usage of conic cross-sections properties, each of the sections forming a stigmatic image. To create a compact optical system, a flat mirror aberration corrector is introduced, which is at later stage transformed into a free-form surface in order to compensate field aberrations. Similarly, one can introduce such a corrector in finalized layout for its further optimization and getting a suitable form, including the conversion of multimirrors axial optical system into decentered one. As an example, off-axial Gregory telescope embodiment is used for infrared waveband region, due to the fact that, unlike the Cassegrain telescope, it provides a real exit pupil, and usage of the mirror corrector brings several advantages. Firstly, this feature may be used to include cold stop or adaptive mirror in the exit pupil, wherein corrector is introduced into a converging beam before the focus of the first mirror. Secondly, when placing corrector in the exit pupil of the optical system it is possible to eliminate high and low order aberrations of center point, which in turn improves optical system f-number, and minimize field aberrations. As another example, off-axial Ritchey-Chretien telescope embodiment is used as a good fit for visible region systems. Analysis and calculation results of optical systems with free-form correctors with surfaces, defined by Power polynomial series are presented in this paper. Advantages of different freeform surfaces usage depends on optical system layouts specifics.

  20. The NASA Meter Class Autonomous Telescope: Ascension Island

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lederer, S. M.; Stansbery, E. G.; Cowardin, H. M.; Hickson, P.; Pace, L. F.; Abercromby, K. J.; Kervin, P. W.

    2013-01-01

    The Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) is the newest optical sensor dedicated to NASA's mission to characterize the space debris environment. It is the successor to a series of optical telescopes developed and operated by the JSC Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) to monitor and assess the debris environment in (1) Low Earth Orbit (LEO), (2) Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and (3) Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO), with emphasis on LEO and GEO altitudes. A joint NASA - Air Force Research Labs project, MCAT is a 1.3m optical telescope dedicated to debris research. Its optical path and sensor yield a large survey fence at the cutting edge of current detector performance. It has four primary operational observing modes, two of which were not computationally feasible a decade ago. Operations are supported by a sophisticated software suite that monitors clouds and weather conditions, and controls everything from data collection to dome rotation to processing tens of gigabytes of image data nightly. With fainter detection limits, precision detection, acquisition and tracking of targets, multi-color photometry, precision astrometry, automated re-acquisition capability, and the ability to process all data at the acquisition rate, MCAT is capable of producing and processing a volume and quality of data far in excess of any current (or prior) ODPO operations. This means higher fidelity population inputs and eliminating the multi-year backlog from acquisition-to-product typical of optical campaigns. All of this is possible given a suitable observing location. Ascension Island offers numerous advantages. As a British overseas territory with a US Air Force base presence, the necessary infrastructure and support already exists. It is located mid-way between Brazil and Africa at 7.93S latitude and 14.37 W longitude. With the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) asset in Moron, Spain shutting down, this presents access to the sky from a unique latitude

  1. Calibration strategies for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaug, Markus; Berge, David; Daniel, Michael; Doro, Michele; Förster, Andreas; Hofmann, Werner; Maccarone, Maria C.; Parsons, Dan; de los Reyes Lopez, Raquel; van Eldik, Christopher

    2014-08-01

    The Central Calibration Facilities workpackage of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory for very high energy gamma ray astronomy defines the overall calibration strategy of the array, develops dedicated hardware and software for the overall array calibration and coordinates the calibration efforts of the different telescopes. The latter include LED-based light pulsers, and various methods and instruments to achieve a calibration of the overall optical throughput. On the array level, methods for the inter-telescope calibration and the absolute calibration of the entire observatory are being developed. Additionally, the atmosphere above the telescopes, used as a calorimeter, will be monitored constantly with state-of-the-art instruments to obtain a full molecular and aerosol profile up to the stratosphere. The aim is to provide a maximal uncertainty of 10% on the reconstructed energy-scale, obtained through various independent methods. Different types of LIDAR in combination with all-sky-cameras will provide the observatory with an online, intelligent scheduling system, which, if the sky is partially covered by clouds, gives preference to sources observable under good atmospheric conditions. Wide-field optical telescopes and Raman Lidars will provide online information about the height-resolved atmospheric extinction, throughout the field-of-view of the cameras, allowing for the correction of the reconstructed energy of each gamma-ray event. The aim is to maximize the duty cycle of the observatory, in terms of usable data, while reducing the dead time introduced by calibration activities to an absolute minimum.

  2. Time-resolved Polarimetry of the Superluminous SN 2015bn with the Nordic Optical Telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leloudas, Giorgos; Gal-Yam, Avishay [Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001 (Israel); Maund, Justyn R. [The Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom); Pursimo, Tapio [Nordic Optical Telescope, Apartado 474, E-38700 Santa Cruz de La Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain); Hsiao, Eric [Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 (United States); Malesani, Daniele; De Ugarte Postigo, Antonio [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); Patat, Ferdinando [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Sollerman, Jesper [The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-10691 Stockholm (Sweden); Stritzinger, Maximilian D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Wheeler, J. Craig [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)

    2017-03-01

    We present imaging polarimetry of the superluminous supernova SN 2015bn, obtained over nine epochs between −20 and +46 days with the Nordic Optical Telescope. This was a nearby, slowly evolving Type I superluminous supernova that has been studied extensively and for which two epochs of spectropolarimetry are also available. Based on field stars, we determine the interstellar polarization in the Galaxy to be negligible. The polarization of SN 2015bn shows a statistically significant increase during the last epochs, confirming previous findings. Our well-sampled imaging polarimetry series allows us to determine that this increase (from ∼0.54% to ≳1.10%) coincides in time with rapid changes that took place in the optical spectrum. We conclude that the supernova underwent a “phase transition” at around +20 days, when the photospheric emission shifted from an outer layer, dominated by natal C and O, to a more aspherical inner core, dominated by freshly nucleosynthesized material. This two-layered model might account for the characteristic appearance and properties of Type I superluminous supernovae.

  3. The Gemini 8-Meter Telescopes Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boroson, Todd A.

    1995-05-01

    The Gemini 8-Meter Telescopes Project is an international partnership to build and operate two 8-meter telescopes, one on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and one on Cerro Pachon, Chile. The telescopes will be international facilities, open to the scientific communities of the six member countries, the United States (50%), the United Kingdom (25%), Canada (15%), Chile (5%), Argentina (2.5%), and Brazil (2.5%). The telescopes are designed to exploit the best atmospheric conditions at these excellent sites. Near diffraction limited performance will be delivered at 2.2 microns and longward, with minimal degradation of the best seeing conditions at shorter wavelengths. The telescopes and facilities are designed to achieve emissivity opportunity. First light for the Mauna Kea telescope is expected in late 1998, and for the Cerro Pachon telescope in mid-2000. This talk will report on construction progress, the instrumental capabilities, and operations strategies being considered. The Gemini 8-meter Telescopes Project is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation which serves as executive agency for the Gemini partner countries. U.S. participation in the project is through the U.S. Gemini Program, a division of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories. NOAO is operated by AURA, Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.

  4. Kodak Mirror Assembly Tested at Marshall Space Flight Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-01-01

    This photo (a frontal view) is of one of many segments of the Eastman-Kodak mirror assembly being tested for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project at the X-Ray Calibration Facility at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). MSFC is supporting Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in developing the JWST by taking numerous measurements to predict its future performance. The tests are conducted in a vacuum chamber cooled to approximate the super cold temperatures found in space. During its 27 years of operation, the facility has performed testing in support of a wide array of projects, including the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Solar A, Chandra technology development, Chandra High Resolution Mirror Assembly and science instruments, Constellation X-Ray Mission, and Solar X-Ray Imager, currently operating on a Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite. The JWST is NASA's next generation space telescope, a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, named in honor of NASA's second administrator, James E. Webb. It is scheduled for launch in 2010 aboard an expendable launch vehicle. It will take about 3 months for the spacecraft to reach its destination, an orbit of 940,000 miles in space.

  5. High Contrast Imaging of Exoplanets and Exoplanetary Systems with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinkley, Sasha; Skemer, Andrew; Biller, Beth; Baraffe, I.; Bonnefoy, M.; Bowler, B.; Carter, A.; Chen, C.; Choquet, E.; Currie, T.; Danielski, C.; Fortney, J.; Grady, C.; Greenbaum, A.; Hines, D.; Janson, M.; Kalas, P.; Kennedy, G.; Kraus, A.; Lagrange, A.; Liu, M.; Marley, M.; Marois, C.; Matthews, B.; Mawet, D.; Metchev, S.; Meyer, M.; Millar-Blanchaer, M.; Perrin, M.; Pueyo, L.; Quanz, S.; Rameau, J.; Rodigas, T.; Sallum, S.; Sargent, B.; Schlieder, J.; Schneider, G.; Stapelfeldt, K.; Tremblin, P.; Vigan, A.; Ygouf, M.

    2017-11-01

    JWST will transform our ability to characterize directly imaged planets and circumstellar debris disks, including the first spectroscopic characterization of directly imaged exoplanets at wavelengths beyond 5 microns, providing a powerful diagnostic of cloud particle properties, atmospheric structure, and composition. To lay the groundwork for these science goals, we propose a 39-hour ERS program to rapidly establish optimal strategies for JWST high contrast imaging. We will acquire: a) coronagraphic imaging of a newly discovered exoplanet companion, and a well-studied circumstellar debris disk with NIRCam & MIRI; b) spectroscopy of a wide separation planetary mass companion with NIRSPEC & MIRI; and c) deep aperture masking interferometry with NIRISS. Our primary goals are to: 1) generate representative datasets in modes to be commonly used by the exoplanet and disk imaging communities; 2) deliver science enabling products to empower a broad user base to develop successful future investigations; and 3) carry out breakthrough science by characterizing exoplanets for the first time over their full spectral range from 2-28 microns, and debris disk spectrophotometry out to 15 microns sampling the 3 micron water ice feature. Our team represents the majority of the community dedicated to exoplanet and disk imaging and has decades of experience with high contrast imaging algorithms and pipelines. We have developed a collaboration management plan and several organized working groups to ensure we can rapidly and effectively deliver high quality Science Enabling Products to the community.

  6. Characterization of exoplanet atmospheres using high-dispersion spectroscopy with the E-ELT and beyond

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Snellen Ignas

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Ground-based high-dispersion (R ∼ 100,000 spectroscopy provides unique information on exoplanet atmospheres, inaccessible from space - even using the JWST or other future space telescopes. Recent successes in transmission- and dayside spectroscopy using CRIRES on the Very Large Telescope prelude the enormous discovery potential of high-dispersion spectrographs on the E-ELT, such as METIS in the thermal infrared, and HIRES in the optical/near-infrared. This includes the orbital inclination and masses of hundred(s of non-transiting planets, line-by-line molecular band spectra, planet rotation and global wind patterns, longitudinal spectral variations, and possibly isotopologue ratios. Thinking beyond the E-ELT, we advocate that ultimately a systematic search for oxygen in atmospheres of nearby Earth-like planets can be conducted using large arrays of relatively low-cost flux collector telescopes equipped with high-dispersion spectrographs.

  7. High-redshift supernova rates measured with the gravitational telescope A 1689

    OpenAIRE

    Petrushevska, T.; Amanullah, R.; Goobar, A.; Fabbro, S.; Johansson, J.; Kjellsson, T.; Lidman, C.; Paech, K.; Richard, J.; Dahle, Håkon; Ferretti, R.; Kneib, J.-P.; Limousin, M.; Nordin, J.; Stanishev, V.

    2016-01-01

    Aims. We present a ground-based, near-infrared search for lensed supernovae behind the massive cluster Abell 1689 at z = 0.18, which is one of the most powerful gravitational telescopes that nature provides. Methods. Our survey was based on multi-epoch J-band observations with the HAWK-I instrument on VLT, with supporting optical data from the Nordic Optical Telescope. Results. Our search resulted in the discovery of five photometrically classified, core-collapse supernovae with high re...

  8. An atmospheric turbulence and telescope simulator for the development of AOLI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puga, Marta; López, Roberto; King, David; Oscoz, Alejandro

    2014-08-01

    AOLI, Adaptive Optics Lucky Imager, is the next generation of extremely high resolution instruments in the optical range, combining the two more promising techniques: Adaptive optics and lucky imaging. The possibility of reaching fainter objects at maximum resolution implies a better use of weak energy on each lucky image. AOLI aims to achieve this by using an adaptive optics system to reduce the dispersion that seeing causes on the spot and therefore increasing the number of optimal images to accumulate, maximizing the efficiency of the lucky imaging technique. The complexity of developments in hardware, control and software for in-site telescope tests claim for a system to simulate the telescope performance. This paper outlines the requirements and a concept/preliminary design for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) and atmospheric turbulence simulator. The design consists of pupil resemble, a variable intensity point source, phase plates and a focal plane mask to assist in the alignment, diagnostics and calibration of AOLI wavefront sensor, AO loop and science detectors, as well as enabling stand-alone test operation of AOLI.

  9. Preflight Calibration Test Results for Optical Navigation Camera Telescope (ONC-T) Onboard the Hayabusa2 Spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kameda, S.; Suzuki, H.; Takamatsu, T.; Cho, Y.; Yasuda, T.; Yamada, M.; Sawada, H.; Honda, R.; Morota, T.; Honda, C.; Sato, M.; Okumura, Y.; Shibasaki, K.; Ikezawa, S.; Sugita, S.

    2017-07-01

    The optical navigation camera telescope (ONC-T) is a telescopic framing camera with seven colors onboard the Hayabusa2 spacecraft launched on December 3, 2014. The main objectives of this instrument are to optically navigate the spacecraft to asteroid Ryugu and to conduct multi-band mapping the asteroid. We conducted performance tests of the instrument before its installation on the spacecraft. We evaluated the dark current and bias level, obtained data on the dependency of the dark current on the temperature of the charge-coupled device (CCD). The bias level depends strongly on the temperature of the electronics package but only weakly on the CCD temperature. The dark-reference data, which is obtained simultaneously with observation data, can be used for estimation of the dark current and bias level. A long front hood is used for ONC-T to reduce the stray light at the expense of flatness in the peripheral area of the field of view (FOV). The central area in FOV has a flat sensitivity, and the limb darkening has been measured with an integrating sphere. The ONC-T has a wheel with seven bandpass filters and a panchromatic glass window. We measured the spectral sensitivity using an integrating sphere and obtained the sensitivity of all the pixels. We also measured the point-spread function using a star simulator. Measurement results indicate that the full width at half maximum is less than two pixels for all the bandpass filters and in the temperature range expected in the mission phase except for short periods of time during touchdowns.

  10. Progress on the New York State Observatory: a new 12-meter astronomical telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebring, T.; O'Dea, C.; Baum, S.; Teran, J.; Loewen, N.; Stutzki, C.; Egerman, R.; Bonomi, G.

    2014-07-01

    Over the past two years, the New York Astronomical Corporation (NYAC), the business arm of the Astronomical Society of New York (ASNY), has continued planning and technical studies toward construction of a 12-meter class optical telescope for the use of all New York universities and research institutions. Four significant technical studies have been performed investigating design opportunities for the facility, the dome, the telescope optics, and the telescope mount. The studies were funded by NYAC and performed by companies who have provided these subsystems for large astronomical telescopes in the past. In each case, innovative and cost effective approaches were identified, developed, analyzed, and initial cost estimates developed. As a group, the studies show promise that this telescope could be built at historically low prices. As the project continues forward, NYAC intends to broaden the collaboration, pursue funding, to continue to develop the telescope and instrument designs, and to further define the scientific mission. The vision of a historically large telescope dedicated to all New York institutions continues to grow and find new adherents.

  11. NASA's Optical Program on Ascension Island: Bringing MCAT to Life as the Eugene Stansbery-Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (ES-MCAT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lederer, S. M.; Hickson, P.; Cowardin, H. M.; Buckalew, B.; Frith, J.; Alliss, R.

    In June 2015, the construction of the Meter Class Autonomous Telescope was completed and MCAT saw the light of the stars for the first time. In 2017, MCAT was newly dedicated as the Eugene Stansbery-MCAT telescope by NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO), in honour of his inspiration and dedication to this newest optical member of the NASA ODPO. Since that time, MCAT has viewed the skies with one engineering camera and two scientific cameras, and the ODPO optical team has begun the process of vetting the entire system. The full system vetting includes verification and validation of: (1) the hardware comprising the system (e.g. the telescopes and its instruments, the dome, weather systems, all-sky camera, FLIR cloud infrared camera, etc.), (2) the custom-written Observatory Control System (OCS) master software designed to autonomously control this complex system of instruments, each with its own control software, and (3) the custom written Orbital Debris Processing software for post-processing the data. ES-MCAT is now capable of autonomous observing to include Geosyncronous survey, TLE (Two-line element) tracking of individual catalogued debris at all orbital regimes (Low-Earth Orbit all the way to Geosynchronous (GEO) orbit), tracking at specified non-sidereal rates, as well as sidereal rates for proper calibration with standard stars. Ultimately, the data will be used for validation of NASA’s Orbital Debris Engineering Model, ORDEM, which aids in engineering designs of spacecraft that require knowledge of the orbital debris environment and long-term risks for collisions with Resident Space Objects (RSOs).

  12. NASA's Optical Program on Ascension Island: Bringing MCAT to Life as the Eugene Stansbery-Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (ES-MCAT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lederer, S. M.; Hickson, P.; Cowardin, H. M.; Buckalew, B.; Frith, J.; Alliss, R.

    2017-01-01

    In June 2015, the construction of the Meter Class Autonomous Telescope was completed and MCAT saw the light of the stars for the first time. In 2017, MCAT was newly dedicated as the Eugene Stansbery-MCAT telescope by NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO), in honor of his inspiration and dedication to this newest optical member of the NASA ODPO. Since that time, MCAT has viewed the skies with one engineering camera and two scientific cameras, and the ODPO optical team has begun the process of vetting the entire system. The full system vetting includes verification and validation of: (1) the hardware comprising the system (e.g. the telescopes and its instruments, the dome, weather systems, all-sky camera, FLIR cloud infrared camera, etc.), (2) the custom-written Observatory Control System (OCS) master software designed to autonomously control this complex system of instruments, each with its own control software, and (3) the custom written Orbital Debris Processing software for post-processing the data. ES-MCAT is now capable of autonomous observing to include Geosynchronous survey, TLE (Two-line element) tracking of individual catalogued debris at all orbital regimes (Low-Earth Orbit all the way to Geosynchronous (GEO) orbit), tracking at specified non-sidereal rates, as well as sidereal rates for proper calibration with standard stars. Ultimately, the data will be used for validation of NASA's Orbital Debris Engineering Model, ORDEM, which aids in engineering designs of spacecraft that require knowledge of the orbital debris environment and long-term risks for collisions with Resident Space Objects (RSOs).

  13. The GCT camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapington, J. S.; Abchiche, A.; Allan, D.; Amans, J.-P.; Armstrong, T. P.; Balzer, A.; Berge, D.; Boisson, C.; Bousquet, J.-J.; Bose, R.; Brown, A. M.; Bryan, M.; Buchholtz, G.; Buckley, J.; Chadwick, P. M.; Costantini, H.; Cotter, G.; Daniel, M. K.; De Franco, A.; De Frondat, F.; Dournaux, J.-L.; Dumas, D.; Ernenwein, J.-P.; Fasola, G.; Funk, S.; Gironnet, J.; Graham, J. A.; Greenshaw, T.; Hervet, O.; Hidaka, N.; Hinton, J. A.; Huet, J.-M.; Jankowsky, D.; Jegouzo, I.; Jogler, T.; Kawashima, T.; Kraus, M.; Laporte, P.; Leach, S.; Lefaucheur, J.; Markoff, S.; Melse, T.; Minaya, I. A.; Mohrmann, L.; Molyneux, P.; Moore, P.; Nolan, S. J.; Okumura, A.; Osborne, J. P.; Parsons, R. D.; Rosen, S.; Ross, D.; Rowell, G.; Rulten, C. B.; Sato, Y.; Sayede, F.; Schmoll, J.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Servillat, M.; Sol, H.; Stamatescu, V.; Stephan, M.; Stuik, R.; Sykes, J.; Tajima, H.; Thornhill, J.; Tibaldo, L.; Trichard, C.; Varner, G.; Vink, J.; Watson, J. J.; White, R.; Yamane, N.; Zech, A.; Zink, A.; Zorn, J.; CTA Consortium

    2017-12-01

    The Gamma Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is one of the designs proposed for the Small Sized Telescope (SST) section of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The GCT uses dual-mirror optics, resulting in a compact telescope with good image quality and a large field of view with a smaller, more economical, camera than is achievable with conventional single mirror solutions. The photon counting GCT camera is designed to record the flashes of atmospheric Cherenkov light from gamma and cosmic ray initiated cascades, which last only a few tens of nanoseconds. The GCT optics require that the camera detectors follow a convex surface with a radius of curvature of 1 m and a diameter of 35 cm, which is approximated by tiling the focal plane with 32 modules. The first camera prototype is equipped with multi-anode photomultipliers, each comprising an 8×8 array of 6×6 mm2 pixels to provide the required angular scale, adding up to 2048 pixels in total. Detector signals are shaped, amplified and digitised by electronics based on custom ASICs that provide digitisation at 1 GSample/s. The camera is self-triggering, retaining images where the focal plane light distribution matches predefined spatial and temporal criteria. The electronics are housed in the liquid-cooled, sealed camera enclosure. LED flashers at the corners of the focal plane provide a calibration source via reflection from the secondary mirror. The first GCT camera prototype underwent preliminary laboratory tests last year. In November 2015, the camera was installed on a prototype GCT telescope (SST-GATE) in Paris and was used to successfully record the first Cherenkov light of any CTA prototype, and the first Cherenkov light seen with such a dual-mirror optical system. A second full-camera prototype based on Silicon Photomultipliers is under construction. Up to 35 GCTs are envisaged for CTA.

  14. The AGN-Star Formation Connection: Future Prospects with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirkpatrick, Allison; Alberts, Stacey; Pope, Alexandra; Barro, Guillermo; Bonato, Matteo; Kocevski, Dale D.; Pérez-González, Pablo; Rieke, George H.; Rodríguez-Muñoz, Lucia; Sajina, Anna; Grogin, Norman A.; Mantha, Kameswara Bharadwaj; Pandya, Viraj; Pforr, Janine; Salvato, Mara; Santini, Paola

    2017-11-01

    The bulk of the stellar growth over cosmic time is dominated by IR-luminous galaxies at cosmic noon (z=1{--}2), many of which harbor a hidden active galactic nucleus (AGN). We use state-of-the-art infrared color diagnostics, combining Spitzer and Herschel observations, to separate dust-obscured AGNs from dusty star-forming galaxies (SFGs) in the CANDELS and COSMOS surveys. We calculate 24 μm counts of SFGs, AGN/star-forming “Composites,” and AGNs. AGNs and Composites dominate the counts above 0.8 mJy at 24 μm, and Composites form at least 25% of an IR sample even to faint detection limits. We develop methods to use the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on JWST to identify dust-obscured AGNs and Composite galaxies from z˜ 1{--}2. With the sensitivity and spacing of MIRI filters, we will detect >4 times as many AGN hosts as with Spitzer/IRAC criteria. Any star formation rates based on the 7.7 μm PAH feature (likely to be applied to MIRI photometry) must be corrected for the contribution of the AGN, or the star formation rate will be overestimated by ˜35% for cases where the AGN provides half the IR luminosity and ˜50% when the AGN accounts for 90% of the luminosity. Finally, we demonstrate that our MIRI color technique can select AGNs with an Eddington ratio of {λ }{Edd}˜ 0.01 and will identify AGN hosts with a higher specific star formation rate than X-ray techniques alone. JWST/MIRI will enable critical steps forward in identifying and understanding dust-obscured AGNs and the link to their host galaxies.

  15. Development of Optical System for ARGO-M

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jakyoung Nah

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available ARGO-M is a satellite laser ranging (SLR system developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute with the consideration of mobility and daytime and nighttime satellite observation. The ARGO-M optical system consists of 40 cm receiving telescope, 10 cm transmitting telescope, and detecting optics. For the development of ARGO-M optical system, the structural analysis was performed with regard to the optics and optomechanics design and the optical components. To ensure the optical performance, the quality was tested at the level of parts using the laser interferometer and ultra-high-precision measuring instruments. The assembly and alignment of ARGO-M optical system were conducted at an auto-collimation facility. As the transmission and reception are separated in the ARGO-M optical system, the pointing alignment between the transmitting telescope and receiving telescope is critical for precise target pointing. Thus, the alignment using the ground target and the radiant point observation of transmitting laser beam was carried out, and the lines of sight for the two telescopes were aligned within the required pointing precision. This paper describes the design, structural analysis, manufacture and assembly of parts, and entire process related with the alignment for the ARGO-M optical system.

  16. Neutron Star Astronomy in the era of the European Extremely Large Telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mignani, Roberto P.

    2011-01-01

    About 25 isolated neutron stars (INSs) are now detected in the optical domain, mainly thanks to the HST and to VLT-class telescopes. The European Extremely Large Telescope(E-ELT) will yield ∼100 new identifications, many of which from the follow-up of SKA, IXO, and Fermi observations. Moreover, the E-ELT will allow to carry out, on a much larger sample, INS observations which still challenge VLT-class telescopes, enabling studies on the structure and composition of the NS interior, of its atmosphere and magnetosphere, as well as to search for debris discs. In this contribution, I outline future perspectives for NS optical astronomy with the E-ELT.

  17. Performance evaluation of the Antares Reference Telescope System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, J.R.; Woodfin, G.L.; Viswanathan, V.K.

    1985-01-01

    The Antares Reference Telescope System is a complicated electro-optical-mechanical system whose main purpose is to enable positioning of targets used in the Antares Laser System to within 10 μm of a selected nominal position. To date, it has been used successfully to position targets ranging in size from 300 μm to 2 mm. The system consists of two electro-optical systems positioned in a nearly orthogonal manner. This ''cross telescope'' configuration facilitates accurate positioning in three planes. The results obtained so far in resolution and positioning of targets using this system are discussed. It is shown that a resolution of 200 lp/mm and a positioning precision of 25 μm can be obtained

  18. The JWST/NIRCam Coronagraph: Mask Design and Fabrication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krista, John E.; Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatha; Beichman, Charles A.; Echternach, Pierre M.; Green, Joseph J.; Liewer, Kurt M.; Muller, Richard E.; Serabyn, Eugene; Shaklan, Stuart B.; Trauger, John T.; hide

    2009-01-01

    The NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope will provide coronagraphic imaging from lambda =1-5 microns of high contrast sources such as extrasolar planets and circumstellar disks. A Lyot coronagraph with a variety of circular and wedge-shaped occulting masks and matching Lyot pupil stops will be implemented. The occulters approximate grayscale transmission profiles using halftone binary patterns comprising wavelength-sized metal dots on anti-reflection coated sapphire substrates. The mask patterns are being created in the Micro Devices Laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory using electron beam lithography. Samples of these occulters have been successfully evaluated in a coronagraphic testbed. In a separate process, the complex apertures that form the Lyot stops will be deposited onto optical wedges. The NIRCam coronagraph flight components are expected to be completed this year.

  19. Challenges and Approach for Making the Top End Optical Assembly for the 4-meter Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canzian, Blaise; Barentine, J.; Hull, T.

    2012-01-01

    L-3 Integrated Optical Systems (IOS) Division has been selected by the National Solar Observatory (NSO) to make the Top End Optical Assembly (TEOA) for the 4-meter Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) to operate at Haleakala, Maui. ATST will perform to a very high optical performance level in a difficult thermal environment. The TEOA, containing the 0.65-meter silicon carbide secondary mirror and support, mirror thermal management system, mirror positioning and fast tip-tilt system, field stop with thermally managed heat dump, thermally managed Lyot stop, safety interlock and control system, and support frame, operates in the "hot spot” at the prime focus of the ATST and so presents special challenges. In this paper, we will describe the L-3 IOS technical approach to meet these challenges, including subsystems for opto-mechanical positioning, rejected and stray light control, wavefront tip-tilt compensation, and thermal management. Key words: ATST, TEOA, L-3 IOS, thermal management, silicon carbide (SiC) mirrors, hexapods, solar astronomy

  20. Discovery of an Unusual Optical Transient with the Hubble Space Telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    The Supernova Cosmology Project; Barbary, Kyle; Dawson, Kyle S.; Tokita, Kouichi; Aldering, Greg; Amanullah, Rahman; Connolly, Natalia V.; Doi, Mamoru; Faccioli, Lorenzo; Fadeyev, Vitaliy; Fruchter, Andrew S.; Goldhaber, Gerson; Goobar, Ariel; Gude, Alexander; Huang, Xiaosheng; Ihara, Yutaka; Konishi, Kohki; Kowalski, Marek; Lidman, Chris; Meyers, Josh; Morokuma, Tomoki; Nugent, Peter; Perlmutter, Saul; Rubin, David; Schlegel, David; Spadafora, Anthony L.; Suzuki, Nao; Swift, Hannah K.; Takanashi, Naohiro; Thomas, Rollin C.; Yasuda, Naoki

    2008-09-08

    We present observations of SCP 06F6, an unusual optical transient discovered during the Hubble Space Telescope Cluster Supernova Survey. The transient brightened over a period of ~;;100 days, reached a peak magnitude of ~;;21.0 in both i_775 and z_850, and then declined over a similar timescale. There is no host galaxy or progenitor star detected at the location of the transient to a 3 sigma upper limit of i_775 = 26.4 and z_850 = 26.1, giving a corresponding lower limit on the flux increase of a factor of ~;;120. Multiple spectra show five broad absorption bands between 4100 AA and 6500 AA and a mostly featureless continuum longward of 6500 AA. The shape of the lightcurve is inconsistent with microlensing. The transient's spectrum, in addition to being inconsistent with all known supernova types, is not matched to any spectrum in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database. We suggest that the transient may be one of a new class.

  1. Development of technology for lightweight Beryllium Cassegrain Telescope for space applications and lessons learnt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greger, R.; Rugi, E.; Hausner, Th.; Jahnen, W.; Frei, S.; Pellaton, D.; Mueller, P.; Hollenbach, I.

    2017-11-01

    This paper gives an overview on the development of a light weighted Cassegrain telescope with a 200 mm optical aperture as one key element of the Laser Altimeter which will fly on the BepiColombo mission to Mercury (BELA).The Receiver Telescope (RTL) collects the light pulse transmitted to Mercury and reflected from the planet's surface. Mercury's challenging thermal environment, the thermo-mechanical stability of the telescope and the stringent instrument's mass budget require the implementation of an innovative design solution to achieve the requested optical performance over an extended temperature range.

  2. Dynamic correction of the laser beam coordinate in fabrication of large-sized diffractive elements for testing aspherical mirrors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimansky, R. V.; Poleshchuk, A. G.; Korolkov, V. P.; Cherkashin, V. V.

    2017-05-01

    This paper presents a method of improving the accuracy of a circular laser system in fabrication of large-diameter diffractive optical elements by means of a polar coordinate system and the results of their use. An algorithm for correcting positioning errors of a circular laser writing system developed at the Institute of Automation and Electrometry, SB RAS, is proposed and tested. Highprecision synthesized holograms fabricated by this method and the results of using these elements for testing the 6.5 m diameter aspheric mirror of the James Webb space telescope (JWST) are described..

  3. The CHARA array adaptive optics I: common-path optical and mechanical design, and preliminary on-sky results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Che, Xiao; Sturmann, Laszlo; Monnier, John D.; ten Brummelaar, Theo A.; Sturmann, Judit; Ridgway, Stephen T.; Ireland, Michael J.; Turner, Nils H.; McAlister, Harold A.

    2014-07-01

    The CHARA array is an optical interferometer with six 1-meter diameter telescopes, providing baselines from 33 to 331 meters. With sub-milliarcsecond angular resolution, its versatile visible and near infrared combiners offer a unique angle of studying nearby stellar systems by spatially resolving their detailed structures. To improve the sensitivity and scientific throughput, the CHARA array was funded by NSF-ATI in 2011 to install adaptive optics (AO) systems on all six telescopes. The initial grant covers Phase I of the AO systems, which includes on-telescope Wavefront Sensors (WFS) and non-common-path (NCP) error correction. Meanwhile we are seeking funding for Phase II which will add large Deformable Mirrors on telescopes to close the full AO loop. The corrections of NCP error and static aberrations in the optical system beyond the WFS are described in the second paper of this series. This paper describes the design of the common-path optical system and the on-telescope WFS, and shows the on-sky commissioning results.

  4. Progress making the top end optical assembly (TEOA) for the 4-meter Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canzian, Blaise; Barentine, J.; Arendt, J.; Bader, S.; Danyo, G.; Heller, C.

    2012-09-01

    L-3 Integrated Optical Systems (IOS) Division has been selected by the National Solar Observatory (NSO) to design and produce the Top End Optical Assembly (TEOA) for the 4-meter Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) to operate at Haleakal', Maui. ATST will perform to a very high optical performance level in a difficult thermal environment. The TEOA, containing the 0.65-meter silicon carbide secondary mirror and support, mirror thermal management system, mirror positioning and fast tip-tilt system, field stop with thermally managed heat dump, thermally managed Lyot stop, safety interlock and control system, and support frame, operates in the "hot spot" at the prime focus of the ATST and so presents special challenges. In this paper, we describe progress in the L-3 technical approach to meeting these challenges, including silicon carbide off-axis mirror design, fabrication, and high accuracy figuring and polishing all within L-3; mirror support design; the design for stray light control; subsystems for opto-mechanical positioning and high accuracy absolute mirror orientation sensing; Lyot stop design; and thermal management of all design elements to remain close to ambient temperature despite the imposed solar irradiance load.

  5. Intraocular Telescopic System Design: Optical and Visual Simulation in a Human Eye Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zoulinakis, Georgios; Ferrer-Blasco, Teresa

    2017-01-01

    Purpose. To design an intraocular telescopic system (ITS) for magnifying retinal image and to simulate its optical and visual performance after implantation in a human eye model. Methods. Design and simulation were carried out with a ray-tracing and optical design software. Two different ITS were designed, and their visual performance was simulated using the Liou-Brennan eye model. The difference between the ITS was their lenses' placement in the eye model and their powers. Ray tracing in both centered and decentered situations was carried out for both ITS while visual Strehl ratio (VSOTF) was computed using custom-made MATLAB code. Results. The results show that between 0.4 and 0.8 mm of decentration, the VSOTF does not change much either for far or near target distances. The image projection for these decentrations is in the parafoveal zone, and the quality of the image projected is quite similar. Conclusion. Both systems display similar quality while they differ in size; therefore, the choice between them would need to take into account specific parameters from the patient's eye. Quality does not change too much between 0.4 and 0.8 mm of decentration for either system which gives flexibility to the clinician to adjust decentration to avoid areas of retinal damage.

  6. AsteroidFinder - the space-borne telescope to search for NEO Asteroids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartl, M.; Mosebach, H.; Schubert, J.; Michaelis, H.; Mottola, S.; Kührt, E.; Schindler, K.

    2017-11-01

    This paper presents the mission profile as well as the optical configuration of the space-borne AsteroidFinder telescope. Its main objective is to retrieve asteroids with orbits interior to the earth's orbit. The instrument requires high sensitivity to detect asteroids with a limiting magnitude of equal or larger than 18.5mag (V-Band) and astrometric accuracy of 1arcsec (1σ). This requires a telescope aperture greater than 400cm2, high image stability, detector with high quantum efficiency (peak > 90%) and very low noise, which is only limited by zodiacal background. The telescope will observe the sky between 30° and 60° in solar elongation. The telescope optics is based on a Cook type TMA. An effective 2°×2° field of view (FOV) is achieved by a fast F/3.4 telescope with near diffraction-limited performance. The absence of centre obscuration or spiders in combination with an accessible intermediate field plane and exit pupil allow for efficient stray light mitigation. Design drivers for the telescope are the required point spread function (PSF) values, an extremely efficient stray light suppression (due to the magnitude requirement mentioned above), the detector performance, and the overall optical and mechanical stability for all orientations of the satellite. To accommodate the passive thermal stabilization scheme and the necessary structural stability, the materials selection for the telescope main structure and the mirrors are of vital importance. A focal plane with four EMCCD detectors is envisaged. The EMCCD technology features shorter integration times, which is in favor regarding the pointing performance of the satellite. The launch of the mission is foreseen for the year 2013 with a subsequent mission lifetime of at least 1 year.

  7. Space astronomical telescopes and instruments; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 1-4, 1991

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bely, Pierre Y.; Breckinridge, James B.

    The present volume on space astronomical telescopes and instruments discusses lessons from the HST, telescopes on the moon, future space missions, and mirror fabrication and active control. Attention is given to the in-flight performance of the Goddard high-resolution spectrograph of the HST, the initial performance of the high-speed photometer, results from HST fine-guidance sensors, and reconstruction of the HST mirror figure from out-of-focus stellar images. Topics addressed include system concepts for a large UV/optical/IR telescope on the moon, optical design considerations for next-generation space and lunar telescopes, the implications of lunar dust for astronomical observatories, and lunar liquid-mirror telescopes. Also discussed are space design considerations for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, the Hubble extrasolar planet interferometer, Si:Ga focal-plane arrays for satellite and ground-based telescopes, microchannel-plate detectors for space-based astronomy, and a method for making ultralight primary mirrors.

  8. Observing the Spectra of MEarth and TRAPPIST Planets with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morley, Caroline; Kreidberg, Laura; Rustamkulov, Zafar; Robinson, Tyler D.; Fortney, Jonathan J.

    2017-10-01

    During the past two years, nine planets close to Earth in radius have been discovered around nearby M dwarfs cooler than 3300 K. These planets include the 7 planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system and two planets discovered by the MEarth survey, GJ 1132b and LHS 1140b (Dittmann et al. 2017; Berta-Thompson et al. 2015; Gillon et al. 2017). These planets are the smallest planets discovered to date that will be amenable to atmospheric characterization with JWST. They span equilibrium temperatures from ˜130 K to >500 K, and radii from 0.7 to 1.43 Earth radii. Some of these planets orbit as distances potentially amenable to surface liquid water, though the actual surface temperatures will depend strongly on the albedo of the planet and the thickness and composition of its atmosphere. The stars they orbit also vary in activity levels, from the quiet LHS 1140b host star to the more active TRAPPIST-1 host star. This set of planets will form the testbed for our first chance to study the diversity of atmospheres around Earth-sized planets. Here, we will present model spectra of these 9 planets, varying the composition and the surface pressure of the atmosphere. We base our elemental compositions on three outcomes of planetary atmosphere evolution in our own solar system: Earth, Titan, and Venus. We calculate the molecular compositions in chemical equilibrium. We present both thermal emission spectra and transmission spectra for each of these objects, and make predictions for the observability of these spectra with different instrument modes with JWST.

  9. Simulation of Telescope Detectivity for Geo Survey and Tracking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard, P.

    2014-09-01

    As the number of space debris on Earths Orbit increases steadily, the need to survey, track and catalogue them becomes of key importance. In this context, CNES has been using the TAROT Telescopes (Rapid Telescopes for Transient Objects owned and operated by CNRS) for several years to conduct studies about space surveillance and tracking. Today, two testbeds of services using the TAROT telescopes are running every night: one for GEO situational awareness and the second for debris tracking. Additionally to the CNES research activity on space surveillance and tracking domain, an operational collision avoidance service for LEO and GEO satellites is in place at CNES for several years. This service named CAESAR (Conjunction Analysis and Evaluation: Alerts and Recommendations) is used by CNES as well as by external customers. As the optical debris tracking testbed based on TAROT telescopes is the first step toward an operational provider of GEO measures that could be used by CAESAR, simulations have been done to help choosing the sites and types of telescopes that could be added in the GEO survey and debris tracking telescope network. One of the distinctive characteristics of the optical observation of space debris compared to traditional astronomic observation is the need to observe objects at low elevations. The two mains reasons for this are the need to observe the GEO belt from non-equatorial sites and the need to observe debris at longitudes far from the telescope longitude. This paper presents the results of simulations of the detectivity for GEO debris of various telescopes and sites, based on models of the GEO belt, the atmosphere and the instruments. One of the conclusions is that clever detection of faint streaks and spread sources by image processing is one of the major keys to improve the detection of debris on the GEO belt.

  10. The use of contact lens telescopic systems in low vision rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Stephen J

    2017-06-01

    Refracting telescopes are afocal compound optical systems consisting of two lenses that produce an apparent magnification of the retinal image. They are routinely used in visual rehabilitation in the form of monocular or binocular hand held low vision aids, and head or spectacle-mounted devices to improve distance visual acuity, and with slight modifications, to enhance acuity for near and intermediate tasks. Since the advent of ground glass haptic lenses in the 1930's, contact lenses have been employed as a useful refracting element of telescopic systems; primarily as a mobile ocular lens (the eyepiece), that moves with the eye. Telescopes which incorporate a contact lens eyepiece significantly improve the weight, comesis, and field of view compared to traditional spectacle-mounted telescopes, in addition to potential related psycho-social benefits. This review summarises the underlying optics and use of contact lenses to provide telescopic magnification from the era of Descartes, to Dallos, and the present day. The limitations and clinical challenges associated with such devices are discussed, along with the potential future use of reflecting telescopes incorporated within scleral lenses and tactile contact lens systems in low vision rehabilitation. Copyright © 2017 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. First light for GRAVITY: Phase referencing optical interferometry for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gravity Collaboration; Abuter, R.; Accardo, M.; Amorim, A.; Anugu, N.; Ávila, G.; Azouaoui, N.; Benisty, M.; Berger, J. P.; Blind, N.; Bonnet, H.; Bourget, P.; Brandner, W.; Brast, R.; Buron, A.; Burtscher, L.; Cassaing, F.; Chapron, F.; Choquet, É.; Clénet, Y.; Collin, C.; Coudé Du Foresto, V.; de Wit, W.; de Zeeuw, P. T.; Deen, C.; Delplancke-Ströbele, F.; Dembet, R.; Derie, F.; Dexter, J.; Duvert, G.; Ebert, M.; Eckart, A.; Eisenhauer, F.; Esselborn, M.; Fédou, P.; Finger, G.; Garcia, P.; Garcia Dabo, C. E.; Garcia Lopez, R.; Gendron, E.; Genzel, R.; Gillessen, S.; Gonte, F.; Gordo, P.; Grould, M.; Grözinger, U.; Guieu, S.; Haguenauer, P.; Hans, O.; Haubois, X.; Haug, M.; Haussmann, F.; Henning, Th.; Hippler, S.; Horrobin, M.; Huber, A.; Hubert, Z.; Hubin, N.; Hummel, C. A.; Jakob, G.; Janssen, A.; Jochum, L.; Jocou, L.; Kaufer, A.; Kellner, S.; Kendrew, S.; Kern, L.; Kervella, P.; Kiekebusch, M.; Klein, R.; Kok, Y.; Kolb, J.; Kulas, M.; Lacour, S.; Lapeyrère, V.; Lazareff, B.; Le Bouquin, J.-B.; Lèna, P.; Lenzen, R.; Lévêque, S.; Lippa, M.; Magnard, Y.; Mehrgan, L.; Mellein, M.; Mérand, A.; Moreno-Ventas, J.; Moulin, T.; Müller, E.; Müller, F.; Neumann, U.; Oberti, S.; Ott, T.; Pallanca, L.; Panduro, J.; Pasquini, L.; Paumard, T.; Percheron, I.; Perraut, K.; Perrin, G.; Pflüger, A.; Pfuhl, O.; Phan Duc, T.; Plewa, P. M.; Popovic, D.; Rabien, S.; Ramírez, A.; Ramos, J.; Rau, C.; Riquelme, M.; Rohloff, R.-R.; Rousset, G.; Sanchez-Bermudez, J.; Scheithauer, S.; Schöller, M.; Schuhler, N.; Spyromilio, J.; Straubmeier, C.; Sturm, E.; Suarez, M.; Tristram, K. R. W.; Ventura, N.; Vincent, F.; Waisberg, I.; Wank, I.; Weber, J.; Wieprecht, E.; Wiest, M.; Wiezorrek, E.; Wittkowski, M.; Woillez, J.; Wolff, B.; Yazici, S.; Ziegler, D.; Zins, G.

    2017-06-01

    GRAVITY is a new instrument to coherently combine the light of the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope Interferometer to form a telescope with an equivalent 130 m diameter angular resolution and a collecting area of 200 m2. The instrument comprises fiber fed integrated optics beam combination, high resolution spectroscopy, built-in beam analysis and control, near-infrared wavefront sensing, phase-tracking, dual-beam operation, and laser metrology. GRAVITY opens up to optical/infrared interferometry the techniques of phase referenced imaging and narrow angle astrometry, in many aspects following the concepts of radio interferometry. This article gives an overview of GRAVITY and reports on the performance and the first astronomical observations during commissioning in 2015/16. We demonstrate phase-tracking on stars as faint as mK ≈ 10 mag, phase-referenced interferometry of objects fainter than mK ≈ 15 mag with a limiting magnitude of mK ≈ 17 mag, minute long coherent integrations, a visibility accuracy of better than 0.25%, and spectro-differential phase and closure phase accuracy better than 0.5°, corresponding to a differential astrometric precision of better than ten microarcseconds (μas). The dual-beam astrometry, measuring the phase difference of two objects with laser metrology, is still under commissioning. First observations show residuals as low as 50 μas when following objects over several months. We illustrate the instrument performance with the observations of archetypical objects for the different instrument modes. Examples include the Galactic center supermassive black hole and its fast orbiting star S2 for phase referenced dual-beam observations and infrared wavefront sensing, the high mass X-ray binary BP Cru and the active galactic nucleus of PDS 456 for a few μas spectro-differential astrometry, the T Tauri star S CrA for a spectro-differential visibility analysis, ξ Tel and 24 Cap for high accuracy visibility observations

  12. Stray light field dependence for large astronomical space telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lightsey, Paul A.; Bowers, Charles W.

    2017-09-01

    Future large astronomical telescopes in space will have architectures that expose the optics to large angular extents of the sky. Options for reducing stray light coming from the sky range from enclosing the telescope in a tubular baffle to having an open telescope structure with a large sunshield to eliminate solar illumination. These two options are considered for an on-axis telescope design to explore stray light considerations. A tubular baffle design will limit the sky exposure to the solid angle of the cone in front of the telescope set by the aspect ratio of the baffle length to Primary Mirror (PM) diameter. Illumination from this portion of the sky will be limited to the PM and structures internal to the tubular baffle. Alternatively, an open structure design will allow a large portion of the sky to directly illuminate the PM and Secondary Mirror (SM) as well as illuminating sunshield and other structure surfaces which will reflect or scatter light onto the PM and SM. Portions of this illumination of the PM and SM will be scattered into the optical train as stray light. A Radiance Transfer Function (RTF) is calculated for the open architecture that determines the ratio of the stray light background radiance in the image contributed by a patch of sky having unit radiance. The full 4π steradian of sky is divided into a grid of patches, with the location of each patch defined in the telescope coordinate system. By rotating the celestial sky radiance maps into the telescope coordinate frame for a given pointing direction of the telescope, the RTF may be applied to the sky brightness and the results integrated to get the total stray light from the sky for that pointing direction. The RTF data generated for the open architecture may analyzed as a function of the expanding cone angle about the pointing direction. In this manner, the open architecture data may be used to directly compare to a tubular baffle design parameterized by allowed cone angle based on the

  13. Antares Reference Telescope System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viswanathan, V.K.; Kaprelian, E.; Swann, T.; Parker, J.; Wolfe, P.; Woodfin, G.; Knight, D.

    1983-01-01

    Antares is a 24-beam, 40-TW carbon-dioxide laser-fusion system currently nearing completion at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The 24 beams will be focused onto a tiny target (typically 300 to 1000 μm in diameter) located approximately at the center of a 7.3-m-diameter by 9.3-m-long vacuum (10 - 6 torr) chamber. The design goal is to position the targets to within 10 μm of a selected nominal position, which may be anywhere within a fixed spherical region 1 cm in diameter. The Antares Reference Telescope System is intended to help achieve this goal for alignment and viewing of the various targets used in the laser system. The Antares Reference Telescope System consists of two similar electro-optical systems positioned in a near orthogonal manner in the target chamber area of the laser. Each of these consists of four subsystems: (1) a fixed 9X optical imaging subsystem which produces an image of the target at the vidicon; (2) a reticle projection subsystem which superimposes an image of the reticle pattern at the vidicon; (3) an adjustable front-lighting subsystem which illuminates the target; and (4) an adjustable back-lighting subsystem which also can be used to illuminate the target. The various optical, mechanical, and vidicon design considerations and trade-offs are discussed. The final system chosen (which is being built) and its current status are described in detail

  14. Ideas for future large single dish radio telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kärcher, Hans J.; Baars, Jacob W. M.

    2014-07-01

    The existing large single dish radio telescopes of the 100m class (Effelsberg, Green Bank) were built in the 1970s and 1990s. With some active optics they work now down to 3 millimeter wavelength where the atmospheric quality of the site is also a limiting factor. Other smaller single dish telescopes (50m LMT Mexico, 30m IRAM Spain) are located higher and reach sub-millimeter quality, and the much smaller 12m antennas of the ALMA array reach at a very high site the Terahertz region. They use advanced technologies as carbon fiber structures and flexible body control. We review natural limits to telescope design and use the examples of a number of telescopes for an overview of the available state-of-the-art in design, engineering and technologies. Without considering the scientific justification we then offer suggestions to realize ultimate performance of huge single dish telescopes (up to 160m). We provide an outlook on design options, technological frontiers and cost estimates.

  15. Rise to SUMMIT: the Sydney University Multiple-Mirror Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Anna M.; Davis, John

    2000-07-01

    The Sydney University Multiple Mirror Telescope (SUMMIT) is a medium-sized telescope designed specifically for high resolution stellar spectroscopy. Throughout the design emphasis has been placed on high efficiency at low cost. The telescope consists of four 0.46 m diameter mirrors mounted on a single welded steel frame. Specially designed mirror cells support and point each mirror, allowing accurate positioning of the images on optical fibers located at the foci of the mirrors. Four fibers convey the light to the future location of a high resolution spectrograph away from the telescope in a stable environment. An overview of the commissioning of the telescope is presented, including the guidance and automatic mirror alignment and focussing systems. SUMMIT is located alongside the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer at the Paul Wild Observatory, near Narrabri, Northern New South Wales.

  16. Software and control system for the VLT Survey Telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schipani, P; Marty, L; Dall'Ora, M; D'Orsi, S; Argomedo, J; Arcidiacono, C; Farinato, J; Magrin, D; Ragazzoni, R; Umbriaco, G

    2013-01-01

    The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) has started the regular operations in 2011 after a successful commissioning at Cerro Paranal (Chile), the site which hosts the best facilities for optical astronomy operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). After a short description of the instrument, this paper mainly focuses on the telescope control software, which is in charge of the real-time control of the hardware and of the overall coordination of the operations, including pointing and tracking, active optics and presets. We describe the main features of the software implementation in the context of the ESO observatory standards, and the goals reached during the commissioning phase and in the first year of operations.

  17. Mirrors design, analysis and manufacturing of the 550mm Korsch telescope experimental model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Po-Hsuan; Huang, Yi-Kai; Ling, Jer

    2017-08-01

    In 2015, NSPO (National Space Organization) began to develop the sub-meter resolution optical remote sensing instrument of the next generation optical remote sensing satellite which follow-on to FORMOSAT-5. Upgraded from the Ritchey-Chrétien Cassegrain telescope optical system of FORMOSAT-5, the experimental optical system of the advanced optical remote sensing instrument was enhanced to an off-axis Korsch telescope optical system which consists of five mirrors. It contains: (1) M1: 550mm diameter aperture primary mirror, (2) M2: secondary mirror, (3) M3: off-axis tertiary mirror, (4) FM1 and FM2: two folding flat mirrors, for purpose of limiting the overall volume, reducing the mass, and providing a long focal length and excellent optical performance. By the end of 2015, we implemented several important techniques including optical system design, opto-mechanical design, FEM and multi-physics analysis and optimization system in order to do a preliminary study and begin to develop and design these large-size lightweight aspheric mirrors and flat mirrors. The lightweight mirror design and opto-mechanical interface design were completed in August 2016. We then manufactured and polished these experimental model mirrors in Taiwan; all five mirrors ware completed as spherical surfaces by the end of 2016. Aspheric figuring, assembling tests and optical alignment verification of these mirrors will be done with a Korsch telescope experimental structure model in 2018.

  18. FACT. Bokeh alignment for Cherenkov telescopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mueller, Sebastian Achim [ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Buss, Jens [TU Dortmund (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) need fast and large imaging optics to map the faint Cherenkov light emitted in cosmic ray air showers onto their image sensors. Segmented reflectors are inexpensive, lightweight and offer good image quality. However, alignment of the mirror facets remains a challenge. A good alignment is crucial in IACT observations to separate gamma rays from hadronic cosmic rays. We present a simple, yet extendable method, to align segmented reflectors using their Bokeh. Bokeh alignment does not need a star or good weather nights but can be done anytime, even during the day. Bokeh alignment optimizes the facet orientations by comparing the segmented reflector's Bokeh to a predefined template. The Bokeh is observed using the out of focus image of a nearby point like light source in a distance of about ten times the focal lengths. We introduce Bokeh alignment on segmented reflectors and present its use on the First Geiger-mode Avalanche Cherenkov Telescope (FACT) on Canary Island La Palma, as well as on the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Medium Size Telescope (MST) prototype in Berlin Adlershof.

  19. Precollimator Manufacturing for X-ray Telescopes, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Space-based x-ray telescopes currently involve the use of a precollimator (PC) to shield the optics from stray light. Each PC consists of cylindrical aluminum ribs...

  20. [Taylor and Hill, Incorporated's JSC Cryo Chamber A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales, Rito

    2008-01-01

    NASA commissioned construction of an environmental simulation test chamber which was completed in 1964 at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. The facility, Chamber A, was invaluable for testing spacecraft and satellites before deployment to space. By testing spacecraft in an environment similar to the one they would be functioning in, potential problems could be addressed before launch. A new addition to NASA's observatory inventory is called the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), after a former Administrator of NASA. The new telescope will have 7 times the mirror area of the Hubble, with a target destination approximately one million miles from earth. Scheduled for launch in 2013, the JWST will allow scientists the ability to see, for the first time, the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe. Pre-launch testing of JWST must be performed in environments that approximate its final target space environment as closely as possible.

  1. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: The Receiver and Instrumentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swetz, D. S.; Ade, P. A. R.; Amiri, M.; Appel, J. W.; Burger, B.; Devlin, M. J.; Dicker, S. R.; Doriese, W. B.; Essinger-Hileman, T.; Fisher, R. P.; hide

    2010-01-01

    The Atacama Cosmology Telescope was designed to measure small-scale anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background and detect galaxy clusters through the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. The instrument is located on Cerro Taco in the Atacama Desert, at an altitude of 5190 meters. A six-met.er off-axis Gregorian telescope feeds a new type of cryogenic receiver, the Millimeter Bolometer Array Camera. The receiver features three WOO-element arrays of transition-edge sensor bolometers for observations at 148 GHz, 218 GHz, and 277 GHz. Each detector array is fed by free space mm-wave optics. Each frequency band has a field of view of approximately 22' x 26'. The telescope was commissioned in 2007 and has completed its third year of operations. We discuss the major components of the telescope, camera, and related systems, and summarize the instrument performance.

  2. Intraocular Telescopic System Design: Optical and Visual Simulation in a Human Eye Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgios Zoulinakis

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. To design an intraocular telescopic system (ITS for magnifying retinal image and to simulate its optical and visual performance after implantation in a human eye model. Methods. Design and simulation were carried out with a ray-tracing and optical design software. Two different ITS were designed, and their visual performance was simulated using the Liou-Brennan eye model. The difference between the ITS was their lenses’ placement in the eye model and their powers. Ray tracing in both centered and decentered situations was carried out for both ITS while visual Strehl ratio (VSOTF was computed using custom-made MATLAB code. Results. The results show that between 0.4 and 0.8 mm of decentration, the VSOTF does not change much either for far or near target distances. The image projection for these decentrations is in the parafoveal zone, and the quality of the image projected is quite similar. Conclusion. Both systems display similar quality while they differ in size; therefore, the choice between them would need to take into account specific parameters from the patient’s eye. Quality does not change too much between 0.4 and 0.8 mm of decentration for either system which gives flexibility to the clinician to adjust decentration to avoid areas of retinal damage.

  3. PALM-3000: EXOPLANET ADAPTIVE OPTICS FOR THE 5 m HALE TELESCOPE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dekany, Richard; Bouchez, Antonin; Baranec, Christoph; Hale, David; Zolkower, Jeffry; Henning, John; Croner, Ernest; McKenna, Dan; Hildebrandt, Sergi; Milburn, Jennifer [Caltech Optical Observatories, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, MC 11-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Roberts, Jennifer; Burruss, Rick; Truong, Tuan; Guiwits, Stephen; Angione, John; Trinh, Thang; Shelton, J. Christopher; Palmer, Dean; Troy, Mitchell; Tesch, Jonathan, E-mail: rgd@astro.caltech.edu [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)

    2013-10-20

    We describe and report first results from PALM-3000, the second-generation astronomical adaptive optics (AO) facility for the 5.1 m Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory. PALM-3000 has been engineered for high-contrast imaging and emission spectroscopy of brown dwarfs and large planetary mass bodies at near-infrared wavelengths around bright stars, but also supports general natural guide star use to V ≈ 17. Using its unique 66 × 66 actuator deformable mirror, PALM-3000 has thus far demonstrated residual wavefront errors of 141 nm rms under ∼1'' seeing conditions. PALM-3000 can provide phase conjugation correction over a 6.''4 × 6.''4 working region at λ = 2.2 μm, or full electric field (amplitude and phase) correction over approximately one-half of this field. With optimized back-end instrumentation, PALM-3000 is designed to enable 10{sup –7} contrast at 1'' angular separation, including post-observation speckle suppression processing. While continued optimization of the AO system is ongoing, we have already successfully commissioned five back-end instruments and begun a major exoplanet characterization survey, Project 1640.

  4. Realization and testing of a deployable space telescope based on tape springs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Wang; Li, Chuang; Zhong, Peifeng; Chong, Yaqin; Jing, Nan

    2017-08-01

    For its compact size and light weight, space telescope with deployable support structure for its secondary mirror is very suitable as an optical payload for a nanosatellite or a cubesat. Firstly the realization of a prototype deployable space telescope based on tape springs is introduced in this paper. The deployable telescope is composed of primary mirror assembly, secondary mirror assembly, 6 foldable tape springs to support the secondary mirror assembly, deployable baffle, aft optic components, and a set of lock-released devices based on shape memory alloy, etc. Then the deployment errors of the secondary mirror are measured with three-coordinate measuring machine to examine the alignment accuracy between the primary mirror and the deployed secondary mirror. Finally modal identification is completed for the telescope in deployment state to investigate its dynamic behavior with impact hammer testing. The results of the experimental modal identification agree with those from finite element analysis well.

  5. Applied optics and optical design

    CERN Document Server

    Conrady, Alexander Eugen

    1957-01-01

    ""For the optical engineer it is an indispensable work."" - Journal, Optical Society of America""As a practical guide this book has no rival."" - Transactions, Optical Society""A noteworthy contribution,"" - Nature (London)Part I covers all ordinary ray-tracing methods, together with the complete theory of primary aberrations and as much of higher aberration as is needed for the design of telescopes, low-power microscopes and simple optical systems. Chapters: Fundamental Equations, Spherical Aberration, Physical Aspect of Optical Images, Chromatic Aberration, Design of Achromatic Object-Glass

  6. TIFR Near Infrared Imaging Camera-II on the 3.6 m Devasthal Optical Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baug, T.; Ojha, D. K.; Ghosh, S. K.; Sharma, S.; Pandey, A. K.; Kumar, Brijesh; Ghosh, Arpan; Ninan, J. P.; Naik, M. B.; D’Costa, S. L. A.; Poojary, S. S.; Sandimani, P. R.; Shah, H.; Krishna Reddy, B.; Pandey, S. B.; Chand, H.

    Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Near Infrared Imaging Camera-II (TIRCAM2) is a closed-cycle Helium cryo-cooled imaging camera equipped with a Raytheon 512×512 pixels InSb Aladdin III Quadrant focal plane array (FPA) having sensitivity to photons in the 1-5μm wavelength band. In this paper, we present the performance of the camera on the newly installed 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) based on the calibration observations carried out during 2017 May 11-14 and 2017 October 7-31. After the preliminary characterization, the camera has been released to the Indian and Belgian astronomical community for science observations since 2017 May. The camera offers a field-of-view (FoV) of ˜86.5‧‧×86.5‧‧ on the DOT with a pixel scale of 0.169‧‧. The seeing at the telescope site in the near-infrared (NIR) bands is typically sub-arcsecond with the best seeing of ˜0.45‧‧ realized in the NIR K-band on 2017 October 16. The camera is found to be capable of deep observations in the J, H and K bands comparable to other 4m class telescopes available world-wide. Another highlight of this camera is the observational capability for sources up to Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) W1-band (3.4μm) magnitudes of 9.2 in the narrow L-band (nbL; λcen˜ 3.59μm). Hence, the camera could be a good complementary instrument to observe the bright nbL-band sources that are saturated in the Spitzer-Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) ([3.6] ≲ 7.92 mag) and the WISE W1-band ([3.4] ≲ 8.1 mag). Sources with strong polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission at 3.3μm are also detected. Details of the observations and estimated parameters are presented in this paper.

  7. SAAO's new robotic telescope and WiNCam (Wide-field Nasmyth Camera)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worters, Hannah L.; O'Connor, James E.; Carter, David B.; Loubser, Egan; Fourie, Pieter A.; Sickafoose, Amanda; Swanevelder, Pieter

    2016-08-01

    The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is designing and manufacturing a wide-field camera for use on two of its telescopes. The initial concept was of a Prime focus camera for the 74" telescope, an equatorial design made by Grubb Parsons, where it would employ a 61mmx61mm detector to cover a 23 arcmin diameter field of view. However, while in the design phase, SAAO embarked on the process of acquiring a bespoke 1-metre robotic alt-az telescope with a 43 arcmin field of view, which needs a homegrown instrument suite. The Prime focus camera design was thus adapted for use on either telescope, increasing the detector size to 92mmx92mm. Since the camera will be mounted on the Nasmyth port of the new telescope, it was dubbed WiNCam (Wide-field Nasmyth Camera). This paper describes both WiNCam and the new telescope. Producing an instrument that can be swapped between two very different telescopes poses some unique challenges. At the Nasmyth port of the alt-az telescope there is ample circumferential space, while on the 74 inch the available envelope is constrained by the optical footprint of the secondary, if further obscuration is to be avoided. This forces the design into a cylindrical volume of 600mm diameter x 250mm height. The back focal distance is tightly constrained on the new telescope, shoehorning the shutter, filter unit, guider mechanism, a 10mm thick window and a tip/tilt mechanism for the detector into 100mm depth. The iris shutter and filter wheel planned for prime focus could no longer be accommodated. Instead, a compact shutter with a thickness of less than 20mm has been designed in-house, using a sliding curtain mechanism to cover an aperture of 125mmx125mm, while the filter wheel has been replaced with 2 peripheral filter cartridges (6 filters each) and a gripper to move a filter into the beam. We intend using through-vacuum wall PCB technology across the cryostat vacuum interface, instead of traditional hermetic connector-based wiring. This

  8. The KM3NeT deep-sea neutrino telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Margiotta, Annarita

    2014-12-01

    KM3NeT is a deep-sea research infrastructure being constructed in the Mediterranean Sea. It will host the next generation Cherenkov neutrino telescope and nodes for a deep sea multidisciplinary observatory, providing oceanographers, marine biologists, and geophysicists with real time measurements. The neutrino telescope will complement IceCube in its field of view and exceed it substantially in sensitivity. Its main goal is the detection of high energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. The detector will have a modular structure with six building blocks, each consisting of about 100 Detection Units (DUs). Each DU will be equipped with 18 multi-PMT digital optical modules. The first phase of construction has started and shore and deep-sea infrastructures hosting the future KM3NeT detector are being prepared in offshore Toulon, France and offshore Capo Passero on Sicily, Italy. The technological solutions for the neutrino detector of KM3NeT and the expected performance of the neutrino telescope are presented and discussed. - Highlights: • A deep-sea research infrastructure is being built in the Mediterranean Sea. • It will host a km{sup 3}-size neutrino telescope and a deep-sea multidisciplinary observatory. • The main goal of the neutrino telescope is the search for Galactic neutrino sources. • A major innovation is adopted in the design of the optical module. • 31 3 in. photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) will be hosted in the same glass sphere.

  9. FERMI/LARGE AREA TELESCOPE DISCOVERY OF GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM THE FLAT-SPECTRUM RADIO QUASAR PKS 1454-354

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Bechtol, K.; Berenji, B.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.; Borgland, A. W.; Atwood, W. B.; Axelsson, M.; Baldini, L.; Bellazzini, R.; Bregeon, J.; Brez, A.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Baughman, B. M.; Bogaert, G.; Bonamente, E.; Brigida, M.

    2009-01-01

    We report the discovery by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope of high-energy γ-ray (GeV) emission from the flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1454-354 (z = 1.424). On 2008 September 4, the source rose to a peak flux of (3.5 ± 0.7) x 10 -6 ph cm -2 s -1 (E > 100 MeV) on a timescale of hours and then slowly dropped over the following 2 days. No significant spectral changes occurred during the flare. Fermi/LAT observations also showed that PKS 1454-354 is the most probable counterpart of the unidentified EGRET source 3EG J1500-3509. Multiwavelength measurements performed during the following days (7 September with Swift; 6-7 September with the ground-based optical telescope Automated Telescope for Optical Monitoring; 13 September with the Australia Telescope Compact Array) resulted in radio, optical, UV, and X-ray fluxes greater than archival data, confirming the activity of PKS 1454-354.

  10. Burst Alert Robotic Telescope and Optical Afterglows

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Nekola, Martin; Hudec, René; Jelínek, M.; Kubánek, P.; Polášek, Cyril; Štrobl, Jan

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 18, 3/4 (2009), s. 374-378 ISSN 1392-0049. [INTEGRAL/BART workshop 2009. Karlovy Vary, 26.03.2009-29.03.2009] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/08/1207 Grant - others:ESA(XE) ESA-PECS project No. 98023; Spanish Ministry of Education and Science(ES) AP2003-1407 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : gamma rays bursts, * observations * robotic telescopes Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 1.032, year: 2009

  11. Adaptive Lobster-Eye Hard X-Ray Telescope, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — To address NASA needs for hard X-ray telescopes for starlight detection and wavefront analysis, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop an Adjustable...

  12. Wavefront error budget development for the Thirty Meter Telescope laser guide star adaptive optics system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilles, Luc; Wang, Lianqi; Ellerbroek, Brent

    2008-07-01

    This paper describes the modeling effort undertaken to derive the wavefront error (WFE) budget for the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS), which is the facility, laser guide star (LGS), dual-conjugate adaptive optics (AO) system for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The budget describes the expected performance of NFIRAOS at zenith, and has been decomposed into (i) first-order turbulence compensation terms (120 nm on-axis), (ii) opto-mechanical implementation errors (84 nm), (iii) AO component errors and higher-order effects (74 nm) and (iv) tip/tilt (TT) wavefront errors at 50% sky coverage at the galactic pole (61 nm) with natural guide star (NGS) tip/tilt/focus/astigmatism (TTFA) sensing in J band. A contingency of about 66 nm now exists to meet the observatory requirement document (ORD) total on-axis wavefront error of 187 nm, mainly on account of reduced TT errors due to updated windshake modeling and a low read-noise NGS wavefront sensor (WFS) detector. A detailed breakdown of each of these top-level terms is presented, together with a discussion on its evaluation using a mix of high-order zonal and low-order modal Monte Carlo simulations.

  13. Digitalized Mirror Array and Its Application in Large Telescope: Principle and Case Studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Yingtian; Zhang Yang; Lim, Boon Ham; Lim, Chen Sin; Hu Sen; Ho, Tso-Hsiu; Chong, Kok Keong; Tan, Boon Kok

    2009-01-01

    In this article, we report the principle and conceptual design of a fundamentally different technology in fabricating high precision aberration free optical devices. The tip-tilt of facet in a mirror array is produced by digitally controlled line-tilts of rows and columns. It has not only provided a cost-effective designing methodology in optical physics but also led to a much finer precision of 1 mili arc sec or less. As examples of the application of the proposed digitalised optics, two case studies have been given: a 10 m Schmidt telescope (off-axis) and an 8 m Cassegrain telescope (on-axis). (geophysics, astronomy, and astrophysics)

  14. Liverpool Telescope 2: beginning the design phase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Copperwheat, Christopher M.; Steele, Iain A.; Barnsley, Robert M.; Bates, Stuart D.; Bode, Mike F.; Clay, Neil R.; Collins, Chris A.; Jermak, Helen E.; Knapen, Johan H.; Marchant, Jon M.; Mottram, Chris J.; Piascik, Andrzej S.; Smith, Robert J.

    2016-07-01

    The Liverpool Telescope is a fully robotic 2-metre telescope located at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on the Canary Island of La Palma. The telescope began routine science operations in 2004, and currently seven simultaneously mounted instruments support a broad science programme, with a focus on transient followup and other time domain topics well suited to the characteristics of robotic observing. Work has begun on a successor facility with the working title `Liverpool Telescope 2'. We are entering a new era of time domain astronomy with new discovery facilities across the electromagnetic spectrum, and the next generation of optical survey facilities such as LSST are set to revolutionise the field of transient science in particular. The fully robotic Liverpool Telescope 2 will have a 4-metre aperture and an improved response time, and will be designed to meet the challenges of this new era. Following a conceptual design phase, we are about to begin the detailed design which will lead towards the start of construction in 2018, for first light ˜2022. In this paper we provide an overview of the facility and an update on progress.

  15. The Telescope: Outline of a Poetic History

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocchi, M. P.

    2011-06-01

    Amongst the first editions of Galileo's books, only the Saggiatore has on its frontispiece the image of the telescope. Indeed, the telescope is not pictured on the very emphatic frontispieces of the other books in which Galileo was presenting and defending the results achieved by his celestial observations, such as the Sidereus Nuncius. Many contemporary scientists denied the reliability of the telescope, and some even refused to look into the eyepiece. In the 16th and 17th century, the lenses, mirrors, and optical devices of extraordinary complexity did not have the main task of leading to the objective truth but obtaining the deformation of the reality by means of amazing effects of illusion. The Baroque art and literature had the aim of surprising, and the artists gave an enthusiastic support to the telescope. The poems in praise of Galileo's telescopic findings were quite numerous, including Adone composed by Giovanni Battista Marino, one of the most renowned poets of the time. The Galilean discoveries were actually accepted by the poets as ideologically neutral contributions to the "wonder" in spite they were rejected or even condemned by the scientists, philosophers, and theologians.

  16. Optical and mechanical design and characterization of the new baffle for the 2.4-m Thai National Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buisset, Christophe; Prasit, Apirat; Lépine, Thierry; Poshyajinda, Saran

    2015-09-01

    The first astronomical images obtained at the 2.4 m Thai National Telescope (TNT) during observations in bright moon conditions were contaminated by high levels of light scattered by the telescope structure. We identified that the origins of this scattered light were the M3 folding mirror baffle and the tube placed inside the fork between the M3 and the M4 mirrors. We thus decided to design and install a new baffle. In a first step, we calculated the optical and mechanical inputs needed to define the baffle optical design. These inputs were: the maximum length of the baffle, the maximum dimensions of the vanes and the incident beam diameter between M3 and M4 mirrors. In a second step, we defined the number, the position and the diameter of the vanes to remove the critical objects from the detector's FOV by using a targeted method. Then, we verified that the critical objects were moved away from the detector's view. In a third step, we designed and manufactured the baffle. The mechanical design is made of 21 sections (1 section for each vane) and comprises an innovative mechanism for the adjustment of the baffle position. The baffle installation and adjustment is performed in less than 20 minutes by 2 operators. In a fourth step, we installed and characterized the baffle by using a pinhole camera. We quantified the performance improvement and we identified the baffle areas at the origin of the residual stray light signal. Finally, we performed targeted on-sky observations to test the baffle in real conditions.

  17. Mission Concept for the Single Aperture Far-Infrared (SAFIR) Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benford, Dominic J.; Amato, Michael J.; Mather, John C.; Moseley, S. Harvey, Jr.

    2004-01-01

    We have developed a preliminary but comprehensive mission concept for SAFIR, as a 10 m-class far-infrared and submillimeter observatory that would begin development later in this decade to meet the needs outlined above. Its operating temperature ( or approx. 40 microns. This would provide a point source sensitivity improvement of several orders of magnitude over that of the Spitzer Space Telescope (previously SIRTF) or the Herschel Space Observatory. Additionally, it would have an angular resolution 12 times finer than that of Spitzer and three times finer than Herschel. This sensitivity and angular resolution are necessary to perform imaging and spectroscopic studies of individual galaxies in the early universe. We have considered many aspects of the SAFIR mission, including the telescope technology (optical design, materials, and packaging), detector needs and technologies, cooling method and required technology developments, attitude and pointing, power systems, launch vehicle, and mission operations. The most challenging requirements for this mission are operating temperature and aperture size of the telescope, and the development of detector arrays. SAFIR can take advantage of much of the technology under development for JWST, but with much less stringent requirements on optical accuracy.

  18. LCOGT: A World-Wide Network of Robotic Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, T.

    2013-05-01

    Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope (LCOGT) is an organization dedicated to time-domain astronomy. To carry out the necessary observations in fields such as supernovae, extrasolar planets, small solar-system bodies, and pulsating stars, we have developed and are now deploying a set of robotic optical telescopes at sites around the globe. In this talk I will concentrate on the core of this network, consisting of up to 15 identical 1m telescopes deployed across multiple sites in both the northern and southern hemispheres. I will summarize the technical and performance aspect of these telescopes, including both their imaging and their anticipated spectroscopic capabilities. But I will also delve into the network organization, including communication among telescopes (to assure that observations are properly carried out), interactions among the institutions and scientists who will use the network (to optimize the scientific returns), and our funding model (which until now has relied entirely on one private donor, but will soon require funding from outside sources, if the full potential of the network is to be achieved).

  19. The 1.3-m Robotically Controlled Telescope (RCT) at Kitt Peak - A Fifty year old dream Realized: Telescope Characteristics, Current Research and Education Progr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guinan, Edward; Gelderman, Richard; Strolger, Louis-Gregory; Carini, Michael T.; McGruder, Charles, III; Campbell, Rachel; Walter, Donald K.; Davis, Donald R.; Tedesco, Edward F.; Engle, Scott G.

    2011-03-01

    The 1.3 m Robotically Controlled Telescope (RCT) on Kitt Peak has a rich history, including its role as a prototype for remotely controlled telescopes during the 1960s. As such, the RCT could be considered one of the first - Telescopes from Afar. The telescope, originally called the Remotely Controlled Telescope, has been renamed the Robotically Controlled Telescope to reflect the change in operational control and mode of use. The RCT was a conceptual precursor of today's robotic telescopes, but the actual operation of a remotely controlled telescope was technologically premature for its time, and was subsequently manually operated primarily to conduct optical and infrared observations as well being used as a test bed for new spectroscopic and photometric instruments. In 1995 budget constraints forced the closing of the telescope as part of the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), following nearly 30 years of distinguished service to KPNO. A request for proposals to operate this telescope was issued to the science community. The RCT consortium, lead by Western Kentucky University, was the successful proposer for operation of the telescope. After several difficult years of retrofitting, refurbishing, and automating the telecope and observatory dome, the telescope has returned to routine science operations in November 2009. The RCT has operated smoothly since that time, with no major interruptions. Observations of objects of interest to the consortium partners (including: comets & asteroids, variable & binary stars, exoplanets, supernovae, quasars & blazars) are being routinely obtained and evaluated. One of the distinguishing features of the RCT is that it is an autonomous observatory designed to handle diverse optical imaging and photometry programs. These include being able to automatically deal with a wide range of observing parameters such as -integration time, sky conditions, repetitions, return visits, filters, air mass, non-sidereal objects, transients etc

  20. First results of the Test-Bed Telescopes (TBT) project: Cebreros telescope commissioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocaña, Francisco; Ibarra, Aitor; Racero, Elena; Montero, Ángel; Doubek, Jirí; Ruiz, Vicente

    2016-07-01

    The TBT project is being developed under ESA's General Studies and Technology Programme (GSTP), and shall implement a test-bed for the validation of an autonomous optical observing system in a realistic scenario within the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). The goal of the project is to provide two fully robotic telescopes, which will serve as prototypes for development of a future network. The system consists of two telescopes, one in Spain and the second one in the Southern Hemisphere. The telescope is a fast astrograph with a large Field of View (FoV) of 2.5 x 2.5 square-degrees and a plate scale of 2.2 arcsec/pixel. The tube is mounted on a fast direct-drive mount moving with speed up to 20 degrees per second. The focal plane hosts a 2-port 4K x 4K back-illuminated CCD with readout speeds up to 1MHz per port. All these characteristics ensure good survey performance for transients and fast moving objects. Detection software and hardware are optimised for the detection of NEOs and objects in high Earth orbits (objects moving from 0.1-40 arcsec/second). Nominal exposures are in the range from 2 to 30 seconds, depending on the observational strategy. Part of the validation scenario involves the scheduling concept integrated in the robotic operations for both sensors. Every night it takes all the input needed and prepares a schedule following predefined rules allocating tasks for the telescopes. Telescopes are managed by RTS2 control software, that performs the real-time scheduling of the observation and manages all the devices at the observatory.1 At the end of the night the observing systems report astrometric positions and photometry of the objects detected. The first telescope was installed in Cebreros Satellite Tracking Station in mid-2015. It is currently in the commissioning phase and we present here the first results of the telescope. We evaluate the site characteristics and the performance of the TBT Cebreros

  1. Method of separation of air showers initiated by γ-quanta and protons using Cherenkov light angular characteristics in combination and angular resolution estimate for an array of several optical telescopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anokhina, A.M.; Galkin, V.I.; Ivanenko, I.P.; Roganova, T.M.

    1990-01-01

    Computer simulation of optical characteristics of air showers was carried out. On the basis of multidimensional analysis of Cherenkov light angular distribution possibility is considered to distinguish γ-showers from proton showers. Also an estimate for angular resolution is given for an array of five optical telescopes situated at Mt.Aragats. 7 refs.; 10 figs.; 11 tabs

  2. The nuclear spectroscopic telescope array (NuSTAR) high-energy X-ray mission

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Kristin K.; Harrison, Fiona A.; Hongjun An

    2014-01-01

    The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission was launched on 2012 June 13 and is the first focusing high-energy X-ray telescope in orbit operating above ~10 keV. NuSTAR flies two co-aligned Wolter-I conical approximation X-ray optics, coated with Pt/C and W/Si multilayers...

  3. An Array of Optical Receivers for Deep-Space Communications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilnrotter, Chi-Wung; Srinivasan, Meera; Andrews, Kenneth

    2007-01-01

    An array of small optical receivers is proposed as an alternative to a single large optical receiver for high-data-rate communications in NASA s Deep Space Network (DSN). Because the telescope for a single receiver capable of satisfying DSN requirements must be greater than 10 m in diameter, the design, building, and testing of the telescope would be very difficult and expensive. The proposed array would utilize commercially available telescopes of 1-m or smaller diameter and, therefore, could be developed and verified with considerably less difficulty and expense. The essential difference between a single-aperture optical-communications receiver and an optical-array receiver is that a single-aperture receiver focuses all of the light energy it collects onto the surface of an optical detector, whereas an array receiver focuses portions of the total collected energy onto separate detectors, optically detects each fractional energy component, then combines the electrical signal from the array of detector outputs to form the observable, or "decision statistic," used to decode the transmitted data. A conceptual block diagram identifying the key components of the optical-array receiver suitable for deep-space telemetry reception is shown in the figure. The most conspicuous feature of the receiver is the large number of small- to medium-size telescopes, with individual apertures and number of telescopes selected to make up the desired total collecting area. This array of telescopes is envisioned to be fully computer- controlled via the user interface and prediction-driven to achieve rough pointing and tracking of the desired spacecraft. Fine-pointing and tracking functions then take over to keep each telescope pointed toward the source, despite imperfect pointing predictions, telescope-drive errors, and vibration caused by wind.

  4. Precision cosmology with time delay lenses: high resolution imaging requirements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meng, Xiao-Lei; Liao, Kai [Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing, 100875 (China); Treu, Tommaso; Agnello, Adriano [Department of Physics, University of California, Broida Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Auger, Matthew W. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Marshall, Philip J., E-mail: xlmeng919@gmail.com, E-mail: tt@astro.ucla.edu, E-mail: aagnello@physics.ucsb.edu, E-mail: mauger@ast.cam.ac.uk, E-mail: liaokai@mail.bnu.edu.cn, E-mail: dr.phil.marshall@gmail.com [Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, 452 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

    2015-09-01

    Lens time delays are a powerful probe of cosmology, provided that the gravitational potential of the main deflector can be modeled with sufficient precision. Recent work has shown that this can be achieved by detailed modeling of the host galaxies of lensed quasars, which appear as ''Einstein Rings'' in high resolution images. The distortion of these arcs and counter-arcs, as measured over a large number of pixels, provides tight constraints on the difference between the gravitational potential between the quasar image positions, and thus on cosmology in combination with the measured time delay. We carry out a systematic exploration of the high resolution imaging required to exploit the thousands of lensed quasars that will be discovered by current and upcoming surveys with the next decade. Specifically, we simulate realistic lens systems as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and ground based adaptive optics images taken with Keck or the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). We compare the performance of these pointed observations with that of images taken by the Euclid (VIS), Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) surveys. We use as our metric the precision with which the slope γ' of the total mass density profile ρ{sub tot}∝ r{sup −γ'} for the main deflector can be measured. Ideally, we require that the statistical error on γ' be less than 0.02, such that it is subdominant to other sources of random and systematic uncertainties. We find that survey data will likely have sufficient depth and resolution to meet the target only for the brighter gravitational lens systems, comparable to those discovered by the SDSS survey. For fainter systems, that will be discovered by current and future surveys, targeted follow-up will be required. However, the exposure time required with upcoming facilitites such as JWST, the Keck Next Generation

  5. Precision cosmology with time delay lenses: High resolution imaging requirements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meng, Xiao -Lei [Beijing Normal Univ., Beijing (China); Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Treu, Tommaso [Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Agnello, Adriano [Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Auger, Matthew W. [Univ. of Cambridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Liao, Kai [Beijing Normal Univ., Beijing (China); Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Marshall, Philip J. [Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)

    2015-09-28

    Lens time delays are a powerful probe of cosmology, provided that the gravitational potential of the main deflector can be modeled with sufficient precision. Recent work has shown that this can be achieved by detailed modeling of the host galaxies of lensed quasars, which appear as ``Einstein Rings'' in high resolution images. The distortion of these arcs and counter-arcs, as measured over a large number of pixels, provides tight constraints on the difference between the gravitational potential between the quasar image positions, and thus on cosmology in combination with the measured time delay. We carry out a systematic exploration of the high resolution imaging required to exploit the thousands of lensed quasars that will be discovered by current and upcoming surveys with the next decade. Specifically, we simulate realistic lens systems as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and ground based adaptive optics images taken with Keck or the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). We compare the performance of these pointed observations with that of images taken by the Euclid (VIS), Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) surveys. We use as our metric the precision with which the slope γ' of the total mass density profile ρtot∝ r–γ' for the main deflector can be measured. Ideally, we require that the statistical error on γ' be less than 0.02, such that it is subdominant to other sources of random and systematic uncertainties. We find that survey data will likely have sufficient depth and resolution to meet the target only for the brighter gravitational lens systems, comparable to those discovered by the SDSS survey. For fainter systems, that will be discovered by current and future surveys, targeted follow-up will be required. Furthermore, the exposure time required with upcoming facilitites such as JWST, the Keck Next Generation Adaptive

  6. Inverting Image Data For Optical Testing And Alignment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Michael; Redding, David; Yu, Jeffrey W.; Dumont, Philip J.

    1993-01-01

    Data from images produced by slightly incorrectly figured concave primary mirror in telescope processed into estimate of spherical aberration of mirror, by use of algorithm finding nonlinear least-squares best fit between actual images and synthetic images produced by multiparameter mathematical model of telescope optical system. Estimated spherical aberration, in turn, converted into estimate of deviation of reflector surface from nominal precise shape. Algorithm devised as part of effort to determine error in surface figure of primary mirror of Hubble space telescope, so corrective lens designed. Modified versions of algorithm also used to find optical errors in other components of telescope or of other optical systems, for purposes of testing, alignment, and/or correction.

  7. A Mid-IR Census of Dusty Supernovae From the Past Decade In Preparation for JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Ori; Andrews, Jennifer; Arendt, Rick; Clayton, Geoff; Dwek, Eli; Filippenko, Alex; Johansson, Joel; Kelly, Patrick; Krafton, Kelsie; Marston, Tony; Mauerhan, Jon; Szalai, Tamas; Van Dyk, Schuyler

    2018-05-01

    Over the past decade, our team has shown that a surprising number of different supernova (SN) subclasses have members that exhibit mid-infrared (mid-IR) emission from warm dust at late times (>100 days post-explosion). This work has used Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 micron imaging to constrain the dust origin and heating mechanisms, but a number of questions still remain. How much dust can SNe IIP produce in their ejecta? What progenitor can produce such extreme mass-loss events required to form the large, dense, pre-existing dust shells observed in so many cases? Many of these SNe remain bright today, in some cases more than a decade after discovery. Continued mid-IR monitoring is necessary to answer these questions by measuring the full extent of either the newly formed dust mass or pre-existing dust shell. Furthermore, Spitzer observations of both old and new SNe will provide up to date flux estimates as we prepare for continued observations with JWST. This proposal will cap off nearly a decade of work and bridge the gap to the first few cycles of JWST.

  8. Impact of clouds in the JWST and LUVOIR simulated transmission spectra of TRAPPIST-1 planets in the habitable zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauchez, Thomas; Turbet, Martin; Mandell, Avi; Kopparapu, Ravi Kumar; Arney, Giada; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn

    2018-06-01

    M-dwarfs are the most common type of stars in our galaxy. Ultra-cool dwarfs (T Earth and frequent planetary transits.Atmospheric properties are major components of planet habitability. However, the detectability of gaseous features on rocky planets in the HZ may be severely impacted by the presence of clouds and/or hazes in their atmosphere. We have already seen this phenomenon in the “flat” transit transmission spectra of larger exoplanets such as GJ 1214b, WASP-31b, WASP-12b and HATP-12b.In this work, we use the LMDG global climate model to simulate several possibilities of atmospheres for TRAPPIST-1 e, f and 1g: 1) Archean Earth, 2) modern Earth and 3) CO2-dominated atmospheres. We also calculate synthetic transit spectra using the GSFC Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG), and determine the number of transits needed to observe key spectral features for both JWST and future telescopes (ARIEL, LUVOIR, HabEx). We will identify differences in the spectra of cloudy vs non-cloudy, and determine how much information on spatial variability in atmosphere characteristics can be extracted from time-resolved transit and eclipse mapping. A particular attention will be given to the impact of the atmospheric variability when adding transit spectra, and how this may affect atmospheric parameter retrievals.

  9. The UV attenuation in JWST target VV 191

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holwerda, Benne

    2017-08-01

    We aim to map the UV-near-IR attenuation curve along many sightlines within nearby disk galaxies to resolve a large fundamental uncertainty in galaxy evolution studies: the variance in the attenuation curve within an indivual galaxy disk on linear scales relatively blue elliptical beautifully backlights the outer disk of a foreground face-on spiral galaxy.Dither strategy:We opt for a 2-point dither in the case of the F336W observations (1 orbit) and a 3pt dither strategy for the F225W observations. The 9 orbits for the F225W observations are broken into three groupings of 3 orbits in the 3 dither pattern. This is to ensure correction of cosmics and detector artifacts. Our secondary aim is an HST/JWST image with good public outreach potential and our aim is to maximize image quality for this reason as well.

  10. Active control of the Chinese Giant Solar Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Yichun; Yang, Dehua; Jin, Zhenyu; Liu, Zhong; Qin, Wei

    2014-07-01

    The Chinese Giant Solar Telescope (CGST) is the next generation solar telescope of China with diameter of 8 meter. The unique feature of CGST is that its primary is a ring, which facilitates the polarization detection and thermal control. In its present design and development phase, two primary mirror patterns are considered. For one thing, the primary mirror is expected to construct with mosaic mirror with 24 trapezoidal (or petal) segments, for another thing, a monolithic mirror is also a candidate for its primary mirror. Both of them depend on active control technique to maintain the optical quality of the ring mirror. As a solar telescope, the working conditions of the CGST are quite different from those of the stellar telescopes. To avoid the image deterioration due to the mirror seeing and dome seeing, especially in the case of the concentration of flux in a solar telescope, large aperture solar projects prefer to adopt open telescopes and open domes. In this circumstance, higher wind loads act on the primary mirror directly, which will cause position errors and figure errors of the primary with matters worse than those of the current 10-meter stellar telescopes with dome protect. Therefore, it gives new challenges to the active control capability, telescope structure design, and wind shielding design. In this paper, the study progress of active control of CGST for its mosaic and monolithic mirror are presented, and the wind effects on such two primary mirrors are also investigated.

  11. Comparison of wavefront control algorithms and first results on the high-contrast imager for complex aperture telescopes (hicat) testbed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leboulleux, L.; N'Diaye, M.; Mazoyer, J.; Pueyo, L.; Perrin, M.; Egron, S.; Choquet, E.; Sauvage, J.-F.; Fusco, T.; Soummer, R.

    2017-09-01

    The next generation of space telescopes for direct imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets includes telescopes with a monolithic mirror, such as the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) [1] and Large Ultra-Violet Optical Infrared (LUVOIR) telescopes with segmented primary mirror, like ATLAST [2, 3] or HDST [4].

  12. Alignment and qualification of the Gaia telescope using a Shack-Hartmann sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dovillaire, G.; Pierot, D.

    2017-09-01

    Since almost 20 years, Imagine Optic develops, manufactures and offers to its worldwide customers reliable and accurate wavefront sensors and adaptive optics solutions. Long term collaboration between Imagine Optic and Airbus Defence and Space has been initiated on the Herschel program. More recently, a similar technology has been used to align and qualify the GAIA telescope.

  13. Far Sidelobes Measurement of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duenner, Rolando; Gallardo, Patricio; Wollack, Ed; Henriquez, Fernando; Jerez-Hanckes, Carlos

    2012-01-01

    The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is a 6m telescope designed to map the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) simultaneously at 145GHz, 220 GHz and 280 GHz. Its off-axis Gregorian design is intended to minimize and control the off-axis sidelobe response, which is critical for scientific purposes. The expected sidelobe level for this kind of design is less than -50 dB and can be challenging to measure. Here we present a measurement of the 145 GHz far sidelobes of ACT done on the near-field of the telescope. We used a 1 mW microwave source placed 13 meters away from the telescope and a chopper wheel to produce a varying signal that could be detected by the camera for different orientations of the telescope. The source feed was designed to produce a wide beam profile. Given that the coupling is expected to be dominated by diffraction over the telescope shielding structure, when combined with a measurements of the main beam far field response, these measurement can be used to validate elements of optical design and constrain the level of spurious coupling at large angles. Our results show that the diffractive coupling beyond the ground screen is consistently below -75 dB, satisfying the design expectations.

  14. High-contrast imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HiCAT): testbed design and coronagraph developments

    Science.gov (United States)

    N'Diaye, Mamadou; Choquet, E.; Pueyo, L.; Elliot, E.; Perrin, M. D.; Wallace, J.; Anderson, R. E.; Carlotti, A.; Groff, T. D.; Hartig, G. F.; Kasdin, J.; Lajoie, C.; Levecq, O.; Long, C.; Macintosh, B.; Mawet, D.; Norman, C. A.; Shaklan, S.; Sheckells, M.; Sivaramakrishnan, A.; Soummer, R.

    2014-01-01

    We present a new high-contrast imaging testbed designed to provide complete solutions for wavefront sensing and control and starlight suppression with complex aperture telescopes (NASA APRA; Soummer PI). This includes geometries with central obstruction, support structures, and/or primary mirror segmentation. Complex aperture telescopes are often associated with large telescope designs, which are considered for future space missions. However, these designs makes high-contrast imaging challenging because of additional diffraction features in the point spread function. We present a novel optimization approach for the testbed optical and opto-mechanical design that minimizes the impact of both phase and amplitude errors from the wave propagation of testbed optics surface errors. This design approach allows us to define the specification for the bench optics, which we then compare to the manufactured parts. We discuss the testbed alignment and first results. We also present our coronagraph design for different testbed pupil shapes (AFTA or ATLAST), which involves a new method for the optimization of Apodized Pupil Lyot Coronagraphs (APLC).

  15. San Pedro Martir Telescope: Mexican design endeavor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toledo-Ramirez, Gengis K.; Bringas-Rico, Vicente; Reyes, Noe; Uribe, Jorge; Lopez, Aldo; Tovar, Carlos; Caballero, Xochitl; Del-Llano, Luis; Martinez, Cesar; Macias, Eduardo; Lee, William; Carramiñana, Alberto; Richer, Michael; González, Jesús; Sanchez, Beatriz; Lucero, Diana; Manuel, Rogelio; Segura, Jose; Rubio, Saul; Gonzalez, German; Hernandez, Obed; García, Mary; Lazaro, Jose; Rosales-Ortega, Fabian; Herrera, Joel; Sierra, Gerardo; Serrano, Hazael

    2016-08-01

    The Telescopio San Pedro Martir (TSPM) is a new ground-based optical telescope project, with a 6.5 meters honeycomb primary mirror, to be built in the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional on the Sierra San Pedro Martir (OAN-SPM) located in Baja California, Mexico. The OAN-SPM has an altitude of 2830 meters above sea level; it is among the best location for astronomical observation in the world. It is located 1830 m higher than the atmospheric inversion layer with 70% of photometric nights, 80% of spectroscopic nights and a sky brightness up to 22 mag/arcsec2. The TSPM will be suitable for general science projects intended to improve the knowledge of the universe established on the Official Mexican Program for Science, Technology and Innovation 2014-2018. The telescope efforts are headed by two Mexican institutions in name of the Mexican astronomical community: the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica. The telescope has been financially supported mainly by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT). It is under development by Mexican scientists and engineers from the Center for Engineering and Industrial Development. This development is supported by a Mexican-American scientific cooperation, through a partnership with the University of Arizona (UA), and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). M3 Engineering and Technology Corporation in charge of enclosure and building design. The TSPM will be designed to allow flexibility and possible upgrades in order to maximize resources. Its optical and mechanical designs are based upon those of the Magellan and MMT telescopes. The TSPM primary mirror and its cell will be provided by the INAOE and UA. The telescope will be optimized from the near ultraviolet to the near infrared wavelength range (0.35-2.5 m), but will allow observations up to 26μm. The TSPM will initially offer a f/5 Cassegrain focal station. Later, four folded Cassegrain and

  16. Advanced optical instruments technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Mike; Chrisp, Michael; Cheng, Li-Jen; Eng, Sverre; Glavich, Thomas; Goad, Larry; Jones, Bill; Kaarat, Philip; Nein, Max; Robinson, William

    1992-08-01

    The science objectives for proposed NASA missions for the next decades push the state of the art in sensitivity and spatial resolution over a wide range of wavelengths, including the x-ray to the submillimeter. While some of the proposed missions are larger and more sensitive versions of familiar concepts, such as the next generation space telescope, others use concepts, common on the Earth, but new to space, such as optical interferometry, in order to provide spatial resolutions impossible with other concepts. However, despite their architecture, the performance of all of the proposed missions depends critically on the back-end instruments that process the collected energy to produce scientifically interesting outputs. The Advanced Optical Instruments Technology panel was chartered with defining technology development plans that would best improve optical instrument performance for future astrophysics missions. At this workshop the optical instrument was defined as the set of optical components that reimage the light from the telescope onto the detectors to provide information about the spatial, spectral, and polarization properties of the light. This definition was used to distinguish the optical instrument technology issues from those associated with the telescope, which were covered by a separate panel. The panel identified several areas for optical component technology development: diffraction gratings; tunable filters; interferometric beam combiners; optical materials; and fiber optics. The panel also determined that stray light suppression instruments, such as coronagraphs and nulling interferometers, were in need of general development to support future astrophysics needs.

  17. Space telescope phase B definition study. Volume 2A: Science instruments, f48/96 planetary camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosso, R. P.; Mccarthy, D. J.

    1976-01-01

    The analysis and preliminary design of the f48/96 planetary camera for the space telescope are discussed. The camera design is for application to the axial module position of the optical telescope assembly.

  18. FRAM telescope - monitoring of atmospheric extinction and variable star photometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurysek, J.; Honkova, K.; Masek, M.

    2015-02-01

    The FRAM (F/(Ph)otometric Robotic Atmospheric Monitor) telescope is a part of the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) located near town Malargüe in Argentina. The main task of the FRAM telescope is the continuous night - time monitoring of the atmospheric extinction and its wavelength dependence. The current methodology of the measurement of a atmospheric extinction and for instrumentation properties also allows simultaneous observation of other interesting astronomical targets. The current observations of the FRAM telescope are focused on the photometry of eclipsing binaries, positional refinement of minor bodies of the Solar system and observations of optical counterparts of gamma ray bursts. In this contribution, we briefly describe the main purpose of the FRAM telescope for the PAO and we also present its current astrono mical observing program.

  19. Reducing the Requirements and Cost of Astronomical Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, W. Scott; Whitakter, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Limits on astronomical telescope apertures are being rapidly approached. These limits result from logistics, increasing complexity, and finally budgetary constraints. In an historical perspective, great strides have been made in the area of aperture, adaptive optics, wavefront sensors, detectors, stellar interferometers and image reconstruction. What will be the next advances? Emerging data analysis techniques based on communication theory holds the promise of yielding more information from observational data based on significant computer post-processing. This paper explores some of the current telescope limitations and ponders the possibilities increasing the yield of scientific data based on the migration computer post-processing techniques to higher dimensions. Some of these processes hold the promise of reducing the requirements on the basic telescope hardware making the next generation of instruments more affordable.

  20. Test Port for Fiber-Optic-Coupled Laser Altimeter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos Izquierdo, Luis; Scott, V. Stanley; Rinis, Haris; Cavanaugh, John

    2011-01-01

    A test port designed as part of a fiber optic coupled laser altimeter receiver optical system allows for the back-illumination of the optical system for alignment verification, as well as illumination of the detector(s) for testing the receiver electronics and signal-processing algorithms. Measuring the optical alignment of a laser altimeter instrument is difficult after the instrument is fully assembled. The addition of a test port in the receiver aft-optics allows for the back-illumination of the receiver system such that its focal setting and boresight alignment can be easily verified. For a multiple-detector receiver system, the addition of the aft-optics test port offers the added advantage of being able to simultaneously test all the detectors with different signals that simulate the expected operational conditions. On a laser altimeter instrument (see figure), the aft-optics couple the light from the receiver telescope to the receiver detector(s). Incorporating a beam splitter in the aft-optics design allows for the addition of a test port to back-illuminate the receiver telescope and/or detectors. The aft-optics layout resembles a T with the detector on one leg, the receiver telescope input port on the second leg, and the test port on the third leg. The use of a custom beam splitter with 99-percent reflection, 1-percent transmission, and a mirrored roof can send the test port light to the receiver telescope leg as well as the detector leg, without unduly sacrificing the signal from the receiver telescope to the detector. The ability to test the receiver system alignment, as well as multiple detectors with different signals without the need to disassemble the instrument or connect and reconnect components, is a great advantage to the aft-optics test port. Another benefit is that the receiver telescope aperture is fully back-illuminated by the test port so the receiver telescope focal setting vs. pressure and or temperature can be accurately measured (as

  1. A Scalable Superconductor Bearing System For Lunar Telescopes And Instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Peter C.; Rabin, D.; Van Steenberg, M. E.

    2010-01-01

    We report on a new concept for a telescope mount on the Moon based on high temperature superconductors (HTS). Lunar nights are long (15 days), and temperatures range from 100 K to 30 K inside shadowed craters. Telescopes on the Moon therefore require bearing systems that can position and track precisely under cryogenic conditions, over long time periods, preferably with no maintenance, and preferably do not fail with loss of power. HTS bearings, consisting of permanent magnets levitated over bulk superconductors, are well suited to the task. The components do not make physical contact, hence there is no wear. The levitation is passive and stable; no power is required to maintain position. We report on the design and laboratory demonstration of a prototype two-axis pointing system. Unlike previous designs, this new configuration is simple and easy to implement. Most importantly, it can be scaled to accommodate instruments ranging in size from decimeters (laser communication systems) to meters (solar panels, communication dishes, optical telescopes, optical interferometers) to decameters and beyond (VLA-type radio interferometer elements).

  2. Optical observations of LIGO source GW 170817 by the Antarctic Survey Telescopes at Dome A, Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Lei; Wu, Xuefeng; Andreoni, Igor; Ashley, Michael C. B.; Cooke, Jeff; Cui, Xiangqun; Du, Fujia; Dai, Zigao; Gu, Bozhong; Hu, Yi; Lu, Haiping; Li, Xiaoyan; Li, Zhengyang; Liang, Ensi; Liu, Liangduan; Ma, Bin; Shang, Zhaohui; Sun, Tianrui; Suntzeff, N. B.; Tao, Charling; Udden, Syed A.; Wang, Lifan; Wang, Xiaofeng; Wen, Haikun; Xiao, Di; Su, Jin; Yang, Ji; Yang, Shihai; Yuan, Xiangyan; Zhou, Hongyan; Zhang, Hui; Zhou, Jilin; Zhu, Zonghong

    2017-10-01

    The LIGO detection of gravitational waves (GW) from merging black holes in 2015 marked the beginning of a new era in observational astronomy. The detection of an electromagnetic signal from a GW source is the critical next step to explore in detail the physics involved. The Antarctic Survey Telescopes (AST3), located at Dome A, Antarctica, is uniquely situated for rapid response time-domain astronomy with its continuous night-time coverage during the austral winter. We report optical observations of the GW source (GW 170817) in the nearby galaxy NGC 4993 using AST3. The data show a rapidly fading transient at around 1 day after the GW trigger, with the i-band magnitude declining from 17.23±0.13 magnitude to 17.72±0.09 magnitude in ˜ 0.8 hour. The brightness and time evolution of the optical transient associated with GW 170817 are broadly consistent with the predictions of models involving merging binary neutron stars. We infer from our data that the merging process ejected about ˜ 10^{-2} solar mass of radioactive material at a speed of up to 30% the speed of light.

  3. Technology development for the Advanced Technology Large Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) as a candidate large UV-Optical-Infrared (LUVOIR) surveyor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolcar, Matthew R.; Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatham; Clampin, Mark; Crooke, Julie; Feinberg, Lee; Postman, Marc; Quijada, Manuel; Rauscher, Bernard; Redding, David; Rioux, Norman; Shaklan, Stuart; Stahl, H. Philip; Stahle, Carl; Thronson, Harley

    2015-09-01

    The Advanced Technology Large Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) team has identified five key technologies to enable candidate architectures for the future large-aperture ultraviolet/optical/infrared (LUVOIR) space observatory envisioned by the NASA Astrophysics 30-year roadmap, Enduring Quests, Daring Visions. The science goals of ATLAST address a broad range of astrophysical questions from early galaxy and star formation to the processes that contributed to the formation of life on Earth, combining general astrophysics with direct-imaging and spectroscopy of habitable exoplanets. The key technologies are: internal coronagraphs, starshades (or external occulters), ultra-stable large-aperture telescopes, detectors, and mirror coatings. Selected technology performance goals include: 1x10-10 raw contrast at an inner working angle of 35 milli-arcseconds, wavefront error stability on the order of 10 pm RMS per wavefront control step, autonomous on-board sensing and control, and zero-read-noise single-photon detectors spanning the exoplanet science bandpass between 400 nm and 1.8 μm. Development of these technologies will provide significant advances over current and planned observatories in terms of sensitivity, angular resolution, stability, and high-contrast imaging. The science goals of ATLAST are presented and flowed down to top-level telescope and instrument performance requirements in the context of a reference architecture: a 10-meter-class, segmented aperture telescope operating at room temperature (~290 K) at the sun-Earth Lagrange-2 point. For each technology area, we define best estimates of required capabilities, current state-of-the-art performance, and current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) - thus identifying the current technology gap. We report on current, planned, or recommended efforts to develop each technology to TRL 5.

  4. The first GCT camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    CERN Document Server

    De Franco, A.; Allan, D.; Armstrong, T.; Ashton, T.; Balzer, A.; Berge, D.; Bose, R.; Brown, A.M.; Buckley, J.; Chadwick, P.M.; Cooke, P.; Cotter, G.; Daniel, M.K.; Funk, S.; Greenshaw, T.; Hinton, J.; Kraus, M.; Lapington, J.; Molyneux, P.; Moore, P.; Nolan, S.; Okumura, A.; Ross, D.; Rulten, C.; Schmoll, J.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Stephan, M.; Sutcliffe, P.; Tajima, H.; Thornhill, J.; Tibaldo, L.; Varner, G.; Watson, J.; Zink, A.

    2015-01-01

    The Gamma Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is proposed to be part of the Small Size Telescope (SST) array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The GCT dual-mirror optical design allows the use of a compact camera of diameter roughly 0.4 m. The curved focal plane is equipped with 2048 pixels of ~0.2{\\deg} angular size, resulting in a field of view of ~9{\\deg}. The GCT camera is designed to record the flashes of Cherenkov light from electromagnetic cascades, which last only a few tens of nanoseconds. Modules based on custom ASICs provide the required fast electronics, facilitating sampling and digitisation as well as first level of triggering. The first GCT camera prototype is currently being commissioned in the UK. On-telescope tests are planned later this year. Here we give a detailed description of the camera prototype and present recent progress with testing and commissioning.

  5. Automated and model-based assembly of an anamorphic telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holters, Martin; Dirks, Sebastian; Stollenwerk, Jochen; Loosen, Peter

    2018-02-01

    Since the first usage of optical glasses there has been an increasing demand for optical systems which are highly customized for a wide field of applications. To meet the challenge of the production of so many unique systems, the development of new techniques and approaches has risen in importance. However, the assembly of precision optical systems with lot sizes of one up to a few tens of systems is still dominated by manual labor. In contrast, highly adaptive and model-based approaches may offer a solution for manufacturing with a high degree of automation and high throughput while maintaining high precision. In this work a model-based automated assembly approach based on ray-tracing is presented. This process runs autonomously, and accounts for a wide range of functionality. It firstly identifies the sequence for an optimized assembly and secondly, generates and matches intermediate figures of merit to predict the overall optical functionality of the optical system. This process also takes into account the generation of a digital twin of the optical system, by mapping key-performance-indicators like the first and the second momentum of intensity into the optical model. This approach is verified by the automatic assembly of an anamorphic telescope within an assembly cell. By continuous measuring and mapping the key-performance-indicators into the optical model, the quality of the digital twin is determined. Moreover, by measuring the optical quality and geometrical parameters of the telescope, the precision of this approach is determined. Finally, the productivity of the process is evaluated by monitoring the speed of the different steps of the process.

  6. Design of a high-magnification and low-aberration compact catadioptric telescope for the Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave interferometric detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buy, C; Barsuglia, M; Tacca, M; Genin, E; Gouaty, R

    2017-01-01

    Advanced Virgo is a major upgrade of the Virgo gravitational-wave detector, aiming to increase its sensitivity by an order of magnitude. Among the main modifications of the instrument, the size of the laser beam inside the central area has been roughly doubled. Consequently, the input/output optics systems have been re-designed. Due to the overall Advanced Virgo optical scheme, high-magnification and compact telescopes are needed. These telescopes also have to fulfill stringent requirements in terms of aberrations, separation of secondary beams and scattered light. In this paper we describe the design of the Advanced Virgo telescopes and their estimated performances in terms of tuning capability and optical properties. (paper)

  7. The RCT 1.3 m robotic telescope: broadband color transformation and extinction calibration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strolger, L.-G.; Gott, A. M.; Carini, M.; Gelderman, R.; Laney, C. D.; McGruder, C. [Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101 (United States); Engle, S.; Guinan, E. [Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085 (United States); Treffers, R. R. [Starman Systems, LLC, Alamo, CA 94507 (United States); Walter, D. K., E-mail: strolger@stsci.edu [South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC 29117 (United States)

    2014-03-01

    The Robotically Controlled Telescope (RCT) 1.3 m telescope, formerly known as the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) 50 inch telescope, has been refurbished as a fully robotic telescope, with an autonomous scheduler to take full advantage of the observing site without the requirement of a human presence. Here we detail the current configuration of the RCT and present, as a demonstration of its high-priority science goals, the broadband UBVRI photometric calibration of the optical facility. In summary, we find the linear color transformation and extinction corrections to be consistent with similar optical KPNO facilities, to within a photometric precision of 10% (at 1σ). While there were identified instrumental errors that likely added to the overall uncertainty, associated with since-resolved issues in engineering and maintenance of the robotic facility, a preliminary verification of this calibration gave a good indication that the solution is robust, perhaps to a higher precision than this initial calibration implies. The RCT has been executing regular science operations since 2009 and is largely meeting the science requirements set during its acquisition and redesign.

  8. NESTOR Deep Sea Neutrino Telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aggouras, G.; Anassontzis, E.G.; Ball, A.E.; Bourlis, G.; Chinowsky, W.; Fahrun, E.; Grammatikakis, G.; Green, C.; Grieder, P.; Katrivanos, P.; Koske, P.; Leisos, A.; Markopoulos, E.; Minkowsky, P.; Nygren, D.; Papageorgiou, K.; Przybylski, G.; Resvanis, L.K.; Siotis, I.; Sopher, J.; Staveris-Polikalas, A.; Tsagli, V.; Tsirigotis, A.; Tzamarias, S.; Zhukov, V.A.

    2006-01-01

    One module of NESTOR, the Mediterranean deep-sea neutrino telescope, was deployed at a depth of 4000m, 14km off the Sapienza Island, off the South West coast of Greece. The deployment site provides excellent environmental characteristics. The deployed NESTOR module is constructed as a hexagonal star like latticed titanium star with 12 Optical Modules and an one-meter diameter titanium sphere which houses the electronics. Power and data were transferred through a 30km electro-optical cable to the shore laboratory. In this report we describe briefly the detector and the detector electronics and discuss the first physics data acquired and give the zenith angular distribution of the reconstructed muons

  9. Integrated design course of applied optics focusing on operating and maintaining abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhongjie; Ning, Yu; Jiang, Tian; Cheng, Xiangai

    2017-08-01

    The abilities of operating and maintaining optical instruments are crucial in modern society. Besides the basic knowledge in optics, the optics courses in the National University of Defense Technology also focus on the training on handling typical optical equipment. As the link between classroom courses on applied optics and the field trips, the integrated design course of applied optics aims to give the students a better understanding on several instantly used optical equipment, such as hand-held telescope and periscope, etc. The basic concepts of optical system design are also emphasized as well. The course is arranged rightly after the classroom course of applied optics and composed of experimental and design tasks. The experimental tasks include the measurements of aberrations and major parameters of a primitive telescope, while in the design parts, the students are asked to design a Keplerian telescope. The whole course gives a deepened understandings on the concepts, assembling, and operating of telescopes. The students are also encouraged to extend their interests on other typical optical instruments.

  10. The positioning system of the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adrián-Martínez, S.; Kooijman, P.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/068449542; Zúñiga, J.

    2012-01-01

    The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located 40 km off the coast of Toulon in the Mediterranean Sea at a mooring depth of about 2475 m, consists of twelve detection lines equipped typically with 25 storeys. Every storey carries three optical modules that detect Cherenkov light induced by charged

  11. Relay telescope for high power laser alignment system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dane, C. Brent; Hackel, Lloyd; Harris, Fritz B.

    2006-09-19

    A laser system includes an optical path having an intracavity relay telescope with a telescope focal point for imaging an output of the gain medium between an image location at or near the gain medium and an image location at or near an output coupler for the laser system. A kinematic mount is provided within a vacuum chamber, and adapted to secure beam baffles near the telescope focal point. An access port on the vacuum chamber is adapted for allowing insertion and removal of the beam baffles. A first baffle formed using an alignment pinhole aperture is used during alignment of the laser system. A second tapered baffle replaces the alignment aperture during operation and acts as a far-field baffle in which off angle beams strike the baffle a grazing angle of incidence, reducing fluence levels at the impact areas.

  12. Novel X-ray telescopes for wide-field X-ray monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudec, R.; Inneman, A.; Pina, L.; Sveda, L.

    2005-01-01

    We report on fully innovative very wide-field of view X-ray telescopes with high sensitivity as well as large field of view. The prototypes are very promising, allowing the proposals for space projects with very wide-field Lobster-eye X-ray optics to be considered. The novel telescopes will monitor the sky with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution of order of 1 arcmin. They are expected to contribute essentially to study and to understand various astrophysical objects such as AGN, SNe, Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), X-ray flashes (XRFs), galactic binary sources, stars, CVs, X-ray novae, various transient sources, etc. The Lobster optics based X-ray All Sky Monitor is capable to detect around 20 GRBs and 8 XRFs yearly and this will surely significantly contribute to the related science

  13. FACT. Normalized and asynchronous mirror alignment for Cherenkov telescopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mueller, Sebastian Achim [ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Buss, Jens [TU Dortmund (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) need fast and large imaging optics to map the faint Cherenkov light emitted in cosmic ray air showers onto their image sensors. Segmented reflectors are inexpensive, lightweight and offer good image quality. However, alignment of the mirror facets remains a challenge. A good alignment is crucial in IACT observations to separate gamma rays from hadronic cosmic rays. We present a star tracking alignment method which is not restricted to clear nights. It normalizes the mirror facet reflections to be independent of the reference star or the cloud coverage. It records asynchronously of the telescope drive which makes the method easy to integrate in existing telescopes. It can be combined with remote facet actuation, but it does not need one to work. Furthermore, it can reconstruct all individual mirror facet point spread functions. We present the method and alignment results on the First Geiger-mode Photo Diode Avalanche Cherenkov Telescope (FACT) on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain.

  14. Naval Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — FUNCTION: Used for astrometry and astronomical imaging, the Naval Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI) is a distributed aperture optical telescope. It is operated...

  15. The positioning system of the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adrian-Martinez, S.; Ageron, M.; Aguilar, J. A.; Al Samarai, I.; Albert, A.; Andre, M.; Anghinolfi, M.; Anton, G.; Anvar, S.; Ardid, M.; Jesus, A. C. Assis; Astraatmadja, T.; Aubert, J. -J.; Baret, B.; Basa, S.; Bertin, V.; Biagi, S.; Bigi, A.; Bigongiari, C.; Bogazzi, C.; Bou-Cabo, M.; Bouhou, B.; Bouwhuis, M. C.; Brunner, J.; Busto, J.; Camarena, F.; Capone, A.; Carloganu, C.; Carminati, G.; Carr, J.; Cecchini, S.; Charif, Z.; Charvis, Ph.; Chiarusi, T.; Circella, M.; Coniglione, R.; Costantini, H.; Coyle, P.; Curtil, C.; De Bonis, G.; Decowski, M. P.; Dekeyser, I.; Deschamps, A.; Distefano, C.; Donzaud, C.; Dornic, D.; Dorosti, Q.; Drouhin, D.; Eberl, T.; Emanuele, U.; Enzenhoefer, A.; Ernenwein, J. -P.; Escoffier, S.; Fermani, P.; Ferri, M.; Flaminio, V.; Folger, F.; Fritsch, U.; Fuda, J. -L.; Galata, S.; Gay, P.; Giacomelli, G.; Giordano, V.; Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P.; Graf, K.; Guillard, G.; Halladjian, G.; Hallewell, G.; van Haren, H.; Hartman, J.; Heijboer, A. J.; Hello, Y.; Hernandez-Rey, J. J.; Herold, B.; Hoessl, J.; Hsu, C. C.; de Jong, M.; Kadler, M.; Kalekin, O.; Kappes, A.; Katz, U.; Kavatsyuk, O.; Keller, P.; Kooijman, P.; Kopper, C.; Kouchner, A.; Kreykenbohm, I.; Kulikovskiy, V.; Lahmann, R.; Lamare, P.; Larosa, G.; Lattuada, D.; Lefevre, D.; Le Van Suu, A.; Lim, G.; Lo Presti, D.; Loehner, H.; Loucatos, S.; Mangano, S.; Marcelin, M.; Margiotta, A.; Martinez-Mora, J. A.; Meli, A.; Montaruli, T.; Moscoso, L.; Motz, H.; Neff, M.; Nezri, E.; Niess, V.; Palioselitis, D.; Pavalas, G. E.; Payet, K.; Payre, P.; Petrovic, J.; Piattelli, P.; Picot-Clemente, N.; Popa, V.; Pradier, T.; Presani, E.; Racca, C.; Real, D.; Reed, C.; Riccobene, G.; Richardt, C.; Richter, R.; Riviere, C.; Robert, A.; Roensch, K.; Rostovtsev, A.; Ruiz-Rivas, J.; Rujoiu, M.; Russo, G. V.; Salesa, F.; Samtleben, D. F. E.; Schoeck, F.; Schuller, J. -P.; Schuessler, F.; Seitz, T.; Shanidze, R.; Simeone, F.; Spies, A.; Spurio, M.; Steijger, J. J. M.; Stolarczyk, Th.; Sanchez-Losa, A.; Taiuti, M.; Tamburini, C.; Toscano, S.; Vallage, B.; Van Elewyck, V.; Vannoni, G.; Vecchi, M.; Vernin, P.; Wagner, S.; Wijnker, G.; Wilms, J.; de Wolf, E.; Yepes, H.; Zaborov, D.; Zornoza, J. D.; Zuniga, J.

    The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located 40km off the coast of Toulon in the Mediterranean Sea at a mooring depth of about 2475m, consists of twelve detection lines equipped typically with 25 storeys. Every storey carries three optical modules that detect Cherenkov light induced by charged secondary

  16. The positioning system of the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adrian-Martinez, S.; Ageron, M.; Aguilar, J.A.; Al Samarai, I.; Albert, A.; Andre, M.; Anghinolfi, M.; Anton, G.; Anvar, S.; Ardid, M.; Jesus, A.C.A.; Astraatmadja, T.; Aubert, J.J.; Baret, B.; Basa, S.; Bertin, V.; Biagi, S.; Bigi, A.; Bigongiari, C.; Bogazzi, C.; Bou-Cabo, M.; Bouhou, B.; Bouwhuis, M.C.; Brunner, J.; Busto, J.; Camarena, F.; Capone, A.; Carloganu, C.; Carminati, G.; Carr, J.; Cecchini, S.; Charif, Z.; Charvis, P.; Chiarusi, T.; Circella, M.; Coniglione, R.; Costantini, H.; Coyle, P.; Curtil, C.; De Bonis, G.; Decowski, M.P.; Dekeyser, I.; Deschamps, A.; Distefano, C.; Donzaud, C.; Dornic, D.; Dorosti, Q.; Drouhin, D.; Eberl, T.; Emanuele, U.; Enzenhofer, A.; Ernenwein, J.P.; Escoffier, S.; Fermani, P.; Ferri, M.; Flaminio, V.; Folger, F.; Fritsch, U.; Fuda, J.L.; Galata, S.; Gay, P.; Giacomelli, G.; Giordano, V.; Gomez-Gonzalez, J.P.; Graf, K.; Guillard, G.; Halladjian, G.; Hallewell, G.; van Haren, H.; Hartman, J.; Heijboer, A.J.; Hello, Y.; Hernandez-Rey, J.J.; Herold, B.; Hossl, J.; Hsu, C.C.; De Jong, M.; Kadler, M.; Kalekin, O.; Kappes, A.; Katz, U.; Kavatsyuk, O.; Keller, P.; Kooijman, P.; Kopper, C.; Kouchner, A.; Kreykenbohm, I.; Kulikovskiy, V.; Lahmann, R.; Lamare, P.; Larosa, G.; Lattuada, D.; Lefevre, D.; Le Van Suu, A.; Lim, G.; Lo Presti, D.; Loehner, H.; Loucatos, S.; Mangano, S.; Marcelin, M.; Margiotta, A.; Martinez-Mora, J.A.; Meli, A.; Montaruli, T.; Moscoso, L.; Motz, H.; Neff, M.; Nezri, E.; Niess, V.; Palioselitis, D.; Pavalas, G.E.; Payet, K.; Payre, P.; Petrovic, J.; Piattelli, P.; Picot-Clemente, N.; Popa, V.; Pradier, T.; Presani, E.; Racca, C.; Real, D.; Reed, C.; Riccobene, G.; Richardt, C.; Richter, R.; Riviere, C.; Robert, A.; Roensch, K.; Rostovtsev, A.; Ruiz-Rivas, J.; Rujoiu, M.; Russo, G.V.; Salesa, F.; Samtleben, D.F.E.; Schock, F.; Schuller, J.P.; Schussler, F.; Seitz, T.; Shanidze, R.; Simeone, F.; Spies, A.; Spurio, M.; Steijger, J.J.M.; Stolarczyk, T.; Sanchez-Losa, A.; Taiuti, M.; Tamburini, C.; Toscano, S.; Vallage, B.; Van Elewyck, V.; Vannoni, G.; Vecchi, M.; Vernin, P.; Wagner, S.; Wijnker, G.; Wilms, J.; de Wolf, E.; Yepes, H.; Zaborov, D.; Zornoza, J.D.; Zuniga, J.

    2012-01-01

    The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located 40km off the coast of Toulon in the Mediterranean Sea at a mooring depth of about 2475m, consists of twelve detection lines equipped typically with 25 storeys. Every storey carries three optical modules that detect Cherenkov light induced by charged secondary

  17. Space telescope phase B definition study. Volume 2A: Science instruments, f24 field camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosso, R. P.; Mccarthy, D. J.

    1976-01-01

    The analysis and design of the F/24 field camera for the space telescope are discussed. The camera was designed for application to the radial bay of the optical telescope assembly and has an on axis field of view of 3 arc-minutes by 3 arc-minutes.

  18. System of the optic-electronic sensors for control position of the radio telescope elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konyakhin, Igor; Stepashkin, Ivan; Petrochenko, Andrey

    2016-04-01

    A promising area of modern astronomy is the study of the field of millimeter waves. The use of this band is due to a large extent the spectrum characteristics of the propagation of waves in the atmosphere, short wavelength. Currently, Russia jointly with Uzbekistan is implementing a project to build a radio astronomy observatory on the Suffa plateau (Uzbekistan). The main instrument of the observatory is fully steerable radio telescope RT-70 type. Main mirror telescope is a fragment of an axisymmetric parabolic with a focal length of 21 m, consisting of 1200 reflecting panels; main mirror diameter - 70 m; diameter of counter reflector - 3 m. A feature of the radio telescope as a means of research in the millimeter wavelength range are high for the quality requirements parabolic surface of the primary mirror (standard deviation of points on the surface of the theoretical parabolic is not more than 0.05 mm), to the stability of the mutual arrangement of the primary mirror and the counter reflector (not more than 0, 07 mm) for precision guidance in the corners of the mirror system azimuth and elevation (margin of error 1.5-2"). Weight of structure, temperature changes and air shock result in significant deformation elements radio telescope construction (progressive linear displacements of points of the surface of the main mirror), reaching in the marginal zone of 30 mm; counter reflector shift of up to 60 mm; Unlike the angular position of the axis of the beam pattern of the radio telescope of the measured angle transducers can reach 10 ". Therefore, to ensure the required quality of the reflective elements RT-70 systems, as well as the implementation of precision-guided munitions needs complex measuring deformation elements telescope design. This article deals with the construction of opto-electronic system of remote optoelectronic displacement sensor control elements mirror telescope system.

  19. Dual-Telescope Multi-Channel Thermal-Infrared Radiometer for Outer Planet Fly-By Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aslam, Shahid; Amato, Michael; Bowles, Neil; Calcutt, Simon; Hewagama, Tilak; Howard, Joseph; Howett, Carly; Hsieh, Wen-Ting; Hurford, Terry; Hurley, Jane; hide

    2016-01-01

    The design of a versatile dual-telescope thermal-infrared radiometer spanning the spectral wavelength range 8-200 microns, in five spectral pass bands, for outer planet fly-by missions is described. The dual- telescope design switches between a narrow-field-of-view and a wide-field-of-view to provide optimal spatial resolution images within a range of spacecraft encounters to the target. The switchable dual-field- of-view system uses an optical configuration based on the axial rotation of a source-select mirror along the optical axis. The optical design, spectral performance, radiometric accuracy, and retrieval estimates of the instrument are discussed. This is followed by an assessment of the surface coverage performance at various spatial resolutions by using the planned NASA Europa Mission 13-F7 fly-by trajectories as a case study.

  20. PORFIDO: Oceanographic data for neutrino telescopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cordelli, Marco; Martini, Agnese; Habel, Roberto; Trasatti, Luciano

    2011-01-01

    PORFIDO (Physical Oceanography by RFID Outreach) is a system designed to be installed in the optical modules of the NEMO experiment and possibly, in future underwater neutrino telescopes to gather oceanographic data with a minimum of disturbance to the main project and a very limited budget. The system gathers oceanographic data (temperature, etc.) from passive RFID tags (WISPs) attached to the outside of the NEMO optical modules with an RF reader situated inside the glass sphere, without the need of connectors or penetrators, which are very expensive and offer low reliability. Ten PORFIDOs will be deployed with the NEMO Phase 2 tower in 2011.

  1. PORFIDO: Oceanographic data for neutrino telescopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cordelli, Marco; Martini, Agnese; Habel, Roberto [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Via E. Fermi 40, I-00044 Frascati (Italy); Trasatti, Luciano, E-mail: luciano.trasatti@gmail.co [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Via E. Fermi 40, I-00044 Frascati (Italy)

    2011-01-21

    PORFIDO (Physical Oceanography by RFID Outreach) is a system designed to be installed in the optical modules of the NEMO experiment and possibly, in future underwater neutrino telescopes to gather oceanographic data with a minimum of disturbance to the main project and a very limited budget. The system gathers oceanographic data (temperature, etc.) from passive RFID tags (WISPs) attached to the outside of the NEMO optical modules with an RF reader situated inside the glass sphere, without the need of connectors or penetrators, which are very expensive and offer low reliability. Ten PORFIDOs will be deployed with the NEMO Phase 2 tower in 2011.

  2. The slewing mirror telescope of the Ultra Fast Flash Observatory Pathfinder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeong, S.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

    2012-01-01

    The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) is a key telescope of Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) space project to explore the first sub-minute or sub-seconds early photons from the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) afterglows. As the realization of UFFO, 20kg of UFFO-Pathfinder (UFFO-P) is going to be on board...... the Russian Lomonosov satellite in November 2012 by Soyuz-2 rocket. Once the UFFO Burst Alert & Trigger Telescope (UBAT) detects the GRBs, Slewing mirror (SM) will slew to bring new GRB into the SMT’s field of view rather than slewing the entire spacecraft. SMT can give a UV/Optical counterpart position...

  3. Two Early Gamma-ray Bursts Optical Afterglow Detections with TAOS Telescopes--GRB 071010B and GRB 071112C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, K. Y.; Wang, S. Y.; Urata, Y.

    2009-01-01

    We present on two early detections of GRB afterglows with the Taiwanese-American Occltation Sruvey (TAOS) telescopes. The robotic TAOS system has been devised so that the routine Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) survey is interrupted when a GRB alert is triggered. Our first detection, GRB 071010B was detected by TAOS 62 s after the burst and showed a weak early brightening during the observations. No significant correction with the prompt gamma-ray emission indicated that our optical emission detected is afterglow emission. The second detection of TAOS, GRB 071112C was detected 96 s after the burst, also showed a possible initial raising then followed a steep decay in the R-band light curve.

  4. Follow-up of high energy neutrinos detected by the ANTARES telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathieu, Aurore

    2016-04-01

    The ANTARES telescope is well-suited to detect high energy neutrinos produced in astrophysical transient sources as it can observe a full hemisphere of the sky with a high duty cycle. Potential neutrino sources are gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae and flaring active galactic nuclei. To enhance the sensitivity of ANTARES to such sources, a detection method based on follow-up observations from the neutrino direction has been developed. This program, denoted as TAToO, includes a network of robotic optical telescopes (TAROT, Zadko and MASTER) and the Swift-XRT telescope, which are triggered when an "interesting" neutrino is detected by ANTARES. A follow-up of special events, such as neutrino doublets in time/space coincidence or a single neutrino having a very high energy or in the specific direction of a local galaxy, significantly improves the perspective for the detection of transient sources. The analysis of early and long term follow-up observations to search for fast and slowly varying transient sources, respectively, has been performed and the results covering optical and X-ray data are presented in this contribution.

  5. A flat array large telescope concept for use on the moon, earth, and in space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodgate, Bruce E.

    1991-01-01

    An astronomical optical telescope concept is described which can provide very large collecting areas, of order 1000 sq m. This is an order of magnitude larger than the new generation of telescopes now being designed and built. Multiple gimballed flat mirrors direct the beams from a celestial source into a single telescope of the same aperture as each flat mirror. Multiple images of the same source are formed at the telescope focal plane. A beam combiner collects these images and superimposes them into a single image, onto a detector or spectrograph aperture. This telescope could be used on the earth, the moon, or in space.

  6. Prospects for Detecting Thermal Emission from Terrestrial Exoplanets with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreidberg, Laura

    2018-01-01

    A plethora of nearby, terrestrial exoplanets has been discovered recently by ground-based surveys. Excitingly, some of these are in the habitable zones of their host stars, and may be hospitable for life. However, all the planets orbit small, cool stars and have considerably different irradiation environments from the Earth, making them vulnerable to atmospheric escape, erosion and collapse. Atmosphere characterization is therefore critical to assessing the planets' habitability. I will discuss possible JWST thermal emission measurements to determine the atmospheric properties of nearby terrestrial planets. I will focus on prospects for detecting physically motivated atmospheres for planets orbiting LHS 1140, GJ 1132, and TRAPPIST-1. I will also discuss the potential for using phase curve observations to determine whether an atmosphere has survived on the non-transiting planet Proxima b.

  7. Solar adaptive optics: specificities, lessons learned, and open alternatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montilla, I.; Marino, J.; Asensio Ramos, A.; Collados, M.; Montoya, L.; Tallon, M.

    2016-07-01

    First on sky adaptive optics experiments were performed on the Dunn Solar Telescope on 1979, with a shearing interferometer and limited success. Those early solar adaptive optics efforts forced to custom-develop many components, such as Deformable Mirrors and WaveFront Sensors, which were not available at that time. Later on, the development of the correlation Shack-Hartmann marked a breakthrough in solar adaptive optics. Since then, successful Single Conjugate Adaptive Optics instruments have been developed for many solar telescopes, i.e. the National Solar Observatory, the Vacuum Tower Telescope and the Swedish Solar Telescope. Success with the Multi Conjugate Adaptive Optics systems for GREGOR and the New Solar Telescope has proved to be more difficult to attain. Such systems have a complexity not only related to the number of degrees of freedom, but also related to the specificities of the Sun, used as reference, and the sensing method. The wavefront sensing is performed using correlations on images with a field of view of 10", averaging wavefront information from different sky directions, affecting the sensing and sampling of high altitude turbulence. Also due to the low elevation at which solar observations are performed we have to include generalized fitting error and anisoplanatism, as described by Ragazzoni and Rigaut, as non-negligible error sources in the Multi Conjugate Adaptive Optics error budget. For the development of the next generation Multi Conjugate Adaptive Optics systems for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope and the European Solar Telescope we still need to study and understand these issues, to predict realistically the quality of the achievable reconstruction. To improve their designs other open issues have to be assessed, i.e. possible alternative sensing methods to avoid the intrinsic anisoplanatism of the wide field correlation Shack-Hartmann, new parameters to estimate the performance of an adaptive optics solar system, alternatives to

  8. Potential large missions enabled by NASA's space launch system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H. Philip; Hopkins, Randall C.; Schnell, Andrew; Smith, David A.; Jackman, Angela; Warfield, Keith R.

    2016-07-01

    Large space telescope missions have always been limited by their launch vehicle's mass and volume capacities. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was specifically designed to fit inside the Space Shuttle and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is specifically designed to fit inside an Ariane 5. Astrophysicists desire even larger space telescopes. NASA's "Enduring Quests Daring Visions" report calls for an 8- to 16-m Large UV-Optical-IR (LUVOIR) Surveyor mission to enable ultra-high-contrast spectroscopy and coronagraphy. AURA's "From Cosmic Birth to Living Earth" report calls for a 12-m class High-Definition Space Telescope to pursue transformational scientific discoveries. NASA's "Planning for the 2020 Decadal Survey" calls for a Habitable Exoplanet Imaging (HabEx) and a LUVOIR as well as Far-IR and an X-Ray Surveyor missions. Packaging larger space telescopes into existing launch vehicles is a significant engineering complexity challenge that drives cost and risk. NASA's planned Space Launch System (SLS), with its 8 or 10-m diameter fairings and ability to deliver 35 to 45-mt of payload to Sun-Earth-Lagrange-2, mitigates this challenge by fundamentally changing the design paradigm for large space telescopes. This paper reviews the mass and volume capacities of the planned SLS, discusses potential implications of these capacities for designing large space telescope missions, and gives three specific mission concept implementation examples: a 4-m monolithic off-axis telescope, an 8-m monolithic on-axis telescope and a 12-m segmented on-axis telescope.

  9. Potential Large Decadal Missions Enabled by Nasas Space Launch System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H. Philip; Hopkins, Randall C.; Schnell, Andrew; Smith, David Alan; Jackman, Angela; Warfield, Keith R.

    2016-01-01

    Large space telescope missions have always been limited by their launch vehicle's mass and volume capacities. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was specifically designed to fit inside the Space Shuttle and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is specifically designed to fit inside an Ariane 5. Astrophysicists desire even larger space telescopes. NASA's "Enduring Quests Daring Visions" report calls for an 8- to 16-m Large UV-Optical-IR (LUVOIR) Surveyor mission to enable ultra-high-contrast spectroscopy and coronagraphy. AURA's "From Cosmic Birth to Living Earth" report calls for a 12-m class High-Definition Space Telescope to pursue transformational scientific discoveries. NASA's "Planning for the 2020 Decadal Survey" calls for a Habitable Exoplanet Imaging (HabEx) and a LUVOIR as well as Far-IR and an X-Ray Surveyor missions. Packaging larger space telescopes into existing launch vehicles is a significant engineering complexity challenge that drives cost and risk. NASA's planned Space Launch System (SLS), with its 8 or 10-m diameter fairings and ability to deliver 35 to 45-mt of payload to Sun-Earth-Lagrange-2, mitigates this challenge by fundamentally changing the design paradigm for large space telescopes. This paper reviews the mass and volume capacities of the planned SLS, discusses potential implications of these capacities for designing large space telescope missions, and gives three specific mission concept implementation examples: a 4-m monolithic off-axis telescope, an 8-m monolithic on-axis telescope and a 12-m segmented on-axis telescope.

  10. High Spatial and Temporal Frequency Active Surfaces for Diffraction Controlled Telescopes

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Segmented primary mirrors are a key element in the design of next generation large aperture UV/Optical/IR space telescopes. To enable high quality science, precise...

  11. Optical design of CCAT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortés-Medellín, Germán; Herter, Terry

    2006-06-01

    The Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope (CCAT) is a 25m-class sub-millimeter radio telescope capable of operating from 300GHz up to 1.5 THz. The CCAT optical design is an f/8 Ritchey-Chretien (RC) system in a dual Nasmyth focus configuration and a 20 arc-min FOV (diffraction limited imaging performance better than 0.31" at the edge of the field). The large FOV is capable to accommodate up to 1200x1200 (Nyquist Sampled) Pixels at 200 microns, with better than 96% Strehl ratio. The telescope pedestal assembly is a counterbalanced elevation over azimuth design. The main reflector surface is segmented and actively controlled to attain diffraction-limited operation up to 200 microns. A flat Mirror located behind the main reflector vertex provides the optical path relay to either of the two Nasmyth platforms and to a bent-Cassegrain focus for surface calibration. We present the imaging characteristics of the CCAT over the 20arc-min FOV at 200 microns at the Nasmyth focal plane, as well as the positioning sensitivity analysis of CCAT's 3.2m-diameter sub-reflector given in terms of the telescope optical performance, antenna pointing requirements and sub-reflector chopping characteristics.

  12. Variable X-ray sky with Lobster Eye Telescopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudec, R.; Pina, L.; Inneman, A.; Sveda, L.

    2004-01-01

    The variable X-ray sky requires wide-field monitoring with high sensitivity. We refer on novel X-ray telescopes with high sensitivity as well as large field of view. The results are very promising, allowing the proposals for space projects with very wide-field Lobster-eye X-ray optics to be considered. The novel telescopes will monitor the sky with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution of order of 1 arcmin. They are expected to contribute essentially to study and to understand various astrophysical objects such as AGN, SNe, GRBs, X-ray flashes, galactic binary sources, stars, CVs, X-ray novae, various transient sources, etc

  13. Ghost telescope and ghost Fourier telescope with thermal light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gong Wenlin; Han Shensheng

    2011-01-01

    As important observation tools, telescopes are very useful in remote observations. We report a proof-of-principle experimental demonstration of ghost telescope scheme and show that, by measuring the intensity correlation of two light fields and only changing the position of the detector in the reference path, ghost telescope and ghost Fourier telescope can be obtained even if a single-pixel detector is fixed in Fresnel region of the object. Differences between conventional telescope and ghost telescope are also discussed.

  14. Advances in Telescope and Detector Technologies - Impacts on the Study and Understanding of Binary Star and Exoplanet Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guinan, Edward F.; Engle, Scott; Devinney, Edward J.

    2012-04-01

    )), and space missions, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the possible NASA Explorer Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS - recently approved for further study) and Gaia (due for launch during 2013) will all be discussed. Also highlighted are advances in interferometers (both on the ground and from space) and imaging now possible at sub-millimeter wavelengths from the Extremely Long Array (ELVA) and Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). High precision Doppler spectroscopy, for example with HARPS, HIRES and more recently the Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph, are currently returning RVs typically better than ~2-m/s for some brighter exoplanet systems. But soon it should be possible to measure Doppler shifts as small as ~10-cm/s - sufficiently sensitive for detecting Earth-size planets. Also briefly discussed is the impact these instruments will have on the study of eclipsing binaries, along with future possibilities of utilizing methods from the emerging field of Astroinformatics, including: the Virtual Observatory (VO) and the possibilities of analyzing these huge datasets using Neural Network (NN) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.

  15. Spectroscopic study of the optical counterpart to the fast X-ray transient IGR J17544-2619 based on observations at the 1.5-m RTT-150 telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bikmaev, I. F.; Nikolaeva, E. A.; Shimansky, V. V.; Galeev, A. I.; Zhuchkov, R. Ya.; Irtuganov, E. N.; Melnikov, S. S.; Sakhibullin, N. A.; Grebenev, S. A.; Sharipova, L. M.

    2017-10-01

    We present the results of our long-term photometric and spectroscopic observations at the Russian-Turkish RTT-150 telescope for the optical counterpart to one of the best-known sources, representatives of the class of fast X-ray transients, IGR J17544-2619. Based on our optical data, we have determined for the first time the orbital and physical parameters of the binary system by the methods of Doppler spectroscopy.We have calculated theoretical spectra of the optical counterpart by applying non- LTE corrections for selected lines and obtained the parameters of the stellar atmosphere ( T eff = 33 000 K, log g = 3.85, R = 9.5 R ⊙, and M = 23 M ⊙). The latter suggest that the optical star is not a supergiant as has been thought previously.

  16. Solar-insolation-induced changes in the coma morphology of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Optical monitoring with the Nordic Optical Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaprudin, B.; Lehto, H. J.; Nilsson, K.; Somero, A.; Pursimo, T.; Snodgrass, C.; Schulz, R.

    2017-07-01

    Context. 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) is a short-period Jupiter family comet with an orbital period of 6.55 yr. Being the target comet of ESA's Rosetta mission, 67P/C-G has become one of the most intensively studied minor bodies of the solar system. The Rosetta Orbiter and the Philae Lander have brought us unique information about the structure and activity of the comet nucleus, as well as its activity along the orbit, composition of gas, and dust particles emitted into the coma. However, as Rosetta stayed in very close proximity to the cometary nucleus (less than 500 km with a few short excursions reaching up to 1500 km), it could not see the global picture of a coma at the scales reachable by telescopic observations (103 - 105 km). Aims: In this work we aim to connect in-situ observations made by Rosetta with the morphological evolution of the coma structures monitored by the ground-based observations. In particular, we concentrate on causal relationships between the coma morphology and evolution observed with the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) in the Canary Islands, and the seasonal changes of the insolation and the activity of the comet observed by the Rosetta instruments. Methods: Comet 67P/C-G was monitored with the NOT in imaging mode in two colors. Imaging optical observations were performed roughly on a weekly basis, which provides good coverage of short- and long-term variability. With the three dimensional modeling of the coma produced by active regions on the southern hemisphere, we aim to qualify the observed morphology by connecting it to the activity observed by Rosetta. Results: During our monitoring program, we detected major changes in the coma morphology of comet 67P/C-G. These were long-term and long-lasting changes. They do not represent any sudden outburst or short transient event, but are connected to seasonal changes of the surface insolation and the emergence of new active regions on the irregular shaped comet nucleus. We have also

  17. Information Content Analysis for Selection of Optimal JWST  Observing Modes for Transiting Exoplanet Atmospheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Batalha, Natasha E. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802 (United States); Line, M. R., E-mail: neb149@psu.edu [School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85282 (United States)

    2017-04-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) is nearing its launch date of 2018, and is expected to revolutionize our knowledge of exoplanet atmospheres. In order to specifically identify which observing modes will be most useful for characterizing a diverse range of exoplanetary atmospheres, we use an information content (IC) based approach commonly used in the studies of solar system atmospheres. We develop a system based upon these IC methods to trace the instrumental and atmospheric model phase space in order to identify which observing modes are best suited for particular classes of planets, focusing on transmission spectra. Specifically, the atmospheric parameter space we cover is T  = 600–1800 K, C/O = 0.55–1, [M/H] = 1–100 × Solar for an R  = 1.39 R{sub J}, M  = 0.59 M{sub J} planet orbiting a WASP-62-like star. We also explore the influence of a simplified opaque gray cloud on the IC. We find that obtaining broader wavelength coverage over multiple modes is preferred over higher precision in a single mode given the same amount of observing time. Regardless of the planet temperature and composition, the best modes for constraining terminator temperatures, C/O ratios, and metallicity are NIRISS SOSS+NIRSpec G395. If the target’s host star is dim enough such that the NIRSpec prism is applicable, then it can be used instead of NIRISS SOSS+NIRSpec G395. Lastly, observations that use more than two modes should be carefully analyzed because sometimes the addition of a third mode results in no gain of information. In these cases, higher precision in the original two modes is favorable.

  18. Constellation-X to Generation-X: evolution of large collecting area moderate resolution grazing incidence x-ray telescopes to larger area high-resolution adjustable optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Paul B.; Cameron, Robert A.; Cohen, Lester; Elvis, Martin; Gorenstein, Paul; Jerius, Diab; Petre, Robert; Podgorski, William A.; Schwartz, Daniel A.; Zhang, William W.

    2004-10-01

    Large collecting area x-ray telescopes are designed to study the early Universe, trace the evolution of black holes, stars and galaxies, study the chemical evolution of the Universe, and study matter in extreme environments. The Constellation-X mission (Con-X), planned for launch in 2016, will provide ~ 10^4 cm^2 collecting area with 15 arc-sec resolution, with a goal of 5 arc-sec. Future missions require larger collecting area and finer resolution. Generation-X (Gen-X), a NASA Visions Mission, will achieve 100 m^2 effective area at 1 keV and angular resolution of 0.1 arc-sec, half power diameter. We briefly describe the Con-X flowdown of imaging requirements to reflector figure error. To meet requirements beyond Con-X, Gen-X optics will be thinner and more accurately shaped than has ever been accomplished. To meet these challenging goals, we incorporate for the first time active figure control with grazing incidence optics. Piezoelectric material will be deposited in discrete cells directly on the back surface of the optical segments, with the strain directions oriented parallel to the surface. Differential strain between the two layers of the mirror causes localized bending in two directions, enabling local figure control. Adjusting figure on-orbit eases fabrication and metrology. The ability to make changes to mirror figure adds margin by mitigating risk due to launch-induced deformations and/or on-orbit degradation. We flowdown the Gen-X requirements to mirror figure and four telescope designs, and discuss various trades between the designs.

  19. Hubble Space Telescope: a Vision to 2020 and Beyond: The Hubble Source Catalog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strolger, Louis-Gregory

    2016-01-01

    The Hubble Source Catalog (HSC) is an initiative centered on what science would be enabled by a master catalog of all the sources HST has imaged over its lifetime. The first version of this catalog was released in early 2015, and included approximately 30 million sources from archived direct imaging with WFPC2, ACS (through 2011), and WFC3 (to 2014). Version 2, scheduled for release in early 2016, will feed off the Hubble Legacy Archive DR9 release, updating the ACS sources with more detections, and more direct imaging, through to mid-2015. This talk will overview the properties and goals of the HSC in terms of its source detection, object resolution, confusion limits, and overall astrometric and photometric precision. I will also discuss the connections to other MAST activities (e.g., the Discovery Portal interface), to STScI and user products (e.g., the Spectroscopic Catalog and High-Level Science Products), and to community resources (e.g., Pan-STARRS, SDSS, and eventually GAIA). The HSC successfully amalgamates the diverse observations with HST, and despite the limitations in uniformity on the sky, will be an important reference for JWST, LSST, and other future telescopes.

  20. A low cost, high performance, 1.2m off-axis telescope built with NG-Xinetics silicon carbide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rey, Justin J.; Wellman, John A.; Egan, Richard G.; Wollensak, Richard J.

    2011-09-01

    The search for extrasolar habitable planets is one of three major astrophysics priorities identified for the next decade. These missions demand very high performance visible-wavelength optical imaging systems. Such high performance space telescopes are typically extremely expensive and can be difficult for government agencies to afford in today's economic climate, and most lower cost systems offer little benefit because they fall short on at least one of the following three key performance parameters: imaging wavelength, total system-level wavefront error and aperture diameter. Northrop Grumman Xinetics has developed a simple, lightweight, low-cost telescope design that will address the near-term science objectives of this astrophysics theme with the required optical performance, while reducing the telescope cost by an order of magnitude. Breakthroughs in SiC mirror manufacturing, integrated wavefront sensing, and high TRL deformable mirror technology have finally been combined within the same organization to offer a complete end-to-end telescope system in the lower end of the Class D cost range. This paper presents the latest results of real OAP polishing and metrology data, an optimized optical design, and finite element derived WFE

  1. Augmenting the Funding Sources for Space Science and the ASTRO-1 Space Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morse, Jon

    2015-08-01

    The BoldlyGo Institute was formed in 2013 to augment the planned space science portfolio through philanthropically funded robotic space missions, similar to how some U.S. medical institutes and ground-based telescopes are funded. I introduce BoldlyGo's two current projects: the SCIM mission to Mars and the ASTRO-1 space telescope. In particular, ASTRO-1 is a 1.8-meter off-axis (unobscured) ultraviolet-visible space observatory to be located in a Lagrange point or heliocentric orbit with a wide-field panchromatic camera, medium- and high-resolution spectrograph, and high-contrast imaging coronagraph and/or an accompanying starshade/occulter. It is intended for the post-Hubble Space Telescope era in the 2020s, enabling unique measurements of a broad range of celestial targets, while providing vital complementary capabilities to other ground- and space-based facilities such as the JWST, ALMA, WFIRST-AFTA, LSST, TESS, Euclid, and PLATO. The ASTRO-1 architecture simultaneously wields great scientific power while being technically viable and affordable. A wide variety of scientific programs can be accomplished, addressing topics across space astronomy, astrophysics, fundamental physics, and solar system science, as well as being technologically informative to future large-aperture programs. ASTRO-1 is intended to be a new-generation research facility serving a broad national and international community, as well as a vessel for impactful public engagement. Traditional institutional partnerships and consortia, such as are common with private ground-based observatories, may play a role in the support and governance of ASTRO-1; we are currently engaging interested international organizations. In addition to our planned open guest observer program and accessible data archive, we intend to provide a mechanism whereby individual scientists can buy in to a fraction of the gauranteed observing time. Our next step in ASTRO-1 development is to form the ASTRO-1 Requirements Team

  2. Monitoring of the prompt GRB afterglow with the REM telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Covino, S.; Zerbi, F.; Chincarini, G.; Ghisellini, G.; Conconi, P.; Molinari, E.; Rodono, M.; Cutispoto, G.; Antonelli, L.A.; Nicastro, L.; Palazzi, E.

    2003-01-01

    In these pages we present REM (Rapid Eye Mount), a fully robotized fast slewing telescope equipped with a high throughput NIR (Z', J, H, K) camera and an Optical slitless spectrograph (ROSS) optimized for the monitoring of the prompt afterglow of Gamma Ray Bursts. Covering the NIR domain REM can discover objects at extremely high red-shift and trigger large telescopes to observe them when they are still bright. The synergy between REM-IR cam and ROSS makes REM a powerful observing tool for any kind of fast transient phenomena

  3. Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. VII. Understanding the Ultraviolet Anomaly in NGC 5548 with X-Ray Spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mathur, S.; Pogge, R. W.; Adams, S. M.; Beatty, T. G.; Bisogni, S. [Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Gupta, A. [Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Page, K.; Goad, M. R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH (United Kingdom); Krongold, Y. [Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Cuidad de Mexico (Mexico); Anderson, M. D.; Bazhaw, C.; Bentz, M. C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, 25 Park Place, Suite 605, Atlanta, GA 30303 (United States); Arévalo, P. [Instituto de Física y Astronomía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Gran Bretana N 1111, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso (Chile); Barth, A. J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, 4129 Frederick Reines Hall, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States); Bigley, A. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States); Borman, G. A. [Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, P/O Nauchny, Crimea 298409 (Russian Federation); Boroson, T. A. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Bottorff, M. C. [Fountainwood Observatory, Department of Physics FJS 149, Southwestern University, 1011 East University Avenue, Georgetown, TX 78626 (United States); Brandt, W. N. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Eberly College of Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Breeveld, A. A. [Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT (United Kingdom); and others

    2017-09-01

    During the Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project observations of NGC 5548, the continuum and emission-line variability became decorrelated during the second half of the six-month-long observing campaign. Here we present Swift and Chandra X-ray spectra of NGC 5548 obtained as part of the campaign. The Swift spectra show that excess flux (relative to a power-law continuum) in the soft X-ray band appears before the start of the anomalous emission-line behavior, peaks during the period of the anomaly, and then declines. This is a model-independent result suggesting that the soft excess is related to the anomaly. We divide the Swift data into on- and off-anomaly spectra to characterize the soft excess via spectral fitting. The cause of the spectral differences is likely due to a change in the intrinsic spectrum rather than to variable obscuration or partial covering. The Chandra spectra have lower signal-to-noise ratios, but are consistent with the Swift data. Our preferred model of the soft excess is emission from an optically thick, warm Comptonizing corona, the effective optical depth of which increases during the anomaly. This model simultaneously explains all three observations: the UV emission-line flux decrease, the soft-excess increase, and the emission-line anomaly.

  4. Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. VII. Understanding the Ultraviolet Anomaly in NGC 5548 with X-Ray Spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mathur, S.; Pogge, R. W.; Adams, S. M.; Beatty, T. G.; Bisogni, S.; Gupta, A.; Page, K.; Goad, M. R.; Krongold, Y.; Anderson, M. D.; Bazhaw, C.; Bentz, M. C.; Arévalo, P.; Barth, A. J.; Bigley, A.; Borman, G. A.; Boroson, T. A.; Bottorff, M. C.; Brandt, W. N.; Breeveld, A. A.

    2017-01-01

    During the Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project observations of NGC 5548, the continuum and emission-line variability became decorrelated during the second half of the six-month-long observing campaign. Here we present Swift and Chandra X-ray spectra of NGC 5548 obtained as part of the campaign. The Swift spectra show that excess flux (relative to a power-law continuum) in the soft X-ray band appears before the start of the anomalous emission-line behavior, peaks during the period of the anomaly, and then declines. This is a model-independent result suggesting that the soft excess is related to the anomaly. We divide the Swift data into on- and off-anomaly spectra to characterize the soft excess via spectral fitting. The cause of the spectral differences is likely due to a change in the intrinsic spectrum rather than to variable obscuration or partial covering. The Chandra spectra have lower signal-to-noise ratios, but are consistent with the Swift data. Our preferred model of the soft excess is emission from an optically thick, warm Comptonizing corona, the effective optical depth of which increases during the anomaly. This model simultaneously explains all three observations: the UV emission-line flux decrease, the soft-excess increase, and the emission-line anomaly.

  5. Six Years of Science with the TAROT Telescope at La Silla

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klotz, A.; Boer, M.; Atteia, J.-L.; Gendre, B.; Le Borgne, J.-F.; Frappa, E.; Vachier, F.; Berthier, J.

    2013-03-01

    The TAROT telescopes are a pair of robotic autonomous observatories with identical suites of instrumentation, with one located in each hemisphere. The southern TAROT telescope, which was installed in 2006 at the La Silla Observatory, uses more than 90% of the clear night-time, and has become a very reliable and productive instrument. The primary objective of TAROT is the detection and study of the optical counter-parts of cosmic gamma-ray bursts, and many results have been obtained in this area. But several other topics, ranging from stellar physics to supernovae, have also been addressed successfully thanks to the telescope's flexibility. We present the main scientific results obtained by the TAROT robotic observatory at La Silla.

  6. Design and end-to-end modelling of a deployable telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolkens, Dennis; Kuiper, Hans

    2017-09-01

    Deployable optics have the potential of revolutionizing the field of high resolution Earth Observation. By offering the same resolutions as a conventional telescope, while using a much smaller launch volume and mass, the costs of high resolution image data can be brought down drastically. In addition, the technology will ultimately enable resolutions that are currently unattainable due to limitations imposed by the size of launcher fairings. To explore the possibilities and system complexities of a deployable telescope, a concept study was done to design a competitive deployable imager. A deployable telescope was designed for a ground sampling distance of 25 cm from an orbital altitude of 550 km. It offers an angular field of view of 0.6° and has a panchromatic channel as well as four multispectral bands in the visible and near infrared spectrum. The optical design of the telescope is based on an off-axis Korsch Three Mirror Anastigmat. A freeform tertiary mirror is used to ensure a diffraction limited image quality for all channels, while maintaining a compact design. The segmented primary mirror consists of four tapered aperture segments, which can be folded down during launch, while the secondary mirror is mounted on a deployable boom. In its stowed configuration, the telescope fits within a quarter of the volume of a conventional telescope reaching the same resolution. To reach a diffraction limited performance while operating in orbit, the relative position of each individual mirror segment must be controlled to a fraction of a wavelength. Reaching such tolerances with deployable telescope challenging, due to inherent uncertainties in the deployment mechanisms. Adding to the complexity is the fact that the telescope will be operating in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) where it will be exposed to very dynamic thermal conditions. Therefore, the telescope will be equipped with a robust calibration system. Actuators underneath the primary mirror will be controlled using

  7. How to find and type red/brown dwarf stars in near-infrared imaging space observatories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willemn Holwerda, Benne; Ryan, Russell; Bridge, Joanna; Pirzkal, Nor; Kenworthy, Matthew; Andersen, Morten; Wilkins, Stephen; Trenti, Michele; Meshkat, Tiffany; Bernard, Stephanie; Smit, Renske

    2018-01-01

    Here we evaluate the near-infrared colors of brown dwarfs as observed with four major infrared imaging space observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the EUCLID mission, and the WFIRST telescope. We use the splat ISPEX spectroscopic library to map out the colors of the M, L, and T-type brown dwarfs. We identify which color-color combination is optimal for identifying broad type and which single color is optimal to then identify the subtype (e.g., T0-9). We evaluate each observatory separately as well as the the narrow-field (HST and JWST) and wide-field (EULID and WFIRST) combinations.HST filters used thus far for high-redshift searches (e.g. CANDELS and BoRG) are close to optimal within the available filter combinations. A clear improvement over HST is one of two broad/medium filter combinations on JWST: pairing F140M with either F150W or F162M discriminates well between brown dwarf subtypes. The improvement of JWST the filter set over the HST one is so marked that any combination of HST and JWST filters does not improve the classification.The EUCLID filter set alone performs poorly in terms of typing brown dwarfs and WFIRST performs only marginally better, despite a wider selection of filters. A combined EUCLID and WFIRST observation, using WFIRST's W146 and F062 and EUCLID's Y-band, allows for a much better discrimination between broad brown dwarf categories. In this respect, WFIRST acts as a targeted follow-up observatory for the all-sky EUCLID survey. However, subsequent subtyping with the combination of EUCLID and WFIRST observations remains uncertain due to the lack of medium or narrow-band filters in this wavelength range. We argue that a medium band added to the WFIRST filter selection would greatly improve its ability to preselect against brown dwarfs in high-latitude surveys.

  8. Stray light characteristics of the diffractive telescope system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Dun; Wang, Lihua; Yang, Wei; Wu, Shibin; Fan, Bin; Wu, Fan

    2018-02-01

    Diffractive telescope technology is an innovation solution in construction of large light-weight space telescope. However, the nondesign orders of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) may affect the imaging performance as stray light. To study the stray light characteristics of a diffractive telescope, a prototype was developed and its stray light analysis model was established. The stray light characteristics including ghost, point source transmittance, and veiling glare index (VGI) were analyzed. During the star imaging test of the prototype, the ghost images appeared around the star image as the exposure time of the charge-coupled device improving, consistent with the simulation results. The test result of VGI was 67.11%, slightly higher than the calculated value 57.88%. The study shows that the same order diffraction of the diffractive primary lens and correcting DOE is the main factor that causes ghost images. The stray light sources outside the field of view can illuminate the image plane through nondesign orders diffraction of the primary lens and contributes to more than 90% of the stray light flux on the image plane. In summary, it is expected that these works will provide some guidance for optimizing the imaging performance of diffractive telescopes.

  9. The Electrostatic Actuated Next Generation Microshutter Arrays

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The field of view required for future missions is much larger than James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We need to use electrostatic actuation to replace magnetic...

  10. Optical transmission of low-level signals with high dynamic range using the optically-coupled current-mirror architecture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camin, Daniel V.; Grassi, Valerio; De Donato, Cinzia

    2007-01-01

    In this paper we illustrate the application of a novel circuit architecture, the Optically-Coupled Current-Mirror (OCCM), conceived for the linear transmission of analogue signals via fibre optics. We installed 880 OCCMs in the PMTs of the first two telescopes of the cosmic-ray experiment Pierre Auger. The Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) has been designed to increase the statistics of cosmic-rays with energies above 10 18 eV. Two different techniques have been adopted: the Surface Detector (SD) modules that comprise 1600 tanks spaced each other by 1.5km within an area of 3000km 2 . On the other side there are four buildings, the Optical Stations (OS), in which six telescopes are installed in each one of the four OS, at the periphery of the site, looking inwards. The telescopes are sensitive to the UV light created at the moment a high-energy shower develops in the atmosphere and is within the field-of-view (FOV) of the telescopes. The PAO is located in the Northern Patagonia, not far from the Cordillera de Los Andes, in Argentina. Both detector types, FD telescopes and SD modules, are sensitive to the UV light resulting from the interaction of high-energy particles and the nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere. The UV-sensitive telescopes operate only at night when the sky is completely dark. Otherwise, the light collected by the telescopes may give origin to severe damage in particular if those telescopes point at twilight or to artificial light sources. The duty cycle of the telescope's operation is therefore limited to about 10% or slightly more than that, if data are taken also when there is a partial presence of the Moon. The SD modules establish, independently of the telescopes, the geometry of the event. At the same time a shower reconstruction is performed using the telescope's data, independently of the SD modules. Use of both sets of data, taken by the FD telescopes and by the SD modules, allows the hybrid reconstruction that significantly improves the data

  11. Nestor optical modules blackening

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cordelli, M.; Rutili, A.; Trasatti, L.

    1998-09-01

    The optical modules (OM) containing the photomultiplier tubes (PM) for a deep sea neutrino telescope must be protected them from direct sunlight. The problem has been solved using a heat shrink plastic sheet with very good optical and mechanical properties

  12. Observations of Early Optical Afterglows

    OpenAIRE

    Roming, Peter W. A.; Mason, Keith O.

    2006-01-01

    The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) has performed extensive follow-up on 71 Swift Burst Alert Telescope triggered gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in its first ten months of operations. In this paper, we discuss some of the UV and optical properties of UVOT detected afterglows such as XRF 050406, the bright GRB 050525A, the high redshift GRB 050730, the early flaring GRB 050801, and others. We also discuss some of the implications of why 75% of GRB afterglows observed by UVOT in less than ...

  13. Design and Deployment of a Multichroic Polarimeter Array on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, R.; Austermann, J.; Beall, J. A.; Becker, D.; Coughlin, K. P.; Duff, S. M.; Gallardo, P.A.; Grace, E.; Hasselfield, M.; Henderson, S. W.; hide

    2016-01-01

    We present the design and the preliminary on-sky performance with respect to beams and pass bands of a multichroic polarimeter array covering the 90 and 146 GHz cosmic microwave background bands and its enabling broad-band optical system recently deployed on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). The constituent pixels are feedhorn-coupled multichroic polarimeters fabricated at NIST. This array is coupled to the ACT telescope via a set of three silicon lenses incorporating novel broad-band metamaterial anti-reflection coatings. This receiver represents the first multichroic detector array deployed for a CMB experiment and paves the way for the extensive use of multichroic detectors and broad-band optical systems in the next generation of CMB experiments.

  14. Design and Deployment of a Multichroic Polarimeter Array on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, R.; Austermann, J.; Beall, J. A.; Becker, D.; Coughlin, K. P.; Duff, S. M.; Gallardo, P. A.; Grace, E.; Hasselfield, M.; Henderson, S. W.; Hilton, G. C.; Ho, S. P.; Hubmayr, J.; Koopman, B. J.; Lanen, J. V.; Li, D.; McMahon, J.; Munson, C. D.; Nati, F.; Niemack, M. D.; Page, L.; Pappas, C. G.; Salatino, M.; Schmitt, B. L.; Schillaci, A.; Simon, S. M.; Staggs, S. T.; Stevens, J. R.; Vavagiakis, E. M.; Ward, J. T.; Wollack, E. J.

    2016-08-01

    We present the design and the preliminary on-sky performance with respect to beams and passbands of a multichroic polarimeter array covering the 90 and 146 GHz cosmic microwave background bands and its enabling broad-band optical system recently deployed on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). The constituent pixels are feedhorn-coupled multichroic polarimeters fabricated at NIST. This array is coupled to the ACT telescope via a set of three silicon lenses incorporating novel broad-band metamaterial anti-reflection coatings. This receiver represents the first multichroic detector array deployed for a CMB experiment and paves the way for the extensive use of multichroic detectors and broad-band optical systems in the next generation of CMB experiments.

  15. Follow-up of high energy neutrinos detected by the ANTARES telescope

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathieu Aurore

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The ANTARES telescope is well-suited to detect high energy neutrinos produced in astrophysical transient sources as it can observe a full hemisphere of the sky with a high duty cycle. Potential neutrino sources are gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae and flaring active galactic nuclei. To enhance the sensitivity of ANTARES to such sources, a detection method based on follow-up observations from the neutrino direction has been developed. This program, denoted as TAToO, includes a network of robotic optical telescopes (TAROT, Zadko and MASTER and the Swift-XRT telescope, which are triggered when an “interesting” neutrino is detected by ANTARES. A follow-up of special events, such as neutrino doublets in time/space coincidence or a single neutrino having a very high energy or in the specific direction of a local galaxy, significantly improves the perspective for the detection of transient sources. The analysis of early and long term follow-up observations to search for fast and slowly varying transient sources, respectively, has been performed and the results covering optical and X-ray data are presented in this contribution.

  16. A Low Cost Light Weight Polymer Derived Ceramic Telescope Mirror, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The primary purpose of this proposal is to develop and demonstrate a new technology for manufacturing an ultra-low-cost precision optical telescope mirror which can...

  17. Software framework for automatic learning of telescope operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, Jose A.; Molgó, Jordi; Guerra, Dailos

    2016-07-01

    The "Gran Telescopio de Canarias" (GTC) is an optical-infrared 10-meter segmented mirror telescope at the ORM observatory in Canary Islands (Spain). The GTC Control System (GCS) is a distributed object and component oriented system based on RT-CORBA and it is responsible for the operation of the telescope, including its instrumentation. The current development state of GCS is mature and fully operational. On the one hand telescope users as PI's implement the sequences of observing modes of future scientific instruments that will be installed in the telescope and operators, in turn, design their own sequences for maintenance. On the other hand engineers develop new components that provide new functionality required by the system. This great work effort is possible to minimize so that costs are reduced, especially if one considers that software maintenance is the most expensive phase of the software life cycle. Could we design a system that allows the progressive assimilation of sequences of operation and maintenance of the telescope, through an automatic self-programming system, so that it can evolve from one Component oriented organization to a Service oriented organization? One possible way to achieve this is to use mechanisms of learning and knowledge consolidation to reduce to the minimum expression the effort to transform the specifications of the different telescope users to the operational deployments. This article proposes a framework for solving this problem based on the combination of the following tools: data mining, self-Adaptive software, code generation, refactoring based on metrics, Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering and Service Oriented Architectures.

  18. NST: Thermal Modeling for a Large Aperture Solar Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coulter, Roy

    2011-05-01

    Late in the 1990s the Dutch Open Telescope demonstrated that internal seeing in open, large aperture solar telescopes can be controlled by flushing air across the primary mirror and other telescope structures exposed to sunlight. In that system natural wind provides a uniform air temperature throughout the imaging volume, while efficiently sweeping heated air away from the optics and mechanical structure. Big Bear Solar Observatory's New Solar Telescope (NST) was designed to realize that same performance in an enclosed system by using both natural wind through the dome and forced air circulation around the primary mirror to provide the uniform air temperatures required within the telescope volume. The NST is housed in a conventional, ventilated dome with a circular opening, in place of the standard dome slit, that allows sunlight to fall only on an aperture stop and the primary mirror. The primary mirror is housed deep inside a cylindrical cell with only minimal openings in the side at the level of the mirror. To date, the forced air and cooling systems designed for the NST primary mirror have not been implemented, yet the telescope regularly produces solar images indicative of the absence of mirror seeing. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of the NST primary mirror system along with measurements of air flows within the dome, around the telescope structure, and internal to the mirror cell are used to explain the origin of this seemingly incongruent result. The CFD analysis is also extended to hypothetical systems of various scales. We will discuss the results of these investigations.

  19. Deploying the NASA Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) on Ascension Island

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lederer, S. M.; Pace, L.; Hickson, P.; Cowardin, H. M.; Frith, J.; Buckalew, B.; Glesne, T.; Maeda, R.; Douglas, D.; Nishimoto, D.

    2015-01-01

    NASA has successfully constructed the 1.3m Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) facility on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. MCAT is an optical telescope designed specifically to collect ground-based data for the statistical characterization of orbital debris ranging from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) through Middle Earth Orbits (MEO) and beyond to Geo Transfer and Geosynchronous Orbits (GTO/GEO). The location of Ascension Island has two distinct advantages. First, the near-equatorial location fills a significant longitudinal gap in the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) network of telescopes, and second, it allows access to objects in Low Inclination Low-Earth Orbits (LILO). The MCAT facility will be controlled by a sophisticated software suite that operates the dome and telescope, assesses sky and weather conditions, conducts all necessary calibrations, defines an observing strategy (as dictated by weather, sky conditions and the observing plan for the night), and carries out the observations. It then reduces the collected data via four primary observing modes ranging from tracking previously cataloged objects to conducting general surveys for detecting uncorrelated debris. Nightly observing plans, as well as the resulting text file of reduced data, will be transferred to and from Ascension, respectively, via a satellite connection. Post-processing occurs at NASA Johnson Space Center. Construction began in September, 2014 with dome and telescope installation occurring in April through early June, 2015. First light was achieved in June, 2015. Acceptance testing, full commissioning, and calibration of this soon-to-be fully autonomous system commenced in summer 2015. The initial characterization of the system from these tests is presented herein.

  20. Deciphering the Hot Giant Atmospheres Orbiting Nearby Extrasolar Systems with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afrin Badhan, Mahmuda; Batalha, Natasha; Deming, Drake; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn; HEBRARD, Eric; Kopparapu, Ravi Kumar; Irwin, Patrick Gerard Joseph

    2016-10-01

    Unique and exotic planets give us an opportunity to understand how planetary systems form and evolve over their lifetime, by placing our own planetary system in the context of the vastly different extrasolar systems that are being continually discovered by present space missions. With orbital separations that are less than one-tenth of the Mercury-Sun distance, these close-in planets provide us with valuable insights about the host stellar atmosphere and planetary atmospheres subjected to their enormous stellar insolation. Observed spectroscopic signatures reveal all spectrally active species in a planet, along with information about its thermal structure and dynamics, allowing us to characterize the planet's atmosphere. NASA's upcoming missions will give us the high-resolution spectra necessary to constrain the atmospheric properties with unprecedented accuracy. However, to interpret the observed signals from exoplanetary transit events with any certainty, we need reliable atmospheric retrieval tools that can model the expected observables adequately. In my work thus far, I have built a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) convergence scheme, with an analytical radiative equilibrium formulation for the thermal structures, within the NEMESIS atmospheric modeling tool, to allow sufficient (and efficient) exploration of the parameter space. I also augmented the opacity tables to improve the speed and reliability of retrieval models. I then utilized this upgraded version to infer the pressure-temperature (P-T) structures and volume-mixing ratios (VMRs) of major gas species in hot Jupiter dayside atmospheres, from their emission spectra. I have employed a parameterized thermal structure to retrieve plausible P-T profiles, along with altitude-invariant VMRs. Here I show my retrieval results on published datasets of HD189733b, and compare them with both medium and high spectral resolution JWST/NIRSPEC simulations. In preparation for the upcoming JWST mission, my current work

  1. GRB 090926A AND BRIGHT LATE-TIME FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE GAMMA-RAY BURST AFTERGLOWS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swenson, C. A.; Roming, P. W. A.; Vetere, L.; Kennea, J. A.; Maxham, A.; Zhang, B. B.; Zhang, B.; Schady, P.; Holland, S. T.; Kuin, N. P. M.; Oates, S. R.; De Pasquale, M.; Page, K. L.

    2010-01-01

    GRB 090926A was detected by both the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and Large Area Telescope (LAT) instruments on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Swift follow-up observations began ∼13 hr after the initial trigger. The optical afterglow was detected for nearly 23 days post trigger, placing it in the long-lived category. The afterglow is of particular interest due to its brightness at late times, as well as the presence of optical flares at T0+10 5 s and later, which may indicate late-time central engine activity. The LAT has detected a total of 16 gamma-ray bursts; nine of these bursts, including GRB 090926A, also have been observed by Swift. Of the nine Swift-observed LAT bursts, six were detected by UVOT, with five of the bursts having bright, long-lived optical afterglows. In comparison, Swift has been operating for five years and has detected nearly 500 bursts, but has only seen ∼30% of bursts with optical afterglows that live longer than 10 5 s. We have calculated the predicted gamma-ray fluence, as would have been seen by the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on board Swift, of the LAT bursts to determine whether this high percentage of long-lived optical afterglows is unique, when compared to BAT-triggered bursts. We find that, with the exception of the short burst GRB 090510A, the predicted BAT fluences indicate that the LAT bursts are more energetic than 88% of all Swift bursts and also have brighter than average X-ray and optical afterglows.

  2. Achromatic shearing phase sensor for generating images indicative of measure(s) of alignment between segments of a segmented telescope's mirrors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, H. Philip (Inventor); Walker, Chanda Bartlett (Inventor)

    2006-01-01

    An achromatic shearing phase sensor generates an image indicative of at least one measure of alignment between two segments of a segmented telescope's mirrors. An optical grating receives at least a portion of irradiance originating at the segmented telescope in the form of a collimated beam and the collimated beam into a plurality of diffraction orders. Focusing optics separate and focus the diffraction orders. Filtering optics then filter the diffraction orders to generate a resultant set of diffraction orders that are modified. Imaging optics combine portions of the resultant set of diffraction orders to generate an interference pattern that is ultimately imaged by an imager.

  3. Atmospheric Monitoring at the Site of the MAGIC Telescopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Will Martin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The MAGIC telescopes in La Palma, Canary Islands, measure the Cherenkov light emitted by gamma ray-induced extended air showers in the atmosphere. The good knowledge of the atmospheric parameters is important, both for the correct and safe operations of the telescopes, but also for subsequent data analysis. A weather station measures the state variables of the atmosphere, temperature, humidity and wind, an elastic Lidar system and an infrared pyrometer determine the optical transmission of the atmosphere. Using an AllSky camera, the cloud cover can be estimated. The measured values are completed by data from global atmospheric models based on numeric weather forecasts.

  4. WEAVE: the next generation wide-field spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope : The next generation wide-field spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dalton, Gavin; Trager, Scott C.; Abrams, Don Carlos; Carter, David; Bonifacio, Piercarlo; Aguerri, J. Alfonso L.; MacIntosh, Mike; Evans, Chris; Lewis, Ian; Navarro, Ramon; Agocs, Tibor; Dee, Kevin; Rousset, Sophie; Tosh, Ian; Middleton, Kevin; Pragt, Johannes; Terrett, David; Brock, Matthew; Benn, Chris; Verheijen, Marc; Cano Infantes, Diego; Bevil, Craige; Steele, Iain; Mottram, Chris; Bates, Stuart; Gribbin, Francis J.; Rey, Jürg; Rodriguez, Luis Fernando; Delgado, Jose Miguel; Guinouard, Isabelle; Walton, Nic; Irwin, Michael J.; Jagourel, Pascal; Stuik, Remko; Gerlofsma, Gerrit; Roelfsma, Ronald; Skillen, Ian; Ridings, Andy; Balcells, Marc; Daban, Jean-Baptiste; Gouvret, Carole; Venema, Lars; Girard, Paul

    We present the preliminary design of the WEAVE next generation spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), principally targeting optical ground-based follow up of upcoming ground-based (LOFAR) and spacebased (Gaia) surveys. WEAVE is a multi-object and multi-IFU facility utilizing

  5. Optimization of graded multilayer designs for astronomical x-ray telescopes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mao, P.H.; Harrison, F.A.; Windt, D.L.

    1999-01-01

    We developed a systematic method for optimizing the design of depth-graded multilayers for astronomical hard-x-ray and soft-gamma-ray telescopes based on the instrument's bandpass and the field of view. We apply these methods to the design of the conical-approximation Wolter I optics employed...... by the balloon-borne High Energy Focusing Telescope, using W/Si as the multilayer materials. In addition, we present optimized performance calculations of mirrors, using other material pairs that are capable of extending performance to photon energies above the W K-absorption edge (69.5 keV), including Pt/C, Ni...

  6. The soft X-ray telescope for the SOLAR-A mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuneta, S.; Acton, L.; Bruner, M.; Lemen, J.; Brown, W.; Caravalho, R.; Catura, R.; Freeland, S.; Jurcevich, B.; Owens, J.

    1991-01-01

    The Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) of the SOLAR-A mission is designed to produce X-ray movies of flares with excellent angular and time resolution as well as full-disk X-ray images for general studies. A selection of thin metal filters provide a measure of temperature discrimination and aid in obtaining the wide dynamic range required for solar observing. The co-aligned SXT aspect telescope will yield optical images for aspect reference, white-light flare and sunspot studies, and, possibly, helioseismology. This paper describes the capabilities and characteristics of the SXT for scientific observing.

  7. Effect of telescope antenna diagram on the data acquisition in a stellar interferometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longueteau, Emmanuel; Delage, Laurent; Reynaud, François

    2017-11-01

    This paper deals with the effect of the telescope size on accuracy of the data acquisition in a optical fibre linked stellar interferometer. In this context we introduce the concept of antenna diagram commonly used for microwaves antennae. This concept is essential to explain the contrasts and the phaseclosure acquisitions corruption in a stellar interferometer. The telescope pointing errors induces additional effects that are superimposed with the field limitation and could become critical.

  8. Plans for the Meter Class Autonomous Telescope and Potential Coordinated Measurements with Kwajalein Radars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stansberry, Gene; Kervin, Paul; Mulrooney, Mark

    2010-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Orbital Debris Program Office is teaming with the US Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Maui Optical Site to deploy a moderate field-of-view, 1.3 m aperture, optical telescope for orbital debris applications. The telescope will be located on the island of Legan in the Kwajalein Atoll and is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2011. The telescope is intended to sample both low inclination/high eccentricity orbits and near geosynchronous orbits. The telescope will have a 1 deg diagonal field-of-view on a 4K x 4K CCD. The telescope is expected to be able to detect 10-cm diameter debris at geosynchronous altitudes (5 sec exposure assuming a spherical specular phase function w/ albedo =0.13). Once operational, the telescope has the potential of conducting simultaneous observations with radars operated by the US Army at Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) and located on the island of Roi-Namur, approximately 55 km to the north of Legan. Four radars, representing 6 frequency bands, are available for use: ALTAIR (ARPA-Long Range Tracking and Instrumentation Radar) operating at VHF & UHF, TRADEX (Target Resolution and Discrimination Experiment) operating at L-band and S-band, ALCOR (ARPA-Lincoln C-band Observables Radar) operating at S-band, and MMW (Millimeter Wave) Radar operating at Ka-band. Also potentially available is the X-band GBRP (Ground Based Radar-Prototype located 25 km to the southeast of Legan on the main island of Kwajalein.

  9. The Southern African Large Telescope project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckley, David A. H.; Charles, Philip A.; Nordsieck, Kenneth H.; O'Donoghue, Darragh

    The recently completed Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is a low cost, innovative, 10 m class optical telescope, which began limited scientific operations in August 2005, just 5 years after ground-breaking. This paper describes the design and construction of SALT, including the first-light instruments, SALTICAM and the Robert Stobie Spectrograph (RSS). A rigorous systems engineering approach has ensured that SALT was built to specification, on budget, close to the original schedule and using a relatively small project team. The design trade-offs, which include an active spherical primary mirror array and a fixed altitude telescope with a prime focus tracker, although restrictive in comparison to conventional telescopes, have resulted in an affordable 10 m class telescope for South Africa and its ten partners. Coupled with an initial set of two seeing-limited instruments that concentrate on the UV-visible region (320 - 900 nm) and featuring some niche observational capabilities, SALT will have an ability to conduct some unique science. This includes high time resolution studies, for which some initial results have already been obtained. Many of the versatile modes available with the RSS - which is currently being commissioned - are unique and provide unparallelled opportunities for imaging polarimetry and spectropolarimetry. Likewise, Multi-Object Spectroscopy (with slit masks) and imaging spectroscopy with the RSS, the latter using Fabry-Perot étalons and interference filters, will extend the multiplex advantage over resolutions from 300 to 9000 and fields of view of 2 to 8 arcminutes. Future instrumentation plans include an extremely stable, fibre-fed, high resolution échelle spectrograph and a near-IR (to between 1.5 to 1.7 μm) extension to the RSS. Future development possibilities include phasing the primary mirror and AO. Finally, extrapolations of the SALT/HET designs to ELT proportions remain viable and are surely more affordable than conventional

  10. Perfecting 'a sharper image': telescope-making and the dissemination of technical knowledge, 1700-1820

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, Gary L.

    2012-07-01

    Telescopes, reflecting telescopes in particular, underwent considerable development during the eighteenth century. Two classes of telescope maker, the for-profit artisan and the amateur 'gentleman-philosopher,' learned techniques of optical fabrication and testing and produced usable astronomical instruments. One means of disseminating technical knowledge was via the book. The year 1738 saw the publication of a highly-influential book, Robert Smith's A Compleat System of Opticks, a work that included detailed information on telescope-making. It was this book that helped spark the astronomical career of William Herschel, and with Smith's information Herschel produced large reflecting telescopes of exquisite quality. However, artisan-opticians, even the renowned James Short, appear to have cut corners on a portion of their production, thus permitting the sale of some instruments of inferior quality. The reasons for this were clearly economical in nature: artisans depending on telescope sales to earn a living simply could not afford the time required for perfection. The mere presence of written works disseminating technical

  11. A New Observing Tool for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Folger, Martin; Bridger, Alan; Dent, Bill; Kelly, Dennis; Adamson, Andy; Economou, Frossie; Hirst, Paul; Jenness, Tim

    A new Observing Tool (OT) has been developed at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh, UK and the Joint Astronomy Centre, Hilo, Hawaii, USA. It is based on the Gemini Observing Tool and provides the first graphical observation preparation tool for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) as well as being the first use of the OT for a non-optical/IR telescope. The OT allows the observer to assemble high level Science Programs using graphical representations of observation components such as instrument, target, and filter. This is later translated into low level control sequences for telescope and instruments. The new OT is designed to work on multiple telescopes: currently the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) and JCMT. Object-oriented design makes the inclusion of telescope and instrument specific packages easy. The OT is written in Java using GUI packages such as Swing and JSky. A new component for the JCMT OT is the graphical Frequency Editor for Heterodyne instruments. It can be used to specify parameters such as frequencies, bandwidths, and sidebands of multiple subsystems, while graphically displaying the front-end frequency, emission lines and atmospheric transmission. In addition, Flexible Scheduling support has been added to the OT. The observer can define scheduling constraints by arranging observations graphically. Science Programs can be saved as XML or sent directly from the OT to a database (via SOAP).

  12. Design of UHECR telescope with 1 arcmin resolution and 50 deg. field of view

    CERN Document Server

    Sasaki, M; Asaoka, Y

    2002-01-01

    A new telescope design based on Baker-Nunn optics is proposed for observation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The optical system has an image resolution better than 0.02 deg. within a wide field of view of 50 deg. angular diameter. When combined with a high-quality imaging device, the proposed design enables the directions of UHECRs and high-energy neutrinos to be determined with an accuracy better than 1 arcmin. The outstanding resolution of this telescope allows charge-separated cosmic-rays to be resolved and the source to be determined accurately. This marked improvement in angular resolution will allow the multi-wavelength and 'multi-particle' observations of astronomical objects through collaboration with established astronomical observations.

  13. DynamiX, numerical tool for design of next-generation x-ray telescopes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauvin, Maxime; Roques, Jean-Pierre

    2010-07-20

    We present a new code aimed at the simulation of grazing-incidence x-ray telescopes subject to deformations and demonstrate its ability with two test cases: the Simbol-X and the International X-ray Observatory (IXO) missions. The code, based on Monte Carlo ray tracing, computes the full photon trajectories up to the detector plane, accounting for the x-ray interactions and for the telescope motion and deformation. The simulation produces images and spectra for any telescope configuration using Wolter I mirrors and semiconductor detectors. This numerical tool allows us to study the telescope performance in terms of angular resolution, effective area, and detector efficiency, accounting for the telescope behavior. We have implemented an image reconstruction method based on the measurement of the detector drifts by an optical sensor metrology. Using an accurate metrology, this method allows us to recover the loss of angular resolution induced by the telescope instability. In the framework of the Simbol-X mission, this code was used to study the impacts of the parameters on the telescope performance. In this paper we present detailed performance analysis of Simbol-X, taking into account the satellite motions and the image reconstruction. To illustrate the versatility of the code, we present an additional performance analysis with a particular configuration of IXO.

  14. DynamiX, numerical tool for design of next-generation x-ray telescopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chauvin, Maxime; Roques, Jean-Pierre

    2010-01-01

    We present a new code aimed at the simulation of grazing-incidence x-ray telescopes subject to deformations and demonstrate its ability with two test cases: the Simbol-X and the International X-ray Observatory (IXO) missions. The code, based on Monte Carlo ray tracing, computes the full photon trajectories up to the detector plane, accounting for the x-ray interactions and for the telescope motion and deformation. The simulation produces images and spectra for any telescope configuration using Wolter I mirrors and semiconductor detectors. This numerical tool allows us to study the telescope performance in terms of angular resolution, effective area, and detector efficiency, accounting for the telescope behavior. We have implemented an image reconstruction method based on the measurement of the detector drifts by an optical sensor metrology. Using an accurate metrology, this method allows us to recover the loss of angular resolution induced by the telescope instability. In the framework of the Simbol-X mission, this code was used to study the impacts of the parameters on the telescope performance. In this paper we present detailed performance analysis of Simbol-X, taking into account the satellite motions and the image reconstruction. To illustrate the versatility of the code, we present an additional performance analysis with a particular configuration of IXO.

  15. DynamiX, numerical tool for design of next-generation x-ray telescopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chauvin, Maxime; Roques, Jean-Pierre

    2010-07-20

    We present a new code aimed at the simulation of grazing-incidence x-ray telescopes subject to deformations and demonstrate its ability with two test cases: the Simbol-X and the International X-ray Observatory (IXO) missions. The code, based on Monte Carlo ray tracing, computes the full photon trajectories up to the detector plane, accounting for the x-ray interactions and for the telescope motion and deformation. The simulation produces images and spectra for any telescope configuration using Wolter I mirrors and semiconductor detectors. This numerical tool allows us to study the telescope performance in terms of angular resolution, effective area, and detector efficiency, accounting for the telescope behavior. We have implemented an image reconstruction method based on the measurement of the detector drifts by an optical sensor metrology. Using an accurate metrology, this method allows us to recover the loss of angular resolution induced by the telescope instability. In the framework of the Simbol-X mission, this code was used to study the impacts of the parameters on the telescope performance. In this paper we present detailed performance analysis of Simbol-X, taking into account the satellite motions and the image reconstruction. To illustrate the versatility of the code, we present an additional performance analysis with a particular configuration of IXO.

  16. SNAP Telescope Latest Developments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lampton, M.; SNAP Collaboration

    2004-12-01

    The coming era of precision cosmology imposes new demands on space telescopes with regard to spectrophotometric accuracy and image stability. To meet these requirements for SNAP we have developed an all reflecting two-meter-class space telescope of the three-mirror anastigmat type. Our design features a large flat annular field (1.5 degrees = 580mm diameter) and a telephoto advantage of 6, delivering a 22m focal length within an optical package length of only 3.5 meters. The use of highly stable materials (Corning ULE glass and carbon-fiber reinforced cyanate ester resin for the metering structure) combined with agressive distributed thermal control and an L2 orbit location will lead to unmatched figure stability. Owing to our choice of rigid structure with nondeployable solar panels, finite-element models show no structural resonances below 10Hz. An exhaustive stray light study has been completed. Beginning in 2005, two industry studies will develop plans for fabrication, integration and test, bringing SNAP to a highly realistic level of definition. SNAP is supported by the Office of Science, US DoE, under contract DE-AC03-76SF00098.

  17. Optical transmission of low-level signals with high dynamic range using the optically-coupled current-mirror architecture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Camin, Daniel V. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita degli Studi di Milano and INFN, Milan (Italy)]. E-mail: Daniel.Victor.Camin@mi.infn.it; Grassi, Valerio [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita degli Studi di Milano and INFN, Milan (Italy); De Donato, Cinzia [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita degli Studi di Milano and INFN, Milan (Italy)

    2007-03-01

    In this paper we illustrate the application of a novel circuit architecture, the Optically-Coupled Current-Mirror (OCCM), conceived for the linear transmission of analogue signals via fibre optics. We installed 880 OCCMs in the PMTs of the first two telescopes of the cosmic-ray experiment Pierre Auger. The Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) has been designed to increase the statistics of cosmic-rays with energies above 10{sup 18}eV. Two different techniques have been adopted: the Surface Detector (SD) modules that comprise 1600 tanks spaced each other by 1.5km within an area of 3000km{sup 2}. On the other side there are four buildings, the Optical Stations (OS), in which six telescopes are installed in each one of the four OS, at the periphery of the site, looking inwards. The telescopes are sensitive to the UV light created at the moment a high-energy shower develops in the atmosphere and is within the field-of-view (FOV) of the telescopes. The PAO is located in the Northern Patagonia, not far from the Cordillera de Los Andes, in Argentina. Both detector types, FD telescopes and SD modules, are sensitive to the UV light resulting from the interaction of high-energy particles and the nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere. The UV-sensitive telescopes operate only at night when the sky is completely dark. Otherwise, the light collected by the telescopes may give origin to severe damage in particular if those telescopes point at twilight or to artificial light sources. The duty cycle of the telescope's operation is therefore limited to about 10% or slightly more than that, if data are taken also when there is a partial presence of the Moon. The SD modules establish, independently of the telescopes, the geometry of the event. At the same time a shower reconstruction is performed using the telescope's data, independently of the SD modules. Use of both sets of data, taken by the FD telescopes and by the SD modules, allows the hybrid reconstruction that significantly

  18. HOMES - Holographic Optical Method for Exoplanet Spectroscopy

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — HOMES (Holographic Optical Method for Exoplanet Spectroscopy) is a space telescope that employs a double dispersion architecture, using a holographic optical element...

  19. XSPECT telescopes on the SRG: optical performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westergaard, Niels Jørgen Stenfeldt; Polny, Josef; Christensen, Finn Erland

    1994-01-01

    The XSPECT, thin foil, multiply nested telescope on SRG has been designed to achieve a large effective area at energies between 6 and 15 keV. The design goal for the angular resolution is 2 arcmin (HPD). Results of foil figure error measurements are presented. A ray tracing analysis was performed...... including results of earlier scattering measurements and the foil determination. The results of the analysis are compared with test measurements with X rays and show that there is a larger spread in the PSF than the model can account for. The decrease in effective area due to scattering is estimated...... to be 30% when the photons that scatter more than 6 arcmin are regarded as lost. The vignetting at off-axis angles leads to an effective area at the edge of the FOV which is 15% of that of an on-axis source....

  20. THE DEEP BLUE COLOR OF HD 189733b: ALBEDO MEASUREMENTS WITH HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE/SPACE TELESCOPE IMAGING SPECTROGRAPH AT VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Evans, Thomas M.; Aigrain, Suzanne; Barstow, Joanna K. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Pont, Frederic; Sing, David K. [School of Physics, University of Exeter, EX4 4QL Exeter (United Kingdom); Desert, Jean-Michel; Knutson, Heather A. [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Gibson, Neale [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Heng, Kevin [University of Bern, Center for Space and Habitability, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland); Lecavelier des Etangs, Alain, E-mail: tom.evans@astro.ox.ac.uk [Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, UMR7095 CNRS, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France)

    2013-08-01

    We present a secondary eclipse observation for the hot Jupiter HD 189733b across the wavelength range 290-570 nm made using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. We measure geometric albedos of A{sub g} = 0.40 {+-} 0.12 across 290-450 nm and A{sub g} < 0.12 across 450-570 nm at 1{sigma} confidence. The albedo decrease toward longer wavelengths is also apparent when using six wavelength bins over the same wavelength range. This can be interpreted as evidence for optically thick reflective clouds on the dayside hemisphere with sodium absorption suppressing the scattered light signal beyond {approx}450 nm. Our best-fit albedo values imply that HD 189733b would appear a deep blue color at visible wavelengths.

  1. Liverpool Telescope classification of ATLAS16bdg as a Type Ia supernova near maximum light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mundell, C. G.; Smith, R. J.; Childress, M. J.

    2016-06-01

    On 2016 June 15 at approximately 21:03 UT, we performed multicolour optical imaging, spectroscopy and polarimetry with the 2-m robotic Liverpool Telescope IO:O camera of galaxy NGC4708 in which a bright optical transient was reported by Tonry et al. ATel #9151 (ATLAS16bdg).

  2. The image camera of the 17 m diameter air Cherenkov telescope MAGIC

    CERN Document Server

    Ostankov, A P

    2001-01-01

    The image camera of the 17 m diameter MAGIC telescope, an air Cherenkov telescope currently under construction to be installed at the Canary island La Palma, is described. The main goal of the experiment is to cover the unexplored energy window from approx 10 to approx 300 GeV in gamma-ray astrophysics. In its first phase with a classical PMT camera the MAGIC telescope is expected to reach an energy threshold of approx 30 GeV. The operational conditions, the special characteristics of the developed PMTs and their use with light concentrators, the fast signal transfer scheme using analog optical links, the trigger and DAQ organization as well as image reconstruction strategy are described. The different paths being explored towards future camera improvements, in particular the constraints in using silicon avalanche photodiodes and GaAsP hybrid photodetectors in air Cherenkov telescopes are discussed.

  3. INFN Camera demonstrator for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

    CERN Document Server

    Ambrosi, G; Aramo, C.; Bertucci, B.; Bissaldi, E.; Bitossi, M.; Brasolin, S.; Busetto, G.; Carosi, R.; Catalanotti, S.; Ciocci, M.A.; Consoletti, R.; Da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Lotto, B.; de Palma, F.; Desiante, R.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Giulio, C.; Doro, M.; D'Urso, D.; Ferraro, G.; Ferrarotto, F.; Gargano, F.; Giglietto, N.; Giordano, F.; Giraudo, G.; Iacovacci, M.; Ionica, M.; Iori, M.; Longo, F.; Mariotti, M.; Mastroianni, S.; Minuti, M.; Morselli, A.; Paoletti, R.; Pauletta, G.; Rando, R.; Fernandez, G. Rodriguez; Rugliancich, A.; Simone, D.; Stella, C.; Tonachini, A.; Vallania, P.; Valore, L.; Vagelli, V.; Verzi, V.; Vigorito, C.

    2015-01-01

    The Cherenkov Telescope Array is a world-wide project for a new generation of ground-based Cherenkov telescopes of the Imaging class with the aim of exploring the highest energy region of the electromagnetic spectrum. With two planned arrays, one for each hemisphere, it will guarantee a good sky coverage in the energy range from a few tens of GeV to hundreds of TeV, with improved angular resolution and a sensitivity in the TeV energy region better by one order of magnitude than the currently operating arrays. In order to cover this wide energy range, three different telescope types are envisaged, with different mirror sizes and focal plane features. In particular, for the highest energies a possible design is a dual-mirror Schwarzschild-Couder optical scheme, with a compact focal plane. A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) based camera is being proposed as a solution to match the dimensions of the pixel (angular size of ~ 0.17 degrees). INFN is developing a camera demonstrator made by 9 Photo Sensor Modules (PSMs...

  4. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Space telescope RM project. V. NGC5548 sp. monitoring (Pei+, 2017)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pei, L.; Fausnaugh, M. M.; Barth, A. J.; Peterson, B. M.; Bentz, M. C.; De Rosa, G.; Denney, K. D.; Goad, M. R.; Kochanek, C. S.; Korista, K. T.; Kriss, G. A.; Pogge, R. W.; Bennert, V. N.; Brotherton, M.; Clubb, K. I.; Dalla Bonta, E.; Filippenko, A. V.; Greene, J. E.; Grier, C. J.; Vestergaard, M.; Zheng, W.; Adams, S. M.; Beatty, T. G.; Bigley, A.; Brown, J. E.; Brown, J. S.; Canalizo, G.; Comerford, J. M.; Coker, C. T.; Corsini, E. M.; Croft, S.; Croxall, K. V.; Deason, A. J.; Eracleous, M.; Fox, O. D.; Gates, E. L.; Henderson, C. B.; Holmbeck, E.; Holoien, T. W.-S.; Jensen, J. J.; Johnson, C. A.; Kelly, P. L.; Kim, S.; King, A.; Lau, M. W.; Li, M.; Lochhaas, C.; Ma, Z.; Manne-Nicholas, E. R.; Mauerhan, J. C.; Malkan, M. A.; McGurk, R.; Morelli, L.; Mosquera, A.; Mudd, D.; Sanchez, F. M.; Nguyen, M. L.; Ochner, P.; Ou-Yang, B.; Pancoast, A.; Penny, M. T.; Pizzella, A.; Poleski, R.; Runnoe, J.; Scott, B.; Schimoia, J. S.; Shappee, B. J.; Shivvers, I.; Simonian, G. V.; Siviero, A.; Somers, G.; Stevens, D. J.; Strauss, M. A.; Tayar, J.; Tejos, N.; Treu, T.; van Saders, J.; Vican, L.; Villanueva, S.; Yuk, H.; Zakamska, N. L.; Zhu, W.; Anderson, M. D.; Arevalo, P.; Bazhaw, C.; Bisogni, S.; Borman, G. A.; Bottorff, M. C.; Brandt, W. N.; Breeveld, A. A.; Cackett, E. M.; Carini, M. T.; Crenshaw, D. M.; de Lorenzo-Caceres, A.; Dietrich, M.; Edelson, R.; Efimova, N. V.; Ely, J.; Evans, P. A.; Ferland, G. J.; Flatland, K.; Gehrels, N.; Geier, S.; Gelbord, J. M.; Grupe, D.; Gupta, A.; Hall, P. B.; Hicks, S.; Horenstein, D.; Horne, K.; Hutchison, T.; Im, M.; Joner, M. D.; Jones, J.; Kaastra, J.; Kaspi, S.; Kelly, B. C.; Kennea, J. A.; Kim, M.; Kim, S. C.; Klimanov, S. A.; Lee, J. C.; Leonard, D. C.; Lira, P.; Macinnis, F.; Mathur, S.; McHardy, I. M.; Montouri, C.; Musso, R.; Nazarov, S. V.; Netzer, H.; Norris, R. P.; Nousek, J. A.; Okhmat, D. N.; Papadakis, I.; Parks, J. R.; Pott, J.-U.; Rafter, S. E.; Rix, H.-W.; Saylor, D. A.; Schnulle, K.; Sergeev, S. G.; Siegel, M.; Skielboe, A.; Spencer, M.; Starkey, D.; Sung, H.-I.; Teems, K. G.; Turner, C. S.; Uttley, P.; Villforth, C.; Weiss, Y.; Woo, J.-H.; Yan, H.; Young, S.; Zu, Y.

    2017-10-01

    Spectroscopic data were obtained from five telescopes: the McGraw-Hill 1.3m telescope at the MDM Observatory (4225-5775Å; median S/N=118), the Shane 3m telescope at the Lick Observatory (Kast Double Spectrograph: 3250-7920Å; median S/N=194), the 1.22m Galileo telescope at the Asiago Astrophysical Observatory (3250-7920Å; median S/N=160), the 3.5m telescope at Apache Point Observatory (APO; Dual Imaging Spectrograph: 4180-5400Å, median S/N =160), and the 2.3m telescope at the Wyoming Infrared Observatory (WIRO; 5599-4399Å; median S/N=217). The optical spectroscopic monitoring targeting NGC 5548 began on 2014 January 4 and continued through 2014 July 6 with approximately daily cadence. MDM contributed the largest number of spectra with 143 epochs. (1 data file).

  5. Mirror coatings for large aperture UV optical infrared telescope optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatham; Hennessy, John; Raouf, Nasrat; Nikzad, Shouleh; Del Hoyo, Javier; Quijada, Manuel

    2017-09-01

    Large space telescope concepts such as LUVOIR and HabEx aiming for observations from far UV to near IR require advanced coating technologies to enable efficient gathering of light with important spectral signatures including those in far UV region down to 90nm. Typical Aluminum mirrors protected with MgF2 fall short of the requirements below 120nm. New and improved coatings are sought to protect aluminum from oxidizing readily in normal environment causing severe absorption and reduction of reflectance in the deep UV. Choice of materials and the process of applying coatings present challenges. Here we present the progress achieved to date with experimental investigations of coatings at JPL and at GSFC and discuss the path forward to achieve high reflectance in the spectral region from 90 to 300nm without degrading performance in the visible and NIR regions taking into account durability concerns when the mirrors are exposed to normal laboratory environment as well as high humidity conditions. Reflectivity uniformity required on these mirrors is also discussed.

  6. Advances in telescope mirror cleaning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanken, Maarten F.; Chopping, Alan K.; Dee, Kevin M.

    2004-09-01

    Metrology and cleaning techniques for telescope mirrors are generally well established. CO2 cleaning and water washing are mainly used. Water washing has proven to be the best method of removing oil and water stains and restoring the aluminium to nearly fresh values. The risk of water getting to unwanted places such as electronics or other optics prevents this method from being employed more often. Recently the Isaac Newton Group introduced a new cleaning technique for their telescope mirrors, which reduces the risks discussed above. This technique uses water vapour instead of water to wash the mirror. The advantage of this method is that the amount of water needed is drastically reduced. In addition the pressure of the vapour will blow away any large dust particles on the mirror and the temperature shock between the vapour and the mirror will help to de-bond the dust particles. Adding a soapy solution will help to clean oil and watermarks of the mirror. This paper describes the vapour cleaning method, tests that have been done and the overall findings.

  7. NASA's Newest Orbital Debris Ground-based Telescope Assets: MCAT and UKIRT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lederer, S.; Frith, J.; Pace, L. F.; Cowardin, H. M.; Hickson, P.; Glesne, T.; Maeda, R.; Buckalew, B.; Nishimoto, D.; Douglas, D.; Stansbery, E. G.

    2014-09-01

    NASAs Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) will break ground on Ascension Island in 2014 to build the newest optical (0.30 1.06 microns) ground-based telescope asset dedicated to the study of orbital debris. The Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) is a 1.3m optical telescope designed to track objects in orbits ranging from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO). Ascension Island is located in the South Atlantic Ocean, offering longitudinal sky coverage not afforded by the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) network. With a fast-tracking dome, a suite of visible wide-band filters, and a time-delay integration (TDI) capable camera, MCAT is capable of multiple observing modes ranging from tracking cataloged debris targets to surveying the overall debris environment. Access to the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) will extend our spectral coverage into the near- (0.8-5 micron) and mid- to far-infrared (8-25 micron) regime. UKIRT is a 3.8m telescope located on Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. At nearly 14,000-feet and above the atmospheric inversion layer, this is one of the premier astronomical sites in the world and is an ideal setting for an infrared telescope. An unprecedented one-third of this telescopes time has been allocated to collect orbital debris data for NASAs ODPO over a 2-year period. UKIRT has several instruments available to obtain low-resolution spectroscopy in both the near-IR and the mid/far-IR. Infrared spectroscopy is ideal for constraining the material types, albedos and sizes of debris targets, and potentially gaining insight into reddening effects caused by space weathering. In addition, UKIRT will be used to acquire broadband photometric imaging at GEO with the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) for studying known objects of interest as well as collecting data in survey-mode to discover new targets. Results from the first stage of the debris campaign will be presented. The combination of

  8. The Performance of the Robo-AO Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics System at the Kitt Peak 2.1 m Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen-Clem, Rebecca; Duev, Dmitry A.; Riddle, Reed; Salama, Maïssa; Baranec, Christoph; Law, Nicholas M.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Ramprakash, A. N.

    2018-01-01

    Robo-AO is an autonomous laser guide star adaptive optics (AO) system recently commissioned at the Kitt Peak 2.1 m telescope. With the ability to observe every clear night, Robo-AO at the 2.1 m telescope is the first dedicated AO observatory. This paper presents the imaging performance of the AO system in its first 18 months of operations. For a median seeing value of 1.″44, the average Strehl ratio is 4% in the i\\prime band. After post processing, the contrast ratio under sub-arcsecond seeing for a 2≤slant i\\prime ≤slant 16 primary star is five and seven magnitudes at radial offsets of 0.″5 and 1.″0, respectively. The data processing and archiving pipelines run automatically at the end of each night. The first stage of the processing pipeline shifts and adds the rapid frame rate data using techniques optimized for different signal-to-noise ratios. The second “high-contrast” stage of the pipeline is eponymously well suited to finding faint stellar companions. Currently, a range of scientific programs, including the synthetic tracking of near-Earth asteroids, the binarity of stars in young clusters, and weather on solar system planets are being undertaken with Robo-AO.

  9. Three-reflections telescope proposal as flat-field anastigmat for wide field observations at Dome C

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrari, M.; Lemaître, G.; Viotti, R.; La Padula, C.; Comte, G.; Blanc, M.; Boer, M.

    It is now evident that the exceptional seeing at Dome C will allow, in the next years, to pursue astronomical programs with conditions better than at any other observatory in the world, and very close to space experiments. Considering a new type of wide-field telescope, particular astronomical programs could be well optimized for observations at Dome C such as surveys for the discovery and follow up of near-Earth asteroids, search for extra-solar planets using transit or micro-lensing events, and stellar luminosity variations. We propose to build a 1.5 2m class three-reflections telescope, with 1 1.5degree FOV, four times shorter than an equivalent Schmidt telescope, and providing a flat field without requiring a triplet- or quadruplet-lens corrector since its design is anastigmatic. We present the preliminary optical tests of such designs: MINITRUST1 and 2 are two 45cm identical prototypes based in France and Italy, and manufactured using active optics techniques.

  10. Probing the End of the IMF in NGC 2024 with NIRCam on JWST: Assessing the Impact of Nebular Emission in Galactic Star Forming Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suri, Veenu; Meyer, Michael; Greenbaum, Alexandra Z.; Bell, Cameron; Beichman, Charles; Gordon, Karl D.; Greene, Thomas P.; Hodapp, K.; Horner, Scott; Johnstone, Doug; Leisenring, Jarron; Manara, Carlos; Mann, Rita; Misselt, K.; Raileanu, Roberta; Rieke, Marcia; Roellig, Thomas

    2018-01-01

    We describe observations of the embedded young cluster associated with the HII region NGC 2024 planned as part of the guaranteed time observing program for the James Webb Space Telescope with the NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) instrument. Our goal is to obtain a census of the cluster down to 2 Jupiter masses, viewed through 10-20 magnitudes of extinction, using multi-band filter photometry, both broadband filters and intermediate band filters that are expected to be sensitive to temperature and surface gravity. The cluster contains several bright point sources as well as extended emission due to reflected light, thermal emission from warm dust, as well as nebular line emission. We first developed techniques to better understand which point sources would saturate in our target fields when viewed through several JWST NIRCam filters. Using images of the field with the WISE satellite in filters W1 and W2, as well as 2MASS (J and H) bands, we devised an algorithm that takes the K-band magnitudes of point sources in the field, and the known saturation limits of several NIRCam filters to estimate the impact of the extended emission on survey sensitivity. We provide an overview of our anticipated results, detecting the low mass end of the IMF as well as planetary mass objects likely liberated through dynamical interactions.

  11. Intra-night Optical Variability Monitoring of Fermi Blazars: First Results from 1.3 m J. C. Bhattacharya Telescope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paliya, Vaidehi S.; Ajello, M.; Kaur, A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Kinard Lab of Physics, Clemson, SC 29634-0978 (United States); Stalin, C. S., E-mail: vpaliya@g.clemson.edu [Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Block II, Koramangala, Bangalore-560034 (India)

    2017-07-20

    We report the first results obtained from our campaign to characterize the intra-night-optical variability (INOV) properties of Fermi detected blazars, using the observations from the recently commissioned 1.3 m J. C. Bhattacharya telescope (JCBT). During the first run, we were able to observe 17 blazars in the Bessel R filter for ∼137 hr. Using C- and scaled F -statistics, we quantify the extent of INOV and derive the duty cycle (DC), which is the fraction of time during which a source exhibits a substantial flux variability. We find a high DC of 40% for BL Lac objects and the flat spectrum radio quasars are relatively less variable (DC ∼ 15%). However, when estimated for blazars sub-classes, a high DC of ∼59% is found in low synchrotron peaked (LSP) blazars, whereas, intermediate and high synchrotron peaked objects have a low DC of ∼11% and 13%, respectively. We find evidence of the association of the high amplitude INOV with the γ -ray flaring state. We also notice a high polarization during the elevated INOV states (for the sources that have polarimetric data available), thus supporting the jet based origin of the observed variability. We plan to enlarge the sample and utilize the time availability from the small telescopes, such as 1.3 m JCBT, to strengthen/verify the results obtained in this work and those existing in the literature.

  12. Safari: instrument design of the far-infrared imaging spectrometer for spica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jellema, W.; Pastor, C.; Naylor, D.; Jackson, B.; Sibthorpe, B.; Roelfsema, P.

    2017-11-01

    The next great leap forward in space-based far-infrared astronomy will be made by the Japanese-led SPICA mission, which is anticipated to be launched late 2020's as the next large astrophysics mission of JAXA, in partnership with ESA and with key European contributions. Filling in the gap between JWST and ALMA, the SPICA mission will study the evolution of galaxies, stars and planetary systems. SPICA will utilize a deeply cooled 3m-class telescope, provided by European industry, to realize zodiacal background limited performance, high spatial resolution and large collecting area. Making full advantage of the deeply cooled telescope (architecture. We will describe the reference design of the SAFARI focal- plane unit, the implementation of the various optical instrument functions designed around the central large-stroke FTS system, the photometric band definition and out-of-band filtering by quasioptical elements, the control of straylight, diffraction and thermal emission in the long-wavelength limit, and how we interface to the large-format FPA arrays at one end and the SPICA telescope assembly at the other end. We will briefly discuss the key performance drivers with special emphasis on the optical techniques adopted to overcome issues related to very low background operation of SAFARI. A summary and discussion of the expected instrument performance and an overview of the astronomical capabilities finally conclude the paper.

  13. Phase Synchronization for the Mid-Frequency Square Kilometre Array Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schediwy, Sascha; Gozzard, David; Stobie, Simon; Gravestock, Charles; Whitaker, Richard; Alachkar, Bassem; Malan, Sias; Boven, Paul; Grainge, Keith

    2018-01-01

    The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project is an international effort to build the world’s most sensitive radio telescope operating in the 50 MHz to 14 GHz frequency range. Construction of the SKA has been divided into phases, with the first phase (SKA1) accounting for the first 10% of the telescope's receiving capacity. During SKA1, a low-frequency aperture array comprising over a hundred thousand individual dipole antenna elements will be constructed in Western Australia (SKA1-low), while an array of 197 parabolic-dish antennas, incorporating the 64 dishes of MeerKAT, will be constructed in South Africa (SKA1-mid).Radio telescope arrays such as the SKA require phase-coherent reference signals to be transmitted to each antenna site in the array. In the case of the SKA1-mid, these reference signals will be generated at a central site and transmitted to the antenna sites via fiber-optic cables up to 175 km in length. Environmental perturbations affect the optical path length of the fiber and act to degrade the phase stability of the reference signals received at the antennas, which has the ultimate effect of reducing the fidelity and dynamic range of the data.Since 2011, researchers at the University of Western Australia (UWA) have led the development of an actively-stabilized phase-synchronization system designed specifically to meet the scientific needs and technical challenges of the SKA telescope. Recently this system has been select as the official phase synchronization system for the SKA1-mid telescope. The system is an evolution of Atacama Large Millimeter Array’s distributed ‘photonic local oscillator system’, incorporating key advances made by the international frequency metrology community over the last decade, as well as novel innovations developed by UWA researchers.In this presentation I will describe the technical details of the system; outline how the system's performance was tested using metrology techniques in a laboratory setting, on 186 km

  14. DMD-based multi-object spectrograph on Galileo telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamkotsian, Frederic; Spano, Paolo; Lanzoni, Patrick; Bon, William; Riva, Marco; Nicastro, Luciano; Molinari, Emilio; Di Marcantonio, Paolo; Zerbi, Filippo; Valenziano, Luca

    2013-03-01

    Next-generation infrared astronomical instrumentation for ground-based and space telescopes could be based on MOEMS programmable slit masks for multi-object spectroscopy (MOS). This astronomical technique is used extensively to investigate the formation and evolution of galaxies. We propose to develop a 2048x1080 DMD-based MOS instrument to be mounted on the Galileo telescope and called BATMAN. A two-arm instrument has been designed for providing in parallel imaging and spectroscopic capabilities. The two arms with F/4 on the DMD are mounted on a common bench, and an upper bench supports the detectors thanks to two independent hexapods. Very good optical quality on the DMD and the detectors will be reached. ROBIN, a BATMAN demonstrator, has been designed, realized and integrated. It permits to determine the instrument integration procedure, including optics and mechanics integration, alignment procedure and optical quality. First images have been obtained and measured. A DMD pattern manager has been developed in order to generate any slit mask according to the list of objects to be observed; spectra have been generated and measured. Observation strategies will be studied and demonstrated for the scientific optimization strategy over the whole FOV. BATMAN on the sky is of prime importance for characterizing the actual performance of this new family of MOS instruments, as well as investigating the operational procedures on astronomical objects. This instrument will be placed on the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo at the beginning of next year, in 2014.

  15. Development of an automated data acquisition and processing pipeline using multiple telescopes for observing transient phenomena

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savant, Vaibhav; Smith, Niall

    2016-07-01

    We report on the current status in the development of a pilot automated data acquisition and reduction pipeline based around the operation of two nodes of remotely operated robotic telescopes based in California, USA and Cork, Ireland. The observatories are primarily used as a testbed for automation and instrumentation and as a tool to facilitate STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) promotion. The Ireland node is situated at Blackrock Castle Observatory (operated by Cork Institute of Technology) and consists of two optical telescopes - 6" and 16" OTAs housed in two separate domes while the node in California is its 6" replica. Together they form a pilot Telescope ARrAy known as TARA. QuickPhot is an automated data reduction pipeline designed primarily to throw more light on the microvariability of blazars employing precision optical photometry and using data from the TARA telescopes as they constantly monitor predefined targets whenever observing conditions are favourable. After carrying out aperture photometry, if any variability above a given threshold is observed, the reporting telescope will communicate the source concerned and the other nodes will follow up with multi-band observations, taking advantage that they are located in strategically separated time-zones. Ultimately we wish to investigate the applicability of Shock-in-Jet and Geometric models. These try to explain the processes at work in AGNs which result in the formation of jets, by looking for temporal and spectral variability in TARA multi-band observations. We are also experimenting with using a Twochannel Optical PHotometric Imaging CAMera (TOΦCAM) that we have developed and which has been optimised for simultaneous two-band photometry on our 16" OTA.

  16. Automated detection of optical counterparts to GRBs with RAPTOR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wozniak, P. R.; Vestrand, W. T.; Evans, S.; White, R.; Wren, J.

    2006-01-01

    The RAPTOR system (RAPid Telescopes for Optical Response) is an array of several distributed robotic telescopes that automatically respond to GCN localization alerts. Raptor-S is a 0.4-m telescope with 24 arc min. field of view employing a 1k x 1k Marconi CCD detector, and has already detected prompt optical emission from several GRBs within the first minute of the explosion. We present a real-time data analysis and alert system for automated identification of optical transients in Raptor-S GRB response data down to the sensitivity limit of ∼ 19 mag. Our custom data processing pipeline is designed to minimize the time required to reliably identify transients and extract actionable information. The system utilizes a networked PostgreSQL database server for catalog access and distributes email alerts with successful detections

  17. Structural mechanics of the solar-A Soft X-ray Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurcevich, B. K.; Bruner, M. E.; Gowen, K. F.

    1992-01-01

    The Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) is one of four major instruments that constitute the payload of the NASA-Japanese mission YOHKOH (formerly known as Solar-A), scheduled to be launched in August, 1991. This paper describes the design of the SXT, the key system requirements, and the SXT optical and structural systems. Particular attention is given to the design considerations for stiffness and dimensional stability, temperature compensation, and moisture sensitivyty control. Consideration is also given to the X-ray mirror, the aspect telescope, the entrance filters, the mechanical structure design, the aft support plate and mount, the SXT finite element model, and other subsystems.

  18. Real-time vibration compensation for large telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böhm, M.; Pott, J.-U.; Sawodny, O.; Herbst, T.; Kürster, M.

    2014-08-01

    We compare different strategies for minimizing the effects of telescope vibrations to the differential piston (optical pathway difference) for the Near-InfraRed/Visible Adaptive Camera and INterferometer for Astronomy (LINC-NIRVANA) at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) using an accelerometer feedforward compensation approach. We summarize, why this technology is important for LINC-NIRVANA, and also for future telescopes and already existing instruments. The main objective is outlining a solution for the estimation problem in general and its specifics at the LBT. Emphasis is put on realistic evaluation of the used algorithms in the laboratory, such that predictions for the expected performance at the LBT can be made. Model-based estimation and broad-band filtering techniques can be used to solve the estimation task, and the differences are discussed. Simulation results and measurements are shown to motivate our choice of the estimation algorithm for LINC-NIRVANA. The laboratory setup is aimed at imitating the vibration behaviour at the LBT in general, and the M2 as main contributor in particular. For our measurements, we introduce a disturbance time series which has a frequency spectrum comparable to what can be measured at the LBT on a typical night. The controllers' ability to suppress vibrations in the critical frequency range of 8-60 Hz is demonstrated. The experimental results are promising, indicating the ability to suppress differential piston induced by telescope vibrations by a factor of about 5 (rms), which is significantly better than any currently commissioned system.

  19. Optical and mechanical design of the fore-optics of HARMONI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Capuchino, J.; Hernández, E.; Bueno, A.; Herreros, J. M.; Thatte, N.; Bryson, I.; Clarke, F.; Tecza, M.

    2014-07-01

    HARMONI is a visible and near-infrared (0.47μm to 2.5μm) integral field spectrometer providing the E-ELT's core spectroscopic capability. It will provide ~32000 simultaneous spectra of a rectangular field of view at four foreseen different spatial sample (spaxel) scales. The HARMONI fore-optics re-formats the native telescope plate scale to suitable values for the downstream instrument optics. This telecentric adaptation includes anamorphic magnification of the plate scale to optimize the performance of the IFU, which contains the image slicer, and their four spectrographs. In addition, it provides an image of the telescope pupil to assemble a cold stop shared among all the scales allowing efficient suppression of the thermal background. A pupil imaging unit also re-images the pupil cold stop onto the image slicer to check the relative alignment between the E-ELT and HARMONI pupils. The scale changer will also host the filter wheel with the long-pass filters to select the wavelength range. The main reasoning specifying the importance of the HARMONI fore-optics and its current optical and mechanical design is described in this contribution.

  20. STRAY - An interactive program for the computation of stray radiation in infrared telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    St. Clair Dinger, Ann

    1987-01-01

    The STRAY program to model the amount of stray radiation reaching the focal plane of a well-baffled telescope is described. The STRAY telescope model is addressed, including the aperture shade, barrel baffle, optics, mirror sectioning and chopping, and off-axis points in focal plane. The possible illumination paths are shown, and calculation options using STRAY are discussed. The stored data and computational aspects of STRAY are addressed. STRAY is compared to the MINI-APART model, and applications of STRAY are described.