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NOT: Telescope and Instrumentation

NOT: Telescope and Instrumentation. Michal I. Andersen & Heidi Korhonen Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam. Outline. A brief introduction to optics Image formation and the diffraction image Seeing The telescope Instrumentation Imaging (Stancam, MOSCA, ALFOSC, NOTCam)

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NOT: Telescope and Instrumentation

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  1. NOT: Telescope and Instrumentation Michal I. Andersen & Heidi Korhonen Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam

  2. Outline • A brief introduction to optics • Image formation and the diffraction image • Seeing • The telescope • Instrumentation • Imaging (Stancam, MOSCA, ALFOSC, NOTCam) • Spectroscopy (ALFOSC, NOTCam, FIES, SOFIN) • Polarimetry (ALFOSC, SOFIN)

  3. A brief introduction to optics The perfect imaging system transforms a diverging spherical wave into a converging spherical wave

  4. The diffraction image Resolving power: α = 1.22 λ/D

  5. The diffraction limit An image which has > 80% of the theoretical central intensity is said to be diffraction limited. The corresponding wavefront error across the entrance aperture is < λ/18 RMS.

  6. Seeing Thermal turbulence in the atmosphere leads to a distorted wavefront

  7. The Fried parameter The Fried parameter, ro, is the diameter of the area across which the wavefront is diffraction limited. The relation between ro and wavelength ro ~ λ^1.2 The relation between ro and seeing at 500nm φ = 0.104 / ro

  8. The seeing Point Spread Function The time averaged seeing PSF is smooth and has broad wings

  9. Modern optical telescopes • Compact optical system reduces overall cost → Cassegrain type designs dominate • High stability (<50nm) of the optical surface required → use low expansion mirror substrates (Zerodur, α~ 10E-7) • High stability of mechanical support system → use Alt-Az mount and active optics

  10. General optical parameters • Diameter (mine is bigger than yours......) • Focal length /plate scale • Focal ratio (often also refered to as “speed”)

  11. The NOT • Effective diameter = 2495 mm • F/2 main mirror focal ratio (this is “fast”) • F/11 Cassegrain focal ratio → 27500 mm focal length → 133 micron/arcsec plate scale • Central obscuration = 600 mm • Unvignetted field of view = 30´

  12. ZEMAX demo the telescope

  13. NOT thermal design • Side ports ensures flushing of air through the dome – a radical approach for its time • Observing floor insulated from control room by a “cooling jacket” • Airconditioning of dome during day time and of floor cooling jacket during night • Lightweight telescope design (finite element analysis) and thin mirror ensures faster thermal equilibrium

  14. Telescope Control System • Centralized control computer (earlier 4 CPUs, now only one). • Limited need for cummunication betweem sub-systems • This approach has resulted in a very stable TCS

  15. Astronomical imaging What we in general want is • Largest possible field of view (FOV) • Sharpest possible images • Good sampling (3 pixels per FWHM) • Stable and field independent Point Spread Function • High sensitivity (and large telescope)

  16. Field size vs sampling Direct imaging vs focal reducer For a given detector (pixel size and format), the field size and sampling are complementary: You can place the detector directly in the focal plane and get good sampling (typically 0.1”/pix for the NOT), but a small field Or you can use a focal reducer to better match the sampling to the seeing, get larger field, but also lower efficiency, PSF variations and distortion.

  17. Direct imaging at the NOT IStanCam Permanently mounted on the side of the adaptor. Always on standby. Light is directed to StanCam by inserting a 45deg mirror in the beam • Detector: Site 1k x 1k, 24 micron pixels • Field of View: 3.4 arcmin square • Sampling: 0.19”/pixel • Filter size: 60mm round, 51mm sqr.

  18. Direct imaging at the NOT IIMOSCA Mosaic CCD camera for wider field high- resolution imaging. Mounted in the Cassegrain focus, together with the filter & shutter unit (FASU) • Detectors: Four 2k x 2k 15μ pixel Loral CCDs • Field of view: 7.7 x 7.7 arcmin square • Sampling: 0.11”/pixel • Filter diameter: 100mm

  19. ALFOSCfocal reducer and spectrograph By “turning the wheels of ALFOSC” one can do • Imaging through narrow and broadband filters • Longslit spectroscopy with 14 different grisms • Echelle spectroscopy • Multi Object Spectroscopy • Polarimetry • Spectropolarimetry → Gives the observer a lot of choice and is therefore popular (used 70% of the time)

  20. ZEMAX demo of ALFOSC

  21. ALFOSC parameters ALFOSC is mounted in the Cassegrain focus together with the filter and shutter unit (FASU) • Detector: 2k x 2k 13.5μ pixel E2V CCD • Field of view: 6.5 x 6.5 arcmin square • Sampling: 0.19“/pixel • Filter size: 60mm round, 51mm sqr, 90mm round

  22. NOTCam the cool sister of ALFOSC NOTCam is an infrared (IR) instrument for the 0.8-2.5μ wavelength range. Because IR instruments must be cooled to minimize thermal radiation, it cannot easily be serviced. Also, the detector is very expensive. It is therefore an advantage to build as much functionality into an IR instrument as reasonably possible. The NOTCam optical design therefore looks much like that of ALFOSC.

  23. ZEMAX demo of NOTCam

  24. NOTCam parameters NOTCam is mounted in the Cassegrain focus • Detector: 1k x 1k 18.5μ pixel Rockwell HgCdTe • Low resolution mode: • Field of view: 4.0 x 4.0 arcmin square • Sampling: 0.23“/pixel • High resolution mode: • Field of view: 82 x 82 arcsec square • Sampling: 0.08“/pixel

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