An RTML transport implementation on the Liverpool Telescope

The Liverpool Telescope is a 2.0m fully robotic telescope based on the Canary island of LaPalma. In this paper I describe the Java(TM) implementation of a method to transport RTML (Remote Telescope Markup Language) between a Node Agent (Web Services endpoint) embedded at the telescope and a remote Agent. The advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed, along with the suitability of the protocol for HTN standardisation. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Development of solar scintillometer

The index of scintillation measurement is a good parameter to compare different sites for image quality or ‘seeing’. We have developed a scintillometer, which is deployed on the high resolution SPAR telescope in the island site of Udaipur Solar Observatory, for the site characterization to specify the proposed MAST (Multi Application Solar Telescope). The scintillometer consists of a miniature telescope, termed as micro telescope (4 mm aperture, 15 mm focal length) mounted on a drive which tracks the Sun continuously, associated amplifiers and a data acquisition system. A photodiode is used as the detector. The telescope along with detector was obtained from National Solar Observatory (NSO), and is similar to the one used for Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) site survey. At USO we developed the amplifier and data acquisition system for the scintillometer. A 24-bit analog to digital converter based system was designed, assembled, tested and used as the data acquisition system (DAS). In this paper, we discuss the instrumentation and present the initial results.     

Upgradation of MOT and its relevance to WET campaigns

The Maidanak One-meter Telescope (MOT) is a Ritchey-Chretien telescope by Carl Zeiss, located atop Maidanak in Uzbekistan, where site parameters indicate excellent atmospheric seeing conditions. An effort to computerize the MOT, jointly made by an Uzbek, Taiwanese and Baltic consortium, is expected to complete in 2005. Monitoring the variability of star clusters will be among the first scientific projects to be carried out. Equipped with sensitive CCD cameras, the MOT, with its middle-Asia geographic location, will be a desirable addition to the Whole Earth Telescope (WET) network. We describe the upgrade engineering and instrumentation of the telescope and how the system can be used in future campaigns.     

超轻量镜面系统的研制

空间望远镜的研制一直要求系统的轻量化,美国宇航局（NASA）最近研制的韦伯太空望远镜,其主镜系统面密度相对于哈勃空间望远镜已大幅减轻。在韦伯望远镜主镜系统的研制过程中,NASA开展了一系列关于超轻量镜面系统的验证计划,多家机构拿出多个方案参与竞标。本文选取几个比较典型的方案,介绍这些镜面系统的设计思想、结构、材料、加工以及相关测试结果,期望能对国内相关方面的工作提供参考。     

LAMOST观测控制系统用户界面设计

位于国家天文台兴隆观测基地的大天区面积多目标光纤光谱天文望远镜(LAMOST)是世界上最大的、可操控的反射施密特望远镜。为了便于控制望远镜,提高观测效率,设计了观测控制系统图形用户界面。首先分析了LAMOST望远镜的控制软件体系结构,采用基于场景的以用户为中心的设计方法,对界面进行了分析和设计。使用Qt、CORBA、多线程技术和MVC模式,实现了用户界面,并对界面进行了测试。最后,用户界面得到了用户的认可,成功应用于LAMOST观测。     

Studies of solar magnetic fields

Solar Physics - The telescope, spectrograph, and magnetograph at the 150-ft Tower Telescope are described, and a chronology of changes in the instrumentation is given. The average magnetic field...     

Measuring fiber position errors from spectral data

Precise fiber positioning is crucial to a wide field,multi-fiber spectroscopic survey such as the Guoshoujing Telescope(the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope,LAMOST).Nowadays,most position error measurements are based on CCD photographic and image processing techniques.These methods only work for measuring errors orthogonal to the telescope optical axis,but there are also errors that lie parallel to the optical axis of the telescope,such as defocusing,and errors caused by the existing deviation angle between the optical axes of a fiber and the telescope.Directly measuring the two latter types of position errors is difficult for an individual fiber,especially during observations.Possible sources of fiber position errors are discussed in brief for LAMOST.By constructing a model of magnitude loss due to the fiber position error for a point source,we propose an indirect method to calculate both the total and systematic position errors for each individual fiber from spectral data.Restrictions and applications of this method are also discussed.     

The instrumental polarization of a Gregory-Coudé telescope

We calculate a theoretical model of the polarization properties of a Gregory-Coudé telescope to predict the behaviour of the German Gregory-Coudé Telescope installed at the Observatorio del Teide (Spain). Measurements of the real effects produced by this telescope acting upon light of known polarization are compared with the model. We estimate an uncertainty in its predictions of about 10%, which is produced by the uncertainties of the (complex) refractive index of the metallic layers covering the mirrors. The paper concludes by briefly considering the way in which the plain telescope changes the Stokes' profiles.     

Telescope calibration using polarization calibration data

This article describes the use of the telescope output Stokes vector measured during a polarization calibration to infer the properties of mirrors in the telescope itself. Polarization calibrations performed at the National Solar Observatory Dunn Solar Telescope are used to demonstrate this technique (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modeling the rail surface unevenness of a high-precision radio telescope

This study proposed a coarse-fine mixed model for describing the rail surface unevenness of an ultra-large fully steerable radio telescope(Qi Tai Telescope) with a diameter of 110 meters. The rail surface unevenness includes information on error arising from two different scales, i.e., the long-periodshort-change and the short-period-long-change. Consequently, in this study an idea of a mixed model was proposed, in which trigonometric and fractal functions were, respectively, used to describe information on error from two scales. Key parameters were determined by using the least squares method and the wavelet transform method, and finally, a specific mathematical expression of the model was obtained by optimization. To validate the effectiveness of the new modeling method, the mixed model was then used to describe the rails of the Green Bank Telescope, the Large Millimeter Telescope, and a radio telescope in Miyun, Beijing. A comparative study revealed that the maximum error was less than15%, thus the result was superior to those of existing modeling methods.     

Optical photometry using Bradford robotic telescope

The Bradford Robotic Telescope (BRT) is located on Mount Teide at Tenerife and is working, taking observations since 2003. It is a fully automated telescope. The hardware and software used for the working of the telescope are described here. Twenty four BL Lac objects are observed since 2005 and magnitudes of the objects are calculated. We describe in this paper the working of BRT and optical BVR photometry of BL Lac objects, observed during 2005–2007.     

Optimal Baffle Design in a Cassegrain Telescope

An exact analytical procedure is described for the optimum design of baffles for any Cassegrain telescope with conicoid type mirrors. Here, `optimum' means the least obstruction coefficient given perfect blocking of direct light by baffles. The corresponding algorithm is based on the ray-tracing formulas in a two-mirror telescope with arbitrary position of the aperture stop. The optimal configuration of baffles is unique. The dependence of the obstruction coefficient upon the telescope characteristics is studied. The optical system can be designed in such a way that the obstruction is equal to a predefined value. As examples, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Ritchey–Chretien system with the obstruction coefficient 0.25 are considered.     

YNST光电导行镜机械设计

YNST(云南1m太阳望远镜)光电导行系统的作用除了获取足够清晰的太阳像用作光电导行外,还参与望远镜光轴的校正.介绍了YNST光电导行镜的光学要求、机械设计结果及镜体设计所采用的被动无热化技术.校核了导行镜在阳光辐照下的热变形,计算了导行镜镜筒的最大弯沉,结果表明,所采用的无热化设计是有效的,导行镜刚度满足导行系统要求...     

Design and development of the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

Led by the National Solar Observatory, plans have been made to design and to develop the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST). The ATST will be a 4‐m general‐purpose solar telescope equipped with adaptive optics and versatile post‐focus instrumentation. Its main aim will be to achieve an angular resolution of 0.03 arcsec (20 km on the solar surface). The project and the telescope design are briefly described.     

The potential of FAST in detecting celestial hydroxyl masers and related science topics

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST) will make contributions to studies of Galactic and extragalactic masers. This telescope, with construction finished and now undergoing commissioning, has an innovative design that leads to the highest sensitivity of any single dish radio telescope in the world. FAST's potential for OH megamaser research is discussed, including the sky density of masers detectable in surveys. The scientific impact expected from FAST maser studies is also discussed.     

BIT地面观测软件

本文介绍紫台30公分红外望远镜(BIT)地面观测所使用的软件系统。该软件是在BIT地面修复过程中以地面观测为使用目的而开发的。软件用于望远镜指向等系统参数显示和星场照相机控制显示,并预置了软件接口,可进一步实现对望远镜指向的计算机控制。软件已在BIT地面实验观测中使用,运行可靠,操作方便。     

太阳Stokes光谱望远镜的结构及其数据处理方法

云南天文台的太阳Stokes光谱望远镜是一台通过测量磁敏谱线的Stokes参数I,Q,U和V的轮廓来研究太阳磁场精细结构的光谱型矢量磁场测量仪。它利用4个完整的Stokes轮廓所蕴含的丰富信息,完全确定辐射的偏振状态,从而精确地测定太阳黑子区的矢量磁场。文章首先介绍了该望远镜的结构,进而详细地介绍了该望远镜所测量的偏振光谱资料的处理方法。