Optical Spectroscopy of SRG/eROSITA Objects with 2.5-m Telescope at the Caucasus Mountain Observatory of the SAI MSU

Astronomy Letters - Based on observations with the new transient double-beam spectrograph (TDS) at the 2.5-m telescope of the Caucasus Mountain Observatory of SAI MSU, we have determined the types...     

Study of the quality of the Zeiss-1000 telescope optical system using the Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor

The results of studies of the optics of the 1-m Zeiss-1000 telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SAO RAS) by the Shack–Hartmann (SH) method are presented. Using a Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor (SH WFS) we have adjusted the telescope optical system by means of shifts and tilts of the secondary mirror. The procedure has significantly reduced the aberrations that appeared during the long-term instrument operation. A new method to investigate the surface quality of the mirrors of the Zeiss-1000 being applied, characteristics close to the diffraction limit are achieved. In general, the entire opto-mechanical telescope system provides an image quality of about 0.5″ at 80%energy level.     

Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor in a convergent beam

We have designed and made a prototype of the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor with a lenslet array placed in a convergent beam. The new system allows one to reduce the losses of usable light and to simplify the adaptive optical system.     

Meteorological conditions at the Caucasus Observatory of the SAI MSU from the results of the 2007–2015 campaign

Based on the measurements performed from 2007 to 2015 at the summit of Mount Shatdzhatmaz adjacent to the 2.5-m telescope at the Caucasus Observatory of the SAI MSU, we have determined the statistical characteristics of basic meteorological parameters: the ambient air temperature, the ground wind speed, and the relative humidity. The stability of these parameters over the entire period of our measurements and their variations within an annual cycle have been studied. The median temperature on clear nights is +3.2°C, although there are nights with a temperature below ?15°C. The typical ground wind speed is 3 m s^?1; the probability of a wind stronger than 10 m s^?1 does not exceed 2%. The losses of observing time due to high humidity are maximal in the summer period but, on the whole, are small over a year, less than 10%. We have estimated the absolute water vapor content in the atmosphere, which is especially important for infrared observations. Minimum precipitablewater vapor is observed in December–February; the median value over these months is 5 mm. We additionally provide the wind speeds at various altitudes above the ground (from 1 to 16 km) that we obtained when measuring the optical turbulence. We present the results and technique of our measurements of the annual amount of clear night astronomical time, which is, on average, 1320 h, i.e., 45% of the possible one at the latitude of the observatory. The period from mid-September to mid-March accounts for about 70% of the clear time. A maximum of clear skies is observed in November, when its fraction reaches 60% of the possible astronomical night time.     

Automatic guide for the Raduga astronomical spectrograph

An automatic mirror guide has been designed and made for the Raduga fiber-optic echelle spectrograph. The new device was built into one of the parts of the spectrograph and allows the work of observers to be facilitated significantly. The automatic guide efficiently removes stellar image oscillations at frequencies of 0–2 Hz, which compensates almost completely for errors in setting the polar axis of a telescope and in its clockwork drive. The guide can be used on any telescope with a focal length of more than 5 m and has operated on two different telescopes. Over two observing seasons, several hundred stellar spectra were taken with the Raduga spectrograph using the automatic guide.     

Ozone content over the Russian Federation in the first quarter of 2009

The review is compiled based on the results of the operation of the total ozone (TO) monitoring system in the CIS and Baltic countries, functioning in the operational regime at the Central Aerological Observatory (CAO). The TO monitoring system uses the data from the national network of filter ozonometers type M-124 under control of the Main Geophysical Observatory (MGO). The proper operation of the entire system is under an operational control from observation with the OMI satellite (US NASA) equipment. Basic TO observations data for each month of the first quarter of 2009 and for a quarter as a whole are generalized. Results of regular observations of the surface ozone content in the Moscow region are also presented.     

The Master Mobile Astronomical System. Optical Observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts

The operating principles of the telescope-robot system MASTER (Mobile Astronomical System of Telescopes-Robots, http://observ.pereplet.ru), designed to search for fast transient phenomena in the optical range, are described. The robot-telescope includes the following: a Richter-Slefogt telescope with D=355 mm, F/D=2.4, a Richter-Slefogt telescope with D=200 mm, F/D=2.4, a Flugge telescope with D=280 mm, F/D=2.5, a TV camera with a field of 20x40 degrees, and three CCD cameras. A German mount with a slew rate of 8 deg/s is used. MASTER obtains images down to 19^m in a field of 6 square degrees in a 1.5 minute exposure. We present some observations of the optical afterglow of cosmic gamma-ray bursts. MASTER was the first system in Europe to record optical emission from GRB030329.__________Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 463–475 (August 2005).     

Simulation of cometary magnetic tails

In order to simulate a cometary tail in a laboratory the flow of hydrogen collisionless supersonic plasma with the magnetic field frozen in was used. The wax ball served as a model of the cometary nucleus. The experimental conditions met the principle of limiting simulation. Field lines enveloped the nucleus at the day side and stretched along the flow at the night side. Tension of field lines in the magnetic tail provided the acceleration of ionized products of wax evaporation up to about 10⁶ cm s^–1. The control experiments showed that the magnetic tail is caused by currents due to the Lorentz electric field.     

Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor for testing the quality of the optics of the 2.5-m SAI telescope

A Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor for testing the quality of telescope optics based on observations of stars has been developed and constructed. Results of laboratory tests of the sensor and test data obtained on the 70-cm telescope of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute are presented. Estimates of the quality of the optics and of the mirror support of the main mirror of the telescope have been obtained.     

Analysis of the optics of the 2.5-m telescope of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute

The results of alignment and acceptance tests of the optics system of the 2.5-m telescope installed at the Caucausus Mountain Observatory of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in 2013–2015 are reported. The optical elements of the Ritchey–Chrétien system of the telescope were manufactured by REOSC (France). Measurements of aberrations were carried out using a specially manufactured Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor. Adjustment of the load-distribution mechanisms of the primary mirror and automatic correction for bending of the structure have made it possible to achieve the target image quality at all operational positions of the telescope, corresponding to 80% of the energy being concentrated in a circle 0.3″ in diameter. Factory interferograms of the mirrors and methods for measuring their abberation using stellar images are presented.