The performance of the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope

The Astrophysical Research Consortium 3.5 m telescope facility on Apache Point (2800 m above sea level) near the National Solar Observatory in southern New Mexico is nearing completion. The telescope mount has been installed and testing and fabrication of remaining subassemblies are underway. Thef/1.75 lightweight honeycomb primary mirror was cast April 1988 by the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory and is currently being figured.The 3.5 m optical telescope is an altitude over azimuth mechanical structure with Ritchey-Chrétien optics. The lightweight (1800 kg) mirror leads to a mount weighting only 41000 kg; readily available rolling element bearings are used to achieve the necessary performance at low cost and without the heat dissipation of externally pressurized types. Drive torques are applied by DC servo-driven capstans. These are coupled by friction to large diameter drive disks on each axis. No gears are used. Position feedback comes from low cost incremental encoders, also capstan coupled.We have recently completed a series of measurements of the telescope mount. These measurements show that the telescope is very stiff; the lowest natural frequencies are about 7.2 Hz. Initial tracking performance is good and the mount shows high resistance to wind-induced vibration. Our experience during acceptance testing suggests that routine power spectral analysis of drive motor torque and other parameters could be an important tool in the early detection of failures.Paper presented at the Symposium on the JNLT and Related Engineering Developments, Tokyo, November 29–December 2, 1988.     

Recent progress on the Columbus Project and the Miror Laboratory program

This paper summarizes recent advances on the Columbus Project telescope and in the University of Arizona Mirror Lab. The Columbus telescope structure has been re-optimized to allow rapid changes between foci, while still maintaining high rigidity. Room has been made to translate secondary and tertiary spiders out of the light path to the center. A bill allowing construction of the telescope on Mt. Graham, Arizona, has been passed by Congress and signed into law. Two alternative enclosure designs, one with a co-rotating building and a second which opens like a flower, are being explored.A common baseline design for the 8 m honeycomb mirrors for both the Columbus and Magellan telescopes has been developed. It has stiffness comparable to that of the Palomar 200 inch mirror. The Mirror Lab has successfully cast two 3.5 m honeycomb blanks and expects to begin casting at the 6.5 and 8 m scale at the end of 1990. Interferometric tests of the Vatican f/1 1.8 m borosilicate honeycomb mirror show good stability of figure with the air jet ventilation system. A 60 cm stressed lap has been completed, and will be used to parabolize this mirror which is now polished as an f/1 sphere. Plans for a polishing facility to house two 8 m machines and a test tower are complete, with construction starting in April 1989.Paper presented at the Symposium on the JNLT and Related Engineering Developments, Tokyo, November 29–December 2, 1988.     

Results from Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO) —A progress report

The title telescope — in operation since 1982 — gives a surface accuracy of better than 0.2 mm (r.m.s.), with an aperture efficiency of about 25% at 115 GHz. A 5-element interferometer is at final adjustment stage. Observations of proto-stellar objects, extragalactic objects, and spectral lines are briefly described.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Image Stabilization System for Hinode (Solar-B) Solar Optical Telescope

The Hinode Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) is the first space-borne visible-light telescope that enables us to observe magnetic-field dynamics in the solar lower atmosphere with 0.2 – 0.3 arcsec spatial resolution under extremely stable (seeing-free) conditions. To achieve precise measurements of the polarization with diffraction-limited images, stable pointing of the telescope (<0.09 arcsec, 3σ) is required for solar images exposed on the focal plane CCD detectors. SOT has an image stabilization system that uses image displacements calculated from correlation tracking of solar granules to control a piezo-driven tip-tilt mirror. The system minimizes the motions of images for frequencies lower than 14 Hz while the satellite and telescope structural design damps microvibration in higher frequency ranges. It has been confirmed from the data taken on orbit that the remaining jitter is less than 0.03 arcsec (3σ) on the Sun. This excellent performance makes a major contribution to successful precise polarimetric measurements with 0.2 – 0.3 arcsec resolution. K. Kobayashi now at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA.     

Some new astronomical facilities in China

For the 1990's, plans for some astronomical facilities and related researchers are being carried out in China. In this report we describe in some details the plans of radio astronomical facilities, 150/220 cm Schmidt telescope, and experiments on porcelain mirror material.Paper presented at the Symposium on the JNLT and Related Engineering Developments, Tokyo, November 29–December 2, 1988.     

Mechanical design of the solar telescope GREGOR

The mechanical structure of the GREGOR telescope was installed at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, in 2004. New concepts for mounting and cooling of the 1.5‐meter primary mirror were introduced. GREGOR is an open telescope, therefore the dome is completely open during observations to allow for air flushing through the open, but stiff telescope structure. Backside cooling system of the primary mirror keeps the mirror surface close to ambient temperature to prevent mirror seeing. The large collecting area of the primary mirror results in high energy density at the field stop at the prime focus of the primary which needs to be removed. The optical elements are supported by precision alignment systems and should provide a stable solar image at the optical lab. The coudé train can be evacuated and serves as a natural barrier between the outer environmental conditions and the air‐conditioned optical laboratory with its sensitive scientific instrumentation. The telescope was successfully commissioned and will start its nominal operation during 2013 (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Drive-Control System for the TACTIC Gamma-Ray Telescope

A PC-based drive-control system has been developed for the altitude-azimuth mounted TACTIC -ray telescope to control the speed and direction of motion of its 2-axes. Details of various hardware components chosen for the telescope, including hybrid-stepper motor, 16-bit absolute encoder and CAMAC-based programmable stepper motor controller, are discussed in this paper. The telescope-control strategy, based on the position-loop with a proportional type control for the source-seek mode and the on/off type control for the tracking mode, is explained in detail. Some important performance features of the telescope, including its blind-spot size, drive-system backlash and encoder-error compensation, are also presented. The drive system has been extensively field-tested and has been operating satisfactorily during observation campaigns carried out since March 1997 with the TACTIC Imaging Element. A tracking accuracy of ±3 arc-minutes has been achieved. A test report of its performance, with regard to its tracking accuracy on the basis of successful detection of TeV -rays from the active galaxy Markarian 501 in April–May 1997, is also presented.     

High precision radial velocities of southern solar-type stars by cross-correlation

A system for obtaining high-precision radial velocities of solar-type stars by spectral cross-correlation has been established at the Mt John University Observatory. The use of a fibre-feed between the telescope and échelle spectrograph has enabled a stability such that we can achieve a precision of better than 50 m s^–1.A programme of radial-velocity observations of 29 southern solar-type stars—of which two are IAU radial velocity standard stars—is under way with the prime objective being a search for low-mass companions to the stars. Ten further IAU radial-velocity standard stars are also being monitored.     

The near infrared spectrophotometer for the 182 cm Asiago telescope

A new near infrared spectrophotometer has been built for the Asiago 182 cm telescope. The instrument performs both large band JHKLM photometry and 1–5 spectrophotometry; a tracking system on a field star allows closed loop mapping. The design and performances are discussed.     

Normalized and asynchronous mirror alignment for Cherenkov telescopes

Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) need imaging optics with large apertures and high image intensities to map the faint Cherenkov light emitted from cosmic ray air showers onto their image sensors. Segmented reflectors fulfill these needs, and as they are composed from mass production mirror facets they are inexpensive and lightweight. However, as the overall image is a superposition of the individual facet images, alignment is a challenge. Here we present a computer vision based star tracking alignment method, which also works for limited or changing star light visibility. Our method normalizes the mirror facet reflection intensities to become independent of the reference star’s intensity or the cloud coverage. Using two CCD cameras, our method records the mirror facet orientations asynchronously of the telescope drive system, and thus makes the method easy to integrate into existing telescopes. It can be combined with remote facet actuation, but does not require one to work. Furthermore, it can reconstruct all individual mirror facet point spread functions without moving any mirror. We present alignment results on the 4 m First Geiger-mode Avalanche Cherenkov Telescope (FACT).     

The Preflight Photometric Calibration of the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope EIT

This paper presents the preflight photometric calibration of the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The EIT consists of a Ritchey–Chrétien telescope with multilayer coatings applied to four quadrants of the primary and secondary mirrors, several filters and a backside-thinned CCD detector. The quadrants of the EIT optics were used to observe the Sun in 4 wavelength bands that peak near 171, 195, 284, and 304 Å. Before the launch of SOHO, the EIT mirror reflectivities, the filter transmissivities and the CCD quantum efficiency were measured and these values are described here. The instrumental throughput in terms of an effective area is presented for each of the various mirror quadrant and filter wheel combinations. The response to a coronal plasma as a function of temperature is also determined and the expected count rates are compared to the count rates observed in a coronal hole, the quiet Sun and an active region.     

An experimental indoor phasing system based on active optics using dispersed Hartmann sensing technology in the visible waveband

A telescope with a larger primary mirror can collect much more light and resolve objects much better than one with a smaller mirror,and so the larger version is always pursued by astronomers and astronomical technicians.Instead of using a monolithic primary mirror,more and more large telescopes,which are currently being planned or in construction,have adopted a segmented primary mirror design.Therefore,how to sense and phase such a primary mirror is a key issue for the future of extremely large optical/infr...     

A specialized polar telescope for cosmology: POST

Study of evolution of galaxies, of transient events such as supernovae and large scale structures at redshifts greater than unity implies observing in a small sky area with a dedicated telescope. A fixed primary mirror aimed at the celestial pole seems the best way to yearly accumulate enough observation time. After earlier proposals made by Soviet and American astronomers, an European group intends to use an existing 3.50m Italian mirror to build a specialized, spectroscopic, polar telescope named POST.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.     

The U.S. National 8 m telescope project

The National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO) are planning to buld two 8 m telescopes, one for Mauna Kea, Hawaii, the other for a site in Chile. Optical configurations, primary mirror systems, and the telescope mounting are discussed. A new optical testing method is outlined. The system imaging goal is 0.25 FWHM. Construction could begin in the early 1990's.Paper presented at the Symposium on the JNLT and Related Engineering Developments, Tokyo, November 29–December 2, 1988.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

The Haleakala Stokes polarimeter

A versatile Stokes polarimeter for solar observations has been developed at the University of Hawaii. Recent improvements to the instrument include a high-resolution echelle spectrometer coupled to the telescope by optical fibers, and 128-element diode array detectors. The on-axis design of the telescope and polarimeter limit instrumental polarization to 10^–4, and the spectrometer detector combination provides spectral resolving power of 160000 for any wavelength between 4000 and 11000 Å. This paper describes the Haleakala polarimeter and in particular the spectrometer with its fiber-optic coupling. Examples of Stokes line profiles observed in a sunspot are presented, together with derived vector magnetic field maps.     

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。     

Adaptive Optics on Large Telescopes

Observations withground based telescopes suffer from atmospheric turbulence.Independent of the telescope size the angular resolution inthe visible is equivalent to that of a telescope with adiameter of 10–20 cm. This effect is caused by the turbulentmixing of air with different temperatures in the atmosphere.Thus, the perfect plane wave from a star at infinity isaberrated before it enters the telescope. In the following,we will discuss the physical background of imaging throughturbulence, using Kolmogorov statistics, and the differenttechniques to sense and to correct the wave-front aberrationswith adaptive optics. The requirements for the control loop ofan adaptive optics system are discussed including formulas forthe limiting magnitude of the guide star as a function of thewave-front sensing method, of the quality of the wave-frontsensor camera, and of the degree of correction. Finally, ashort introduction to deformable mirror technology will begiven followed by the presentation of a new method to measureand to distinguish individual turbulent layers in order toincrease the isoplanatic angle.     

用PCI中断实现射电望远镜跟踪的方法

讨论运用PCI 9054(美国PLX公司生产的接口芯片)作为接口芯片的PCI(Peripheral Component Interconnect)板卡的软硬件设计,以实现天线跟踪的两个时间同步中断。利用标准秒信号中断作为系统时钟同步信号,并同步产生时间间隔为20ms(或40、50ms,可选)的中断信号,来处理天线跟踪指令输出。中断信号通过PCI中断口INTA#接入计算机,在驱动中识别不同的中断信号,并在应用程序响应中断处理后,命令ACU(Antenna Control Unit)机,实现射电天文望远镜的同步跟踪。其控制过程分3部分阐述:硬件设计、驱动程序设计、安装及应用;着重讨论了前两者的设计方法及思路。     

InFOCμS Hard X-ray Imaging Telescope

InFOCμS is a new generation balloon-borne hard X-ray telescope with focusing optics and spectroscopy. We had a successful 22.5-hour flight from Fort Sumner, NM on September 16,17, 2004. In this paper, we present the performance of the hard X-ray telescope, which consists of a depth-graded platinum/carbon multilayer mirror and a CdZnTe detector. The telescope has an effective area of 49 cm² at 30 keV, an angular resolution of 2.4 arcmin (HPD), and a field of view of 11 arcmin (FWHM) depending on energies. The CdZnTe detector is configured with a 12 × 12 segmented array of detector pixels. The pixels are 2 mm square, and are placed on 2.1 mm centers. An averaged energy resolution is 4.4 keV at 60 keV and its standard deviation is 0.36 keV over 128 pixels. The detector is surrounded by a 3-cm thick CsI anti coincidence shield to reduce background from particles and photons not incident along the mirror focal direction. The inflight background is 2.9 × 10⁻⁴ cts cm⁻² sec⁻¹ keV⁻¹ in the 20–50 keV band.     

Ultraviolet observations in Puppis with the space telescope ‘Glazar’

The results of observations of 159 stars at 1640 Å in Puppis made with the space telescope Glazar are presented. It is shown that the observed stars are members of different groups of stars situated at distances of about 120, 370, 700, 1250, 2400, and 4000 pc. The last two groups belong to the Pup OB1 and the Pup OB2 stellar associations.There is relatively little absorption in the observed region. The absorbing matter is mainly concentrated in small clouds.It is suggested that three stars — CP –27°4197, HD 60479, and HD 61672-are embedded in a dust envelope and that the star HD 60057 has a hot subdwarf companion.Forty-four of the observed stars are new OB or early A-type stars, spectral types of which were not known.