High Resolution Imaging with Adaptive Optics at the Multiple Mirror Telescope

Details High Resolution Imaging with Adaptive Optics at the Multiple Mirror Telescope High Resolution Imaging with Adaptive Optics at the Multiple Mirror Telescope

Dec 1992

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992aas...181.7409l&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, 181st AAS Meeting, #74.09; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 24, p.1240

Physics

Optics

Scientific paper

We present the latest results from an adaptive optics program being implemented at the MMT using a six element adaptive mirror. The tilt of the wavefront over each of the six telescopes is determined with a Shack-Hartmann type sensor using a 24times 24 pixel low-noise CCD. This system allows the MMT to operate at a resolution of 0.3'' at 2 microns -- near the diffraction limit of the individual 1.8-m telescopes. This resolution can be obtained within ~ 1' of any star with visual magnitude < 16, allowing high-resolution near-IR imaging with a NICMOS2 array of a wide variety of targets, including high-redshift galaxies and young and evolved stars. This system can also be used with the MMT operated as a phased array telescope. In this mode, the piston errors between the telescopes are determined by examining the Fourier transform of the combined 2-micron image of the natural guide star using a fast-readout InSb array. In this configuration we have achieved a resolution of 0.075''. In good seeing we expect to obtain images of interest within the isoplanatic patch of guide stars with K magnitude <7. We acknowledge financial support from the NSF (AST92-03336) and the Flintridge Foundation. The adaptive mirror was donated by ThermoTrex Corp.

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