The SOAR optical imager: status and first results

Details The SOAR optical imager: status and first results The SOAR optical imager: status and first results

Sep 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004spie.5492..564s&link_type=abstract

Ground-based Instrumentation for Astronomy. Edited by Alan F. M. Moorwood and Iye Masanori. Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 5492

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

8

Scientific paper

We briefly describe the SOAR Optical Imager (SOI), the first light instrument for the 4.1m SOuthern Astronomical Research (SOAR) telescope now being commissioned on Cerro Pachón in the mountains of northern Chile. The SOI has a mini-mosaic of 2 2kx4k CCDs at its focal plane, a focal reducer camera, two filter cartridges, and a linear ADC. The instrument was designed to produce precision photometry and to fully exploit the expected superb image quality of the SOAR telescope over a 5.5x5.5 arcmin2 field with high throughput down to the atmospheric cut-off, and close reproduction of photometric pass-bands throughout 310-1050 nm. During early engineering runs in April 2004, we used the SOI to take images as part of the test program for the actively controlled primary mirror of the SOAR telescope, one of which we show in this paper. Taken just three months after the arrival of the optics in Chile, we show that the stellar images have the same diameter of 0.74" as the simultaneously measured seeing disk at the time of observation. We call our image "Engineering 1st Light" and in the near future expect to be able to produce images with diameters down to 0.3" in the R band over a 5.5' field during about 20% of the observing time, using the tip-tilt adaptive corrector we are implementing.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The SOAR optical imager: status and first results does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The SOAR optical imager: status and first results, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The SOAR optical imager: status and first results will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1821605