PALM-3000 for Exoplanet Direct Imaging and Spectroscopy

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The study of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun requires instruments of the highest performance and technology. To actually image an exoplanet, one has to greatly reduce the glare of the host star, which often outshines the reflected light off the planet by a factor of 10^7 or more. The PALM-3000 system being constructed by Dr. Richard Dekany at the California Institute of Technology plans on accomplishing these goals using an adaptive optics (AO) system of the highest order, with a 3000+ actuator deformable mirror, attached to the Palomar 5-m telescope. The region of highest sensitivity with this instrument is an unusually large 3 arcseconds in radius, allowing access to several systems whose planets have already been inferred to orbit in this zone by radial velocity studies.Despite the modest aperture of the 5-m telescope by today's standards, the large coronagraphic field of view of the PALM-3000 is joined by a smaller actuator pitch angle and visible-light operation in making the instrument uniquely capable among AO imaging systems. The fact that significant amounts of time are available on the 5-m telescope further enhances the value of the instrument. Palomar Observatory has proven to be an excellent experimental platform for students and postdoctoral scholars to develop new AO techniques, with 21 research students and 4 postdocs since 1999, and they continue to express a commitment to hands-on training of the next-generation of astronomical researchers. Funding for this work is being provided by NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences through its Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation program.