A near-infrared science and tip-tilt camera for Robo-AO

自适应光学(AO)硬件和技术的发展，以校正地球大气层引入的像差，使地面天文成像发生了革命性的变化，最近能够从8米望远镜获得分辨率超过轨道哈勃太空望远镜的图像。然而，小到~1米口径的望远镜也受益于AO系统，Christoph Baranec博士为加州理工学院Palomar 1.5米望远镜开发的“Robo-AO”仪器是一个独特的、机器人和自动化的AO系统，它将有能力每晚观测多达150个目标，包括但不限于a)恒星和星下伴星到其他恒星，b)需要分类的瞬变，c)凌日候选行星，d)透镜状类星体，e)极低质量恒星。ROBO-AO是加州理工学院和印度浦那的大学间天文和天体物理中心合作的项目，最初的建设部分由国家科学基金会奖资助。目前的计划是用一种新的近红外科学相机来升级ROBO-AO，该相机将把视野扩大到大于弧长直径，极大地将近红外灵敏度和光谱覆盖范围提高到2.4微米的波长，并通过使用AO锐化的近红外倾斜引导恒星来增加可见光科学天空的覆盖率。Robo-AO合作项目包括各个层次的学生，包括设计、硬件和软件开发以及科学规划。该项目还提供了详细的设计和建造计划、硬件选择和免费提供的软件，该系统已经在世界各地的其他小型望远镜上复制。NSF的天文科学部门通过其先进技术和仪器计划为机器人自适应光学的发展提供资金。

The development of adaptive optics (AO) hardware and techniques to correct for the aberrations introduced by the Earth's atmosphere has revolutionized astronomical imaging from the ground, recently enabling images from an 8-m telescope that exceed in resolution those possible with the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. However, telescopes as small as ~1-m aperture also benefit from AO systems, and Dr. Christoph Baranec's "Robo-AO" instrument for the Palomar 1.5-m telescope of the California Institute of Technology is a unique, robotic and automated AO system that will have the capability of observing as many as 150 targets per night, including but not limited to a) stellar and substellar companions to other stars, b) transients requiring classification, c) transiting planet candidates, d) lensed quasars, and e) very low mass stars. Robo-AO is a collaboration between the California Institute of Technology and the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, India, and initial construction was funded, in part, by a National Science Foundation award.The current proposal plans to upgrade Robo-AO with a new near-infrared science camera that will expand the field of view to greater than arc minute diameter, greatly enhance the near-infrared sensitivity and spectral coverage to a wavelength of 2.4 microns, and increase the visible-light science sky coverage by using AO-sharpened near-infrared tip-tilt guide stars. The Robo-AO collaboration incorporates students at every level, including design, hardware and software development, and science planning. The project also makes its detailed design and construction plans, hardware selection, and software freely available and the system has been duplicated at other small telescopes around the world.Funding for the development of robotic adaptive optics is being provided by NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences through its Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation program.