A robotic telescope for rapid astronomical observations and demonstration of hybrid adaptive optics

自适应光学是一种校正由地球大气引起的望远镜图像畸变的方法。这项技术使地面天文望远镜能够获得只有在太空才能获得的分辨率。在这个项目中，Baranec和合作者在他们非常成功的前身roboo - ao的基础上，部署了第二个机器人自适应光学系统。创新和升级将使这个新系统每年能够探测到数以万计的天文物体，并在几分钟内对意外发现作出反应。它将被部署在夏威夷大学。莫纳克亚山是世界上最好的观测点之一。它将为大型天文望远镜的自适应光学发展提供信息，并为包括代表性不足群体在内的学生提供培训。与以前的设计相比，目前的仪器将有几个显著的改进。它将使用Selex雪崩光电二极管红外阵列（sapira）红外探测器，其自适应光学的开发由国家科学基金会独立支持。其他升级将包括一个带有更多驱动器的可变形镜（来自波士顿微机械公司的MEMS设备）和一个紫外激光导星系统。紫外激光简化了观测调度，因为它不会对飞机构成安全威胁。本项目将演示混合ao技术，其中使用激光导星的波前传感来提高同时传感自然导星可获得的模糊极限。这一创新极大地增加了自适应光学天文观测中合适目标的天空可用性。

Adaptive optics is a method of correcting telescope images for distortion caused by the Earth's atmosphere. This technology enables ground-based astronomical telescopes to achieve resolutions otherwise obtainable only from space. In this project, Baranec and collaborators build upon their highly successful precursor, Robo-AO, to deploy a second robotic adaptive optics system. Innovations and upgrades will enable this new system to detect tens of thousands of astronomical objects per year and respond within minutes to unexpected discoveries. It will be deployed at the University of Hawaii 2.2. m telescope on Mauna Kea, one the world's best observing sites. It will inform development of adaptive optics on larger astronomical telescopes and provide training for students including underrepresented groups.This current instrument will have several notable improvements over the previous design. It will use a Selex Avalanche Photodiode Infrared Array (SAPHIRA) IR detector, whose development for adaptive optics is being independently supported by NSF. Other upgrades will include a deformable mirror with more actuators (MEMS device from Boston Micromachines), and a UV laser guide star system. The UV laser simplifies scheduling observations because it is not a safety threat to aircraft. This project will demonstrate the hybrid-AO technique in which wavefront sensing of the laser guide star is used to improve the faintness limits obtainable with simultaneous sensing of natural guide stars. This innovation greatly increases the on-sky availability of suitable targets for adaptive optics astronomical observations.