Contributions to adaptive optics, telescopes, remote sensing and space surveillance

对自适应光学、望远镜、遥感和空间监视的贡献

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04369
• 负责人: Hickson, Paul
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=737588
• 关键词: Contributions; adaptive; optics; telescopes; remote

The next-generation of extremely-large ground-based optical/infrared telescopes (ELTs) will provide a huge leap in scientific capability and discovery. With adaptive optics (AO), these telescopes will provide three times the resolution and as much as 100 times the sensitivity of the current ground-based and space telescopes. They will open new frontiers in fields ranging from the study of extra-solar planetary systems to the first objects forming in the distant Universe. AO is a technology that enables this performance by correcting for the blurring effect of atmospheric turbulence. Current AO systems are already providing impressive gains in resolution and sensitivity at major observatories. The next-generation telescopes will require high-powered lasers that produce artificial 'laser guide stars' in the upper atmosphere. The light from these are used to sense the instantaneous distortion introduced by the atmosphere, allowing the AO system to compensate for it. My research group is working with collaborators worldwide to help develop and perfect these systems. Telescope performance is also highly-dependent on its location. An outstanding site can enable new scientific programs, as well as improving the efficiency of astronomical observations. For this reason, detailed site surveys are conducted prior to the establishment of new astronomical facilities. One aspect of my research is to contribute to the characterization of potential telescope sites. To this end, I am involved in the development of new instruments and techniques that allow my team to measure the strength and distribution of atmospheric turbulence at the sites. Our instruments have been deployed to characterize potential sites in the Canadian Arctic and high mountain sites in Tibet, and a new initiative is underway to make measurements at Dome A in Antarctica in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Canadians are participating, with scientists in Belgium and India, in the International Liquid-Mirror Telescope - an astronomical survey telescope located in the Himalayas. The ILMT is a zenith-pointing 4-metre telescope equipped with a large imaging camera. It will survey the sky passing overhead night after night, searching for transient events such as supernovae and monitoring gravitational lenses. The design of the ILMT builds on technology developed at the University of Laval and UBC. My students and I will participate in the commissioning and testing of the ILMT and in its scientific programs. My research includes studies of the near-Earth space environment. Space debris is a growing problem, with thousands of objects presently being tracked. But, there are potentially hundreds of thousands more objects that are too small to be seen by existing telescopes. I am working with NASA to help develop new facilities and techniques for the detection and study of space debris, and plan to expand this work using UBC's robotic telescope installed at Cerro Tololo in Chile.

下一代超大型地面光学/红外望远镜(ELT)将在科学能力和发现方面实现巨大飞跃。有了自适应光学(AO)，这些望远镜将提供当前地面和空间望远镜的三倍分辨率和高达100倍的灵敏度。他们将在从太阳系外行星系统的研究到遥远宇宙中形成的第一批物体等领域开辟新的前沿。AO是一种通过校正大气湍流的模糊效果来实现这一性能的技术。目前的AO系统已经在主要观测站的分辨率和灵敏度方面取得了令人印象深刻的进展。下一代望远镜将需要高功率激光，以便在高层大气中产生人造“激光导星”。它们发出的光被用来感应大气引入的瞬时扭曲，从而允许AO系统对其进行补偿。我的研究小组正在与世界各地的合作者合作，帮助开发和完善这些系统。望远镜的性能也高度依赖于它的位置。一个杰出的站点可以实现新的科学计划，以及提高天文观测的效率。为此，在建立新的天文设施之前，要进行详细的现场勘测。我的研究的一个方面是为描述潜在的望远镜地点做出贡献。为此，我参与了新仪器和新技术的开发，使我的团队能够测量现场大气湍流的强度和分布。我们的仪器已经被部署到加拿大北极的潜在地点和西藏的高山地点，一项与中国科学院合作在南极圆顶A进行测量的新倡议正在进行中。加拿大人与比利时和印度的科学家一起参加了位于喜马拉雅山脉的天文观测望远镜--国际液镜望远镜。ILMT是一个指向天顶的4米望远镜，配备了一个大型成像相机。它将夜以继日地观测头顶上的天空，寻找超新星等瞬变事件，并监测引力透镜。ILMT的设计建立在拉瓦尔大学和不列颠哥伦比亚大学开发的技术基础上。我和我的学生将参与ILMT的调试和测试，以及它的科学计划。我的研究包括近地空间环境的研究。空间碎片是一个日益严重的问题，目前正在追踪数以千计的物体。但是，可能还有数十万个太小的天体无法用现有的望远镜观测到。我正在与NASA合作，帮助开发探测和研究空间碎片的新设施和新技术，并计划使用安装在智利塞罗托洛洛的UBC机器人望远镜来扩大这项工作。