Performance of adaptive optics at Lick Observatory
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); and others
A prototype adaptive optics system has been developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for use at Lick Observatory. This system is based on an ITEX 69-actuator continuous-surface deformable mirror, a Kodak fast-framing intensified CCD camera, and a Mercury VME board containing four Intel i860 processors. The system has been tested using natural reference stars on the 40-inch Nickel telescope at Lick Observatory yielding up to a factor of 10 increase in image peak intensity and a factor of 6 reduction in image full width at half maximum (FWHM). These results are consistent with theoretical expectations. In order to improve performance, the intensified CCD camera will be replaced by a high-quantum-efficiency low-noise fast CCD camera built for LLNL by Adaptive Optics Associates using a chip developed by Lincoln Laboratory, and the 69-actuator deformable mirror will be replaced by a 127-actuator deformable mirror developed at LLNL. With these upgrades, the system should perform well in median seeing conditions on the 120-inch Shane telescope for observing wavelengths longer than {approximately}1 {mu}m and using natural reference stars brighter than m{sub R} {approximately} 10 or using the laser currently being developed at LLNL for use at Lick Observatory to generate a sodium-layer reference star.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 10139221
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-116506; CONF-940391-2; ON: DE94009382
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) conference,Kona Beach, HI (United States),13-18 Mar 1994; Other Information: PBD: Mar 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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