Related papers: TMT Science and Instruments
The Thirty-Meter Telescope is an ambitious project to build a giant segmented mirror telescope with fully integrated adaptive optics systems that will produce diffraction-limited images. A powerful suite of instruments is being developed…
The next major advancement in astronomy and cosmology will be driven by deep observations using very sensitive telescopes with high spatial and spectral resolution capabilities. An international consortium of astronomers, including Indian…
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) International Observatory (TIO) will be a revolutionary leap forward in astronomical observing capabilities, enabling us to address some of the most profound questions about the universe. From unraveling the…
We describe and summarize the optical challenges for future instrumentation for Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). Knowing the complex instrumental requirements is crucial for the successful design of 30-60m aperture telescopes. After all,…
Adaptive Optics has become a key technology for the largest ground-based telescopes currently under or close to begin of construction. Adaptive optics is an indispensable component and has basically only one task, that is to operate the…
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) first light instrument IRIS (Infrared Imaging Spectrograph) will complete its preliminary design phase in 2016. The IRIS instrument design includes a near-infrared (0.85 - 2.4 micron) integral field…
A near-infrared telescope with an effective aperture diameter of thirty millimeters has been developed. The primary objective of the development is to observe northern bright stars in the $J$, $H$, and $K_{\rm s}$ bands and provide accurate…
The Large Binocular Telescope, with its expansive collecting area, angular resolving power, and advanced optical design, provides a robust platform for development and operation of advanced instrumentation for astronomical research. The LBT…
The next generation of large ground-based optical and infrared telescopes will provide new challenges for designers of astronomical instrumentation. The varied science cases for these extremely large telescopes (ELTs) require a large range…
Observatory end-to-end science operations is the overall process starting with a scientific question, represented by a proposal requesting observing time, and ending with the analysis of observation data addressing that question, and…
Adaptive Optics is a prime example of how progress in observational astronomy can be driven by technological developments. At many observatories it is now considered to be part of a standard instrumentation suite, enabling ground-based…
In the age of Large Programs and Big Data a key component in project planning for ground-based astronomical observatories is understanding how to balance users demands and telescope capabilities. In particular, future planning for…
The recently commissioned 3.6-m Devasthal optical telescope has been used for various tests and science observations using three main instruments, namely, a charge-coupled device camera, a near-infrared camera, and an optical…
I review the present status of liquid mirror telescopes. In a nutshell: LMTs do work and several have been built and used. Extensive interferometric tests of liquid mirrors (the largest one having a diameter of 2.5 meters) show diffraction…
We present an overview of the design of IRIS, an infrared (0.85 - 2.5 micron) integral field spectrograph and imaging camera for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). With extremely low wavefront error (<30 nm) and on-board wavefront sensors,…
We present an overview of the design of IRIS, an infrared (0.84 - 2.4 micron) integral field spectrograph and imaging camera for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). With extremely low wavefront error (<30 nm) and on-board wavefront sensors,…
2011 was a successful year for the GREGOR project. The telescope was finally completed in May with the installation of the 1.5-meter primary mirror. The installation of the first-light focal plane instruments was completed by the end of the…
MIDIR is the proposed thermal/mid-IR imager and spectrograph for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). It will cover the wavelength range of 3 to at least 20 microns. Designed for diffraction-limited performance over the entire…
We outline the science case for a 30-40 m optical/infrared telescope in the Northern Hemisphere, optimised for transformative time-domain astronomy in the 2040s. Upcoming multi-wavelength and multi-messenger facilities will reveal fast,…
Diffraction limited 30m class telescopes will play an important role in gravitational lensing studies, coming online in approximately 2015. As imaging telescopes they will complement the ~6m JWST, probing to smaller angular scales in…