Related papers: TMT Science and Instruments
Several site-testing programs and observatories currently use combined MASS-DIMM instruments for monitoring parameters of optical turbulence. The instrument is described here. After a short recall of the measured quantities and operational…
Balloon-borne telescopes present unique thermal design challenges which are a combination of those present for both space and ground telescopes. At altitudes of 35-40 km, convection effects are minimal and difficult to characterize.…
Interferometry has brought many new constraints in optical astronomy in the recent years. A major leap in this field is the opening of large interferometric facilities like the Very Large Telescope Interferometer and the Keck Interferometer…
To build upon the goals of the upcoming INTEGRAL mission, the next generation soft gamma-ray (0.2-20 MeV) observatory will require improved sensitivity to nuclear line emission while maintaining high spectral resolution. We present the…
Infrared Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is the first light instrument for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) that consists of a near-infrared (0.84 to 2.4 micron) imager and integral field spectrograph (IFS) which operates at the…
Optical metamaterials have the potential to control the flow of light at will which may lead to spectacular applications as the perfect lens or the cloaking device. Both of these optical elements require invariant effective material…
Plans for the next generation of optical-infrared telescopes, the Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), are well advanced. With primary apertures in excess of 20m, they will revolutionise our ground-based capabilities. In this review I…
The utilization of a 6.5m monolithic primary mirror in a compact three-mirror anastigmat (TMA) telescope design offers unprecedented capabilities to accommodate various next generation science instruments. This design enables the rapid and…
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, is an infrared observatory of novel design: deployable, with active optics, fully open to space for radiative cooling and orbiting the Lagrange point no. 2. This article explains the…
Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTS) has been widely used as an analytical tool for many applications in science and engineering. In this paper, we describe the operation principle and practical implementation of an FTS prototype. First,…
The construction of the Cherenkov Telescope Array is expected to start soon. We will present the baseline methods and their extensions currently foreseen to calibrate the observatory. These are bound to achieve the strong requirements on…
The proposed SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) mission will have a two-meter class telescope delivering diffraction-limited images to an instrumented 0.7 square-degree field sensitive in the visible and near-infrared wavelength regime. We…
We describe the sources of stray light and thermal background that affect JWST observations, report actual backgrounds as measured from commissioning and early-science observations, compare these background levels to prelaunch predictions,…
Over the past decade, time-domain astronomy in optical bands has developed rapidly with the operations of some wide-field survey facilities. However, most of these surveys are conducted with only a single band, and simultaneous color…
The digital revolution is transforming astronomy from a data-starved to a data-submerged science. Instruments such as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), and the Square Kilometer Array…
Time-domain astronomy is one of the most important areas. Large sky area, deep-field, and short timescale are the priority of time-domain observations. SiTian is an ambitious ground-based project processing all sky optical monitoring,…
The Hubble Space Telescope's mission is summarized, with special emphasis placed on the Space Telescope Science Institute's unique experience with Hubble's behavior as an astronomical telescope in the environment of low earth orbit for over…
The Wide-field Infrared Transient Explorer (WINTER) is a 1x1 degree infrared survey telescope under development at MIT and Caltech, and slated for commissioning at Palomar Observatory in 2021. WINTER is a seeing-limited infrared time-domain…
Quantitative thermal imaging has the potential of reliable temperature measurement across an entire field-of-view. This non-invasive technique has applications in aerospace, manufacturing and process control. However, robust temperature…
We describe the optical alignment method for the Prime-focus Infrared Microlensing Experiment (PRIME) telescope which is a prime-focus near-infrared (NIR) telescope with a wide field of view for the microlensing planet survey toward the…