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The detection and characterisation of extra-solar planets is a major theme driving modern astronomy, with the vast majority of such measurements being achieved by Doppler radial-velocity and transit observations. Another technique -- direct…
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument is a major component of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft. Since beginning normal science operations on 1 May 2010, HMI has operated with remarkable continuity, e.g.…
As part of the National Science Foundation funded "Gemini in the Era of MultiMessenger Astronomy" (GEMMA) program, Gemini Observatory is developing GNAO, a widefield adaptive optics (AO) facility for Gemini-North on Maunakea, the only…
Modern coronagraphic systems require very precise alignment between optical components and can benefit greatly from automated image processing. We discuss three techniques commonly employed in the fields of computer vision and image…
Traditionally, ground-based spectrophotometric observations probing transiting exoplanet atmospheres have employed a linear map between comparison and target star light curves (e.g. via differential spectrophotometry) to correct for…
Adaptive optics (AO) have been used to correct wavefronts to achieve diffraction limited point spread functions in a broad range of optical applications, prominently ground-based astronomical telescopes operating in near infra-red. While…
We show that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a powerful instrument in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). LIGO's ability to detect gravitational waves (GWs) from astrophysical sources, such…
The availability and performance of laser-based adaptive optics (AO) systems are strongly dependent on the power and quality of the laser beam before being projected to the sky. Frequent and time-consuming alignment procedures are usually…
The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) is the first deep-space solar spectropolarimeter, on-board the Solar Orbiter (SO) space mission. It faces: stringent requirements on science data accuracy, a dynamic environment, and severe…
WFIRST-CGI is a NASA technology demonstration mission that is charged with demonstrating key technologies for future exo-Earth imaging missions in space. In the process, it will obtain images and low-resolution spectra of a handful to a…
The Gamma-Ray Imager (GRI) is a novel mission concept that will provide an unprecedented sensitivity leap in the soft gamma-ray domain by using for the first time a focusing lens built of Laue diffracting crystals. The lens will cover an…
Sources of geophysical noise, such as wind, sea waves and earthquakes, can have an impact on gravitational wave interferometers causing sensitivity worsening and gaps in data taking. During the 1-year long O3 run (April 1st 2019 to March…
The Hard X-ray Imager (HXI) onboard Hitomi (ASTRO-H) is an imaging spectrometer covering hard X-ray energies of 5-80 keV. Combined with the hard X-ray telescope, it enables imaging spectroscopy with an angular resolution of $1^\prime.7$…
Time-series spectrophotometric studies of exoplanets during transit using ground-based facilities are a promising approach to characterize their atmospheric compositions. We aim to investigate the transit spectrum of the hot Jupiter…
Measuring the orbits of directly-imaged exoplanets requires precise astrometry at the milliarcsec level over long periods of time due to their wide separation to the stars ($\gtrsim$10 au) and long orbital period ($\gtrsim$20 yr). To reach…
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) consists of two widely separated 4 km laser interferometers designed to detect gravitational waves from distant astrophysical sources in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 10…
ERIS is the new AO instrument for VLT-UT4 led by a Consortium of Max-Planck Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik, UK-ATC, ETH-Zurich, ESO and INAF. The ERIS AO system provides NGS mode to deliver high contrast correction and LGS mode to…
We present the first use of the Gemini North laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO) system and an integral field unit (IFU) to measure the stellar velocity dispersion of the host of a luminous quasar. The quasar PG1426+015 (z=0.086) was…
Future missions of gravitational-wave astronomy will be operated by space-based interferometers, covering very wide range of frequency. Search for stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds (GWBs) is one of the main targets for such…
We report Gemini-South GMOS observations of the exoplanet system WASP-29 during primary transit as a test case for differential spectrophotometry. We use the multi-object spectrograph to observe the target star and a comparison star…