Related papers: Optical Turbulence Characterization at LAMOST Site…
Optical turbulence, driven by fluctuations of the atmospheric refractive index, poses a significant challenge to ground-based optical systems, as it distorts the propagation of light. This degradation affects both astronomical observations…
Measurements of the optical turbulence profile above Siding Spring Observatory were conducted during 2005 and 2006. This effort was largely motivated by the need to predict the statistical performance of adaptive optics at Siding Spring.…
Current projects for large telescopes demand a proper knowledge of atmospheric turbulence to design efficient adaptive optics systems in order to reach large Strehl ratios. However, the proper characterization of the turbulence above a…
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…
The weak-lensing science of the LSST project drives the need to carefully model and separate the instrumental artifacts from the intrinsic lensing signal. The dominant source of the systematics for all ground based telescopes is the spatial…
We report what is believed to be the first example of fully continuous, 24-hour vertical monitoring of atmospheric optical turbulence. This is achieved using a novel instrument, the 24-hour Shack-Hartmann Image Motion Monitor (24hSHIMM).…
Characterisation of atmospheric optical turbulence is crucial for the design and operation of modern ground-based optical telescopes. In particular, the effective application of adaptive optics correction on large and extremely large…
The mesoscale model Meso-NH is used to simulate the optical turbulence at Mt Graham (Arizona, USA), site of the Large Binocular Telescope. Measurements of the CN2-profiles obtained with a generalized scidar from 41 nights are used to…
One of the scientific goals of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is to measure the evolution of dark energy by measuring subtle distortions of galaxy shapes due to weak gravitational lensing caused by the evolving dark matter…
A defocused image of a bright single star in a small telescope contains rich information on the optical turbulence, i.e. the seeing. The concept of a novel turbulence monitor based on recording sequences of ring-like intrafocal images and…
In two recent papers the mesoscale model Meso-NH, joint with the Astro-Meso-NH package, has been validated at Dome C, Antarctica, for the characterization of the optical turbulence. It has been shown that the meteorological parameters…
The optical turbulence conditions as measured between 2004 until end of 2008 above Cerro Tololo, their seasonal as well as nocturnal behavior are presented. A comparison with the MASS-DIMM system of the Thirty Meter Telescope site testing…
Astronomical seeing is quantified by a single parameter, turbulence integral, in the framework of the Kolmogorov turbulence model. This parameter can be routinely measured by a Differential Image Motion Monitor, DIMM. A new instrument,…
For extremely large telescopes, adaptive optics will be required to correct the Earth's turbulent atmosphere. The performance of tomographic adaptive optics is strongly dependent on the vertical distribution (profile) of this turbulence. An…
Accurate characterization of atmospheric optical turbulence is essential for evaluating astronomical sites and optimizing adaptive optics systems. The Multistar Turbulence Monitor (MTM) infers the vertical distribution of the…
High precision cosmology with weak gravitational lensing requires a precise measure of the Point Spread Function across the imaging data where the accuracy to which high spatial frequency variation can be modelled is limited by the stellar…
Atmospherical mesoscale models can offer unique potentialities to characterize and discriminate potential astronomical sites. Our team has recently completely validated the Meso-Nh model above Dome C (Lascaux et al. 2009, 2010). Using all…
A characterization of the optical turbulence vertical distribution and all the main integrated astroclimatic parameters derived from the CN2 and the wind speed profiles above Mt. Graham is presented. The statistic includes measurements…
We report the first measurement of the atmospheric optical turbulence profile using the transmitted beam from a satellite laser communication terminal. A Ring Image Next Generation Scintillation Sensor (RINGSS) instrument for turbulence…
Results of 2005-2007 campaign of measurement of the optical turbulence vertical distribution above Mt. Maidanak are presented. Measurements are performed with the MASS (Multi-Aperture Scintillation Sensor) device which is widely used in…