Related papers: Mirrors for space telescopes: degradation issues
The astronomical community continues to be interested in suitable programmable slit masks for use in multi-object spectrometers (MOSs) on space missions. There have been ground-based MOS utilizing digital micromirror devices (DMDs) and they…
We discuss a new technology that promises large inexpensive mirrors. We argue that it should be possible to tilt a rotating viscous liquid by perhaps as much as a few tens of degrees. The tilted liquid parabolic surface is used as the…
Radiometry has been of fundamental importance in astronomy from the early beginnings. In this review, we provide an overview of how to achieve a valid laboratory calibration of space telescopes and discuss ways to reliably extend this…
High-power lasers have numerous scientific and industrial applications. Some key areas include laser cutting and welding in manufacturing, directed energy in fusion reactors or defense applications, laser surgery in medicine, and advanced…
The reflection of an optical wave from a metal, arising from strong interactions between the optical electric field and the free carriers of the metal, is accompanied by a phase reversal of the reflected electric field. A far less common…
In laser gravitational waves detectors optical loss restricts sensitivity. We discuss polarization scattering as one more possible mechanism of optical losses. Circulated inside interferometer light is polarized and after reflection its…
Mercury, due to its close location to the Sun, is surrounded by an environment whose conditions may be considered as "extreme" in the entire Solar System. Both solar wind and radiation are stronger with respect to other Solar System bodies,…
Deformable mirrors are increasingly used in astronomy. However, they still are limited in stroke for active correction of high amplitude optical aberrations. Magnetic Liquid deformable mirrors (MLDMs) are a new technology that has…
The performance of optical clocks has strongly progressed in recent years, and accuracies and instabilities of 1 part in 10^18 are expected in the near future. The operation of optical clocks in space provides new scientific and…
A cavity ringdown system for probing the spatial variation of optical loss across high-reflectivity mirrors is described. This system is employed to examine substrate-transferred crystalline supermirrors and quantify the effect of…
As wavefront quality demands tighten on space systems for applications such as astronomy and laser communication, mounting small optics such that the wavefront is undisturbed, positioning is adjustable and the design is producible, while…
Stability and photometric accuracy of silicon imaging detectors are essential for the Habitable Worlds Observatory and a range of NASA missions that will explore time domain astrophysics and astronomy over a spectral range spanning soft…
We study the impact of the loss of axial symmetry around the optical axis on the polarimetric properties of a telescope with segmented primary mirror when each segment is present in a different aging stage. The different oxidation stage of…
Weak gravitational lensing surveys measure the distortion of the image of distant sources due to the deflections of light rays by the fluctuations of the gravitational potential along the line of sight. Since they probe the non-linear…
X-ray diffraction gratings play an essential role in high-resolution spectroscopy of astrophysical phenomena. We present some scientific highlights from the X-ray grating spectrometers (XGS) on board of the Chandra and XMM/Newton missions,…
A neutron optical transport system is proposed which comprises nested short elliptical mirrors located halfway between two common focal points M and M'. It images cold neutrons from a diverging beam or a source with finite size at M by…
In this paper we are exploring the possibilities of 3D printing in the fabrication of mirrors for astronomy. Taking the advantages of 3D printing to solve the existing problems caused by traditional manufacturing, two proof-of-concept…
The size of the optics used in observatories is often limited by fabrication, metrology, and handling technology, but having a large primary mirror provides significant benefits for scientific research. The evolution of rocket launch…
The sustained increase of emissions of artificial light is causing a progressive brightening of the night sky in most of the world. This process represents a threat for the long-term sustainability of the scientific and educational activity…
The need for high dynamic range imaging is crucial in many astronomical fields, such as extra-solar planet direct detection, extra-galactic science and circumstellar imaging. Using a high quality coronograph, dynamic ranges of up to…