Related papers: The commissioning phase
We have designed and built a large-throughput dual channel photometer, Diabolo. This photometer is dedicated to the observation of millimetre continuum diffuse sources, and in particular, of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and of anisotropies…
The first of the four atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes of the VERITAS array has been in operation at the Mt. Hopkins base camp since January 2005. The telescope has met all specifications. We present here a description of the technical…
The TBT project is being developed under ESA's General Studies and Technology Programme (GSTP), and shall implement a test-bed for the validation of an autonomous optical observing system in a realistic scenario within the Space Situational…
The International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) project was motivated by the need for an inexpensive 4 metre diameter optical telescope that could be devoted entirely to astronomical surveys. Its scientific programmes include the detection…
We installed two sets of Astronomical Site Monitoring System(ASMS) at Lijiang Observatory(GMG), for the running of the 2.4-meter Lijiang optical telescope(LJT) and the 1.6-meter Multi-channel Photometric Survey Telescope (Mephisto). The…
The in-situ commissioning of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter is taking place since three years. During this period, it has been fully tested by means of frequent calibration runs, and the analysis of the large cosmic muon data samples…
The Kepler Mission relies on precise differential photometry to detect the 80 parts per million (ppm) signal from an Earth-Sun equivalent transit. Such precision requires superb instrument stability on time scales up to ~2 days and…
The Peters Automated Infrared Imaging Telescope (PAIRITEL) is the first meter-class telescope operating as a fully robotic IR imaging system. Dedicated in October 2004, PAIRITEL began regular observations in mid-December 2004 as part of a…
The Stellar Observations Network Group prototype telescope at the Teide Observatory has been operating in scientific mode since March 2014. The first year of observations has entirely been carried out using the high resolution echelle…
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…
We describe the design of the Commissioning Instrument for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). DESI will obtain spectra over a 3 degree field of view using the 4-meter Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak, AZ. In order to achieve the…
The lightweighting and surface accuracy targeted for NGST's 8 m primary mirror has been demonstrated in a 0.5 m prototype. Now a second, 2 m prototype weighing 40 kg in total is being fabricated at the University of Arizona under the NGST…
The ESA Planck satellite, launched on May 14th, 2009, is the third generation space mission dedicated to the measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the first light in the Universe. Planck observes the full sky in nine…
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 Sunrise balloon-borne solar observatory consists of a 1m aperture Gregory telescope, a UV filter imager, an imaging vector polarimeter, an image stabilization system and further infrastructure. The first science flight of Sunrise…
The Burst Observer and Optical Transient Exploring System (BOOTES) was first designed as an asset of autonomous telescopes that started to be deployed in 1998, taking 24 years to be fully developed around the Earth. Nowadays BOOTES has…
The first VERITAS telescope was installed in 2002-2003 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and was originally operated as a prototype instrument. Subsequently the decision was made to locate the full array at the same site, resulting…
Devasthal, located in the Kumaun region of Himalayas is emerging as one of the best optical astronomy site in the continent. The minimum recorded ground level atmospheric seeing at the site is 0.6 arcsec with median value at 1.1 arcsec.…
The USA Experiment is a new X-ray timing experiment with large collecting area and microsecond time resolution capable of conducting a broad program of studies of galactic X-ray binaries. USA is one of nine experiments aboard the Advanced…
The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) is one of the four focal plane instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope which was launched on Dec. 25, 2021. We present an overview of the as-run NIRSpec commissioning campaign, with particular…