CaltechAUTHORS
Published July 20, 2014 | Version Submitted + Published
Journal Article Open

High-efficiency Autonomous Laser Adaptive Optics

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 2. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 3. ROR icon University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • 4. ROR icon Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics

Abstract

As new large-scale astronomical surveys greatly increase the number of objects targeted and discoveries made, the requirement for efficient follow-up observations is crucial. Adaptive optics imaging, which compensates for the image-blurring effects of Earth's turbulent atmosphere, is essential for these surveys, but the scarcity, complexity and high demand of current systems limit their availability for following up large numbers of targets. To address this need, we have engineered and implemented Robo-AO, a fully autonomous laser adaptive optics and imaging system that routinely images over 200 objects per night with an acuity 10 times sharper at visible wavelengths than typically possible from the ground. By greatly improving the angular resolution, sensitivity, and efficiency of 1-3 m class telescopes, we have eliminated a major obstacle in the follow-up of the discoveries from current and future large astronomical surveys.

Additional Information

© 2014 American Astronomical Society. Received 2014 April 17; accepted 2014 June 4; published 2014 July 7. We thank the anonymous referee for their particularly useful suggestions. We thank the staff of Palomar Observatory for their support in the deployment of the Robo-AO system on the 1.5m telescope. The Robo-AO system is supported by collaborating partner institutions, the California Institute of Technology and the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, by the National Science Foundation under grant Nos. AST-0906060, AST-0960343, and AST-1207891, by a grant from the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation and by a gift from Samuel Oschin. C.B. acknowledges support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. C.B., R.R., and N.M.L. wrote the paper. C.B. led the project. R.R. led the robotic software development. N.M.L. acted as project scientist and developed the data reduction pipeline. All authors contributed to the development of the Robo-AO instrument. Facility: PO:1.5m (Robo-AO)

Attached Files

Published - 2041-8205_790_1_L8.pdf

Submitted - 1407.8179v1.pdf

Files

1407.8179v1.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
49108
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20140902-110211546

Related works

Describes
http://arxiv.org/abs/1407.8179 (URL)

Funding

Caltech
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics
NSF
AST-0906060
NSF
AST-0960343
NSF
AST-1207891
Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Dates

Created
2014-09-02
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-10
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)