MAKING ADAPTIVE OPTICS AVAILABLE TO ALL: A CONCEPT FOR 1M-CLASS TELESCOPES

Olivier Lai (1, 2, 3, 4) , S Kuiper (5) , N Doelman , M Chun , D Schmidt , F Martinache (1) , M Carbillet (1) , M N'Diaye (6) , J.-P Rivet (1)

1 LAGRANGE - Joseph Louis LAGRANGE
2 UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur
3 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
4 Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur
5 TNO - The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research
6 STSci - Space Telescope Science Institute

Adaptive optics is challenging for smaller telescopes (0.5∼2m) due to the small isoplanatic angle, small subperatures and high correction speeds needed at visible wavelengths, requiring bright stars for guiding and thus severely limiting the sky coverage. To enable large sky coverage we can correct the turbulence which is common to the entire field we are trying to capture, which is achieved by the technique of GLAO (Ground Layer Adaptive Optics). The turbulence is measured by averaging wavefront measurements in multiple directions. The corrective element can either be a deformable lens or a small adaptive secondary mirror. The motivation to develop such a compact and robust AO system for small telescopes is twofold: On the one hand, schools and universities often have access to small telescopes as part of their education programs. Also researchers in countries with fewer resources could also benefit from well engineered and reliable adaptive optics on smaller telescopes for research and education purposes. On the other hand, amateur astronomers and enthusiasts might want improved image quality for visual observation and astrophotography.

Mots clés: adaptive optics; wide field imaging; GLAO; adaptive optics

Domaines: Instrumentation et méthodes pour l'astrophysique [astro-ph.IM]

Olivier Lai, S Kuiper, N Doelman, M Chun, D Schmidt, et al.. MAKING ADAPTIVE OPTICS AVAILABLE TO ALL: A CONCEPT FOR 1M-CLASS TELESCOPES. Journées de la SF2A, SF2A, Jun 2021, Virtual, France. ⟨hal-03408834⟩