Metrology systems for active alignment control of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Wide Field Corrector

Hanshin Lee, Gary J. Hill, Michael Hart, Mark E. Cornell, Richard Savage, Brian Vattiat, Dave Perry, William M. Moller, Tom Rafferty, Trey Taylor, Marc D. Rafal

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) Wide-Field Upgrade (WFU) will be equipped with new metrology systems to actively control the optical alignment of the new four-mirror Wide-Field Corrector (WFC) as it tracks sidereal motion with respect to the fixed primary mirror. These systems include a tip/tilt sensor (TTS), distance measuring interferometers (DMI), guide probes (GP), and wavefront sensors (WFS). While the TTS and DMIs are to monitor the mechanical alignment of the WFC, the WFSs and GPs will produce direct measurement of the optical alignment of the WFC with respect to the HET primary mirror. Together, these systems provide fully redundant alignment and pointing information for the telescope, thereby keeping the WFC in focus and suppressing alignment-driven field aberrations. We describe the current snapshot of these systems and discuss their roles, expected performance, and operation plans.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationModern Technologies in Space- and Ground-Based Telescopes and Instrumentation
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes
EventModern Technologies in Space- and Ground-Based Telescopes and Instrumentation - San Diego, CA, United States
Duration: Jun 27 2010Jul 2 2010

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume7739
ISSN (Print)0277-786X

Other

OtherModern Technologies in Space- and Ground-Based Telescopes and Instrumentation
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Diego, CA
Period6/27/107/2/10

Keywords

  • Active alignment
  • HETDEX
  • Hobby-Eberly Telescope
  • Metrology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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