Improvements in optical telescope performance through adaptive optics: results from the National Solar Observatory prototype adaptive optics system

Steve P. Doinidis; Wiley E. Thompson

doi:10.1117/12.213063

5 July 1995 Improvements in optical telescope performance through adaptive optics: results from the National Solar Observatory prototype adaptive optics system

Steve P. Doinidis, Wiley E. Thompson

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2484, Signal Processing, Sensor Fusion, and Target Recognition IV; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.213063
Event: SPIE's 1995 Symposium on OE/Aerospace Sensing and Dual Use Photonics, 1995, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Earth-based telescopes are limited in their performance primarily by aberrations introduced to the light by the atmosphere. This problem can be compensated for by the introduction of an adaptive optics (AO) system, and at the National Solar Observatory at Sunspot, New Mexico, work has been underway to develop a real time (100 - 300 Hz) AO system to work in concert with a number of major instruments at the Vacuum Tower Telescope. A prototype system sharing many components of the final system has been assembled and tested, and preliminary tests of this system suggest that it may be suitable for actual use as a correcting element in situations where small, low-order optical aberrations are present. The prototype system and its performance are presented here.

Citation Download Citation

Steve P. Doinidis and Wiley E. Thompson "Improvements in optical telescope performance through adaptive optics: results from the National Solar Observatory prototype adaptive optics system", Proc. SPIE 2484, Signal Processing, Sensor Fusion, and Target Recognition IV, (5 July 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.213063

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