The thermal control of the new solar telescope at Big Bear Observatory

Angelo P. Verdoni; Carsten Denker

doi:10.1117/12.671777

23 June 2006 The thermal control of the new solar telescope at Big Bear Observatory

Angelo P. Verdoni, Carsten Denker

Proceedings Volume 6267, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes; 62670M (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.671777
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2006, Orlando, Florida , United States

Abstract

We present the basic design of the THermal Control System (THCS) for the 1.6-meter New Solar Telescope (NST) at the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), California. The NST is an off-axis Gregorian telescope with an equatorial mount and an open support structure. Since the telescope optics is exposed to the air, it is imperative to control the local/dome seeing, i.e., temperature fluctuations along the exposed optical path have to be minimized. To accomplish this, a THCS is implemented to monitor the dome environment and interact with the louver system of the dome to optimize instrument performance. In addition, an air knife is used to minimize mirror seeing. All system components have to communicate with the Telescope Control System (TCS), a hierarchical system of computers linking the various aspects of the entire telescope system, e.g., the active mirror control, adaptive optics, dome and telescope tracking, weather station, etc. We will provide an initial thermal model of the dome environment and first measurements taken in the recently replaced BBSO dome.

Citation Download Citation

Angelo P. Verdoni and Carsten Denker "The thermal control of the new solar telescope at Big Bear Observatory", Proc. SPIE 6267, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes, 62670M (23 June 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.671777

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