KAPAO first light: the design, construction and operation of a low-cost natural guide star adaptive optics system

Scott A. Severson; Philip I. Choi; Katherine E. Badham; Dalton Bolger; Daniel S. Contreras; Blaine N. Gilbreth; Christian Guerrero; Erik Littleton; Joseph Long; Lorcan P. McGonigle; William A. Morrison; Fernando Ortega; Alex R. Rudy; Jonathan R. Wong; Erik Spjut; Christoph Baranec; Reed Riddle

doi:10.1117/12.2056961

21 July 2014 KAPAO first light: the design, construction and operation of a low-cost natural guide star adaptive optics system

Scott A. Severson, Philip I. Choi, Katherine E. Badham, Dalton Bolger, Daniel S. Contreras, Blaine N. Gilbreth, Christian Guerrero, Erik Littleton, Joseph Long, Lorcan P. McGonigle, William A. Morrison, Fernando Ortega, Alex R. Rudy, Jonathan R. Wong, Erik Spjut, Christoph Baranec, Reed Riddle

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9148, Adaptive Optics Systems IV; 914839 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056961
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2014, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

We present the instrument design and first light observations of KAPAO, a natural guide star adaptive optics (AO) system for the Pomona College Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) 1-meter telescope. The KAPAO system has dual science channels with visible and near-infrared cameras, a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, and a commercially available 140-actuator MEMS deformable mirror. The pupil relays are two pairs of custom off-axis parabolas and the control system is based on a version of the Robo-AO control software. The AO system and telescope are remotely operable, and KAPAO is designed to share the Cassegrain focus with the existing TMO polarimeter. We discuss the extensive integration of undergraduate students in the program including the multiple senior theses/capstones and summer assistantships amongst our partner institutions. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0960343.

Citation Download Citation

Scott A. Severson, Philip I. Choi, Katherine E. Badham, Dalton Bolger, Daniel S. Contreras, Blaine N. Gilbreth, Christian Guerrero, Erik Littleton, Joseph Long, Lorcan P. McGonigle, William A. Morrison, Fernando Ortega, Alex R. Rudy, Jonathan R. Wong, Erik Spjut, Christoph Baranec, and Reed Riddle "KAPAO first light: the design, construction and operation of a low-cost natural guide star adaptive optics system", Proc. SPIE 9148, Adaptive Optics Systems IV, 914839 (21 July 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056961

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available