First whole atmosphere night-time seeing measurements at Dome C, Antarctica

We report site testing results obtained in night-time during the polar autumn and winter at Dome C. These results were collected during the first Concordia winterover by A. Agabi. They are based upon seeing and isoplanatic angle monitoring, as well as in-situ balloon measurements 2 of the refractive index structure constant profiles Cn (h). Atmosphere is divided into two regions: (i) a 36 m high surface layer responsible of 87% of the turbulence and (ii) a very stable free atmosphere above with a median seeing of 0.36+-0.19 arcsec at an elevation of h = 30 m. The median seeing measured with a DIMM placed on top of a 8.5 m high tower is 1.3+-0.8 arcsec.Comment: accepted for publication in PASP (oct 2005

The best skies for astronomy

Seminario impartido por Casiana Muñoz-Tuñón (IAC) el 15 de noviembre de 2016 en las Oficinas del CIAI en Santa Cruz de Tenerife

European Extremely Large Telescope Site Characterization II: High angular resolution parameters

This is the second article of a series devoted to European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) site characterization. In this article we present the main properties of the parameters involved in high angular resolution observations from the data collected in the site testing campaign of the E-ELT during the Design Study (DS) phase. Observations were made in 2008 and 2009, in the four sites selected to shelter the future E-ELT (characterized under the ELT-DS contract): Aklim mountain in Morocco, Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) in Spain, Mac\'on range in Argentina, and Cerro Ventarrones in Chile. The same techniques, instruments and acquisition procedures were taken on each site. A Multiple Aperture Scintillation Sensor (MASS) and a Differential Image Motion Monitor (DIMM) were installed at each site. Global statistics of the integrated seeing, the free atmosphere seeing, the boundary layer seeing and the isoplanatic angle were studied for each site, and the results are presented here. In order to estimate other important parameters such as the coherence time of the wavefront and the overall parameter "coherence \'etendue" additional information of vertical profiles of the wind speed was needed. Data were retrieved from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) archive. Ground wind speed was measured by Automatic Weather Stations (AWS). More aspects of the turbulence parameters such as their seasonal trend, their nightly evolution and their temporal stability were also obtained and analyzed.Comment: 46 pages and 17 figures. Accepted to be published in PAS

Medidas de la turbulencia atmosférica en los Observatorios de Canarias: técnica SCIDAR

Ponencia presentada en: 1er Encuentro sobre Meteorología y Atmósfera de Canarias, celebrado en el Puerto de la Cruz, los días 12,13 y 14 de noviembre de 2003. El encuentro estuvo organizado por el Centro Meteorológico Territorial en Canarias Occidental, con la colaboración del Observatorio Atmosférico de Izaña y del Grupo de Física de la Atmósfera de la Facultad de Física (Universidad de La Laguna)SCIDAR es una técnica que permite medir la turbulencia atmosférica (Ci (h)) ópticamente, así como la velocidad (V(h)) de esas capas turbulentas en función de la altura. El Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias ha comenzado un programa de caracterización de la turbulencia atmosférica en los observatorios de lzaña (Tenerife) y Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma). En esta contribución describimos la técnica SCIDAR y su aplicación a diferentes problemas científicos: óptica adaptativa y comunicaciones ópticas; y presentamos resultados estadísticos de perfiles de turbulencia atmosférica obtenidos en el observatorio de lzaña (Tenerife), así como su evolución temporal

Study of large hemispherical photomultiplier tubes for the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope, to be immersed depth in the Mediterranean Sea, will consist of a 3 dimensional matrix of 900 large area photomultiplier tubes housed in pressure resistant glass spheres. The selection of the optimal photomultiplier was a critical step for the project and required an intensive phase of tests and developments carried out in close collaboration with the main manufacturers worldwide. This paper provides an overview of the tests performed by the collaboration and describes in detail the features of the PMT chosen for ANTARES

Application d'un modèle atmosphérique à l'étude des fluctuations d'indice de réfraction dans la couche limite (influence de la scintillation sur l'analyse de front d'onde)

LA TURBULENCE ATMOSPHERIQUE PEUT LIMITER SERIEUSEMENT LA RESOLUTION DES SYSTEMES D'IMAGERIE, EN PARTICULIER POUR DES SYSTEMES SITUES DANS LA COUCHE LIMITE ATMOSPHERIQUE (CLA). L'OPTIQUE ADAPTATIVE DEVELOPPEE POUR L'ASTRONOMIE SEMBLE ETRE UNE SOLUTION PROMETTEUSE POUR CES APPLICATIONS. DANS CETTE PERSPECTIVE, CE TRAVAIL DE THESE A CONSISTE A MODELISER LE NIVEAU DES FLUCTUATIONS D'INDICE DE REFRACTION DANS LA CLA ET A EVALUER L'IMPACT DES FLUCTUATIONS D'INTENSITE SUR LA MESURE DE FRONT D'ONDE EFFECTUEE PAR UN ANALYSEUR DE HARTMANN-SHACK. DANS UNE PREMIERE PARTIE, LA MODELISATION DES FLUCTUATIONS D'INDICE DE REFRACTION (C 2 N) AVEC LE MODELE ATMOSPHERIQUE MESONH A ETE ETUDIEE. EN EFFET, LA REPARTITION DE LA TURBULENCE OPTIQUE JOUE UN ROLE PRIMORDIAL SUR LE TAUX DE SCINTILLATION. OR LES LOIS DE SIMILITUDE 1D UTILISEES AUJOURD'HUI NE DONNENT ACCES QU'AUX PROFILS DE C 2 N. L'UTILISATION D'UN MODELE METEOROLOGIQUE PERMET DE PRENDRE EN COMPTE LA VARIABILITE SPATIALE DU C 2 N. CES ETUDES SONT EFFECTUEES EN MODE LARGE EDDY SIMULATION (LES) DE FACON A REPRESENTER LA TURBULENCE 3D DE LA COUCHE LIMITE ATMOSPHERIQUE. ELLES MONTRENT L'IMPORTANCE DU SCHEMA SOUS-MAILLE POUR DES APPLICATIONS DE MODELISATION OPTIQUE. LA SIMULATION DE LA COUCHE LIMITE DE SURFACE PAR LES EST EFFECTUEE EN MODIFIANT LE SCHEMA SOUS-MAILLE TURBULENT A L'APPROCHE DU SOL. DANS UNE DEUXIEME PARTIE, L'EFFET DE LA SCINTILLATION SUR L'ANALYSE DE FRONT D'ONDE A ETE EVALUE. CETTE ETUDE EST D'ABORD MENEE DANS LE CAS DES FAIBLES PERTURBATIONS PUIS ETENDUE AU CAS FORTEMENT TURBULENT, PLUS REPRESENTATIF DE LA COUCHE LIMITE ATMOSPHERIQUE. POUR CELA, UNE SIMULATION NUMERIQUE DE LA PROPAGATION OPTIQUE EN ONDE SPHERIQUE A ETE DEVELOPPEE.NICE-BU Sciences (060882101) / SudocMEUDON-Observatoire (920482302) / SudocSudocFranceF