1,606 research outputs found
SiO overcoating and polishing of CFRP telescope panels
Development of carbon fiber reinforces plastic (CFRP) panel overcoating and polishing is structured in two parts. The first part utilized a short series of experiments to determine the feasibility of overcoating and polishing CFRP panels, and the second part employes a systematic approach to optimize techniques learned. Questions which required answers in the initial investigation are summarized. Tests were performedin the Steward Observatory's 2.2 Meter Vacuum Coating Chamber and began with 3 cm square pieces of CFRP facesheet material. Next, a 10 cm square and one-inch-thick CFPR-Aluminum core panel was tested. Tests were then conducted on a 0.5-meter-square Dornier panel (QUAD 4) with CFRP facesheets on two-inch aluminum Flexcore. To complete the initial study, a previously characterized 0.5 m Dornier panel (QUAD 23) was coated and hand polished. The mirror's optical performance was not affected by the SiO coating
Low temperature optical testing of CFRP telescope panels
Since 1984, low temperature optical tests were made of very lightweight mirror panels for use in balloon and space infrared and submillimeter telescopes. In order to accomplish this testing, an ambient pressure 0.5 meter test chamber operating from 20 to -80 C, developed techniques for measuring non-optical quality mirrors with phase modulation 10.6 micron interferometry, and created the interferogram reduction program. During the course of the program, nineteen mirrors from four manufactures were tested: carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) aluminum honeycomb sandwich panel mirrors, a CFRP sandwich panel with an added glass facesheet, and carbon fiber reinforced glass panels. The results of the panel development and test program are summarized
Three-meter balloon-borne telescope
The Three-Meter Balloon-Borne Telescope is planned as a general purpose facility for making far-infrared and submillimeter astronomical observations from the stratosphere. It will operate throughout the spectral range 30 microns to 1 millimeter which is largely obscurred from the ground. The design is an f/13.5 Cassegrain telescope with an f/1.33 3-meter primary mirror supported with a 3-axis gimbal and stabilization system. The overall structure is 8.0 m high by 5.5 m in width by 4.0 m in depth and weighs 2000 kg. This low weight is achieved through the use of an ultra lightweight primary mirror of composite construction. Pointing and stabilization are achieved with television monitoring of the star field, flex-pivot bearing supports, gyroscopes, and magnetically levitated reaction wheels. Two instruments will be carried on each flight; generally a photometric camera and a spectrometer. A 64-element bolometer array photometric camera operating from 30 to 300 microns is planned as part of the facility. Additional instruments will be derived from KAO and other development programs
Balloon-borne three-meter telescope for far-infrared and submillimeter astronomy
The scientific objectives, engineering analysis and design, results of technology development, and focal-plane instrumentation for a two-meter balloon-borne telescope for far-infrared and submillimeter astronomy are presented. The unique capabilities of balloon-borne observations are discussed. A program summary emphasizes the development of the two-meter design. The relationship of the Large Deployable Reflector (LDR) is also discussed. Detailed treatment is given to scientific objectives, gondola design, the mirror development program, experiment accommodations, ground support equipment requirements, NSBF design drivers and payload support requirements, the implementation phase summary development plan, and a comparison of three-meter and two-meter gondola concepts
Spatial Distributions of Multiple Dust Components in the PPN/PN Dust Shells
We investigate spatial distributions of specific dust components in the
circumstellar shells of a proto-planetary nebula candidate, HD 179821, and a
planetary nebula, BD3639, by means of spectral imaging. With
high-resolution ground-based images and ISO spectra in the mid-infrared, we can
derive ``dust feature only'' maps by subtracting synthesized continuum maps
from the observed images at the feature wavelength. Such spatially detailed
information will help to develop models for the evolution of dust grains around
evolved stars.Comment: 4 pages + 7 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference,
"Post-AGB Objects (proto-planetary nebulae) as a Phase of Stellar Evolution",
Torun, Poland, July 5-7, 2000, eds. R. Szczerba, R. Tylenda, and S.K. Gorny.
Figures have been degraded to minimize the total file siz
A disrupted circumstellar torus inside eta Carinae's Homunculus Nebula
We present thermal infrared images of the bipolar nebula surrounding eta
Carinae at six wavelengths from 4.8 to 24.5 microns. These were obtained with
the MIRAC3 camera system at the Magellan Observatory. Our images reveal new
intricate structure in the bright core of the nebula, allowing us to
re-evaluate interpretations of morphology seen in images with lower resolution.
Complex structures in the core might not arise from a pair of overlapping rings
or a cool (110 K) and very massive dust torus, as has been suggested recently.
Instead, it seems more likely that the arcs and compact knots comprise a warm
(350 K) disrupted torus at the intersection of the larger polar lobes. Some of
the arcs appear to break out of the inner core region, and may be associated
with equatorial features seen in optical images. The torus could have been
disrupted by a post-eruption stellar wind, or by ejecta from the Great Eruption
itself if the torus existed before that event. Kinematic data are required to
rule out either possibility.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures (Fig. 1 in color); to appear in ApJ Letter
Resolved Mid-Infrared Emission Around AB Aur and V892 Tau with Adaptive Optics Nulling Interferometric Observations
We present the results of adaptive optics nulling interferometric
observations of two Herbig Ae stars, AB Aur and V892 Tau. Our observations at
10.3 microns show resolved circumstellar emission from both sources. Further
analysis of the AB Aur emission suggests that there is an inclined disk
surrounding the star. The diameter of the disk is derived to be 24 to 30 AU
with an inclination of 45 to 65 degrees from face-on, and a major-axis PA of 30
+/- 15 degrees (E of N). Differences in the physical characteristics between
the mid-IR emission and emission at other wavelengths (near-IR and millimeter),
found in previous studies, suggest a complex structure for AB Aur's
circumstellar environment, which may not be explained by a disk alone. The
similarity in the observed size of AB Aur's resolved emission and that of
another Herbig Ae star, HD 100546, is likely coincidental, as their respective
evolutionary states and spectral energy distributions suggest significantly
different circumstellar environments.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Photometry using the Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope
We present several corrections for point source photometry to be applied to
data from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope.
These corrections are necessary because of characteristics of the IRAC arrays
and optics and the way the instrument is calibrated in-flight. When these
corrections are applied, it is possible to achieve a ~2% relative photometric
accuracy for sources of adequate signal to noise in an IRAC image.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in the Publications of
the Astronomical Society of the Pacifi
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