UK Programme for the European Extremely Large Telescope
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Included in the "UK Programme for the European Extremely large Telescope".
Planned Impact
Included in the "UK Programme for the European Extremely large Telescope - Pathways to Impact".
Organisations
- Durham University (Lead Research Organisation)
- European Southern Observatory (ESO) (Collaboration)
- University of Bath (Collaboration)
- National Institute for Astrophysics (Collaboration)
- Heriot-Watt University (Collaboration)
- German Aerospace Centre (DLR) (Collaboration)
- Observatory of Paris (Collaboration)
Publications
Schaerer D
(2018)
The ELT-MOS (MOSAIC): towards the construction phase
Sinquin B
(2020)
On-sky results for adaptive optics control with data-driven models on low-order modes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Young LK
(2018)
Compact, modular and in-plane AOSLO for high-resolution retinal imaging.
in Biomedical optics express
Younger E
(2018)
Phase A AO system design and performance for MOSAIC at the ELT
Younger E
(2018)
A modular design for the MOSAIC AO real-time control system
Description | Delivery of UK components of the Phase A study for the European Extremely Large Telescope Multi-Object Instrument MOSAIC. |
Exploitation Route | Further opportunities for UK researchers and companies to be involved in the development and use of the European Extremely Large Telescope. |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Electronics Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |
URL | https://elt.eso.org/instrument/MOSAIC/ |
Description | UK involvement in the European Extremely Large Telescope has led to a number of non academic impacts - listed in various reports to the STFC UK ELT Steering Committee. |
First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Electronics,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Title | On-sky open-loop WFS measurements |
Description | A collection of on-sky measured open-loop wavefront sensor data (and assocaited meta-data required to understand and describe the observations) was prepared and has been recently released to the community. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | None to date - only released in the last 2 months. |
URL | https://www.eso.org/sso/login |
Title | SCIDAR at the ING |
Description | A high-vertical resolution optical turbulence profiler was developed and installed on the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope. Observations made in support of the CANARY instrument were used to create a database of turbulence profiles that are of sufficient vertical resolution to design and characterise instruments for the future set of extremely large telescopes. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2015 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The Thirty Metre Telescope project used the database of atmospheric profiles measured using the SCIDAR instrument to select La Palma as the backup operating site for the major US astronomical facilty. |
Title | Sodium Profiling at the INT |
Description | The mesosphere contains a layer of sodium atoms that are excited by a laser to provide a wavefront reference for the adaptive optics systems. The density and distribution on the sodium profile varies with time and to date, the only high-vertical resolution profiles available to the communtiy were measured in Northern Canada. As this distribution of sodium atoms can be affected by latitude, measurment of the sodium profiles at high vertical and temporal (~0.1-1s) resoultion from alternative location, such as La Palma is essential. A high resolution vertical profiler was installed at the INT telescope in La Palma and an initial data release and analysis code is being prepared. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Profiles from the original 6 nights of measurements are being released, but additional measurements that will be made during upcoming observing runs will provide a statistically representatve dataset compared to existing profile data from Canada. |
Description | Astrophotonics |
Organisation | Heriot-Watt University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We provided access and calibration, alignment and operations support for experiment integration to the CANARY instrument for on-sky tests for novel astrophotonic components. |
Collaborator Contribution | Herriot-Watt and Bath provided the devices, built the back-end instrumentation, and were involved in the on-sky testing of the devices. |
Impact | Several publications and on-going collaboration through the ERC H2020 OPTICON program, |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Astrophotonics |
Organisation | University of Bath |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We provided access and calibration, alignment and operations support for experiment integration to the CANARY instrument for on-sky tests for novel astrophotonic components. |
Collaborator Contribution | Herriot-Watt and Bath provided the devices, built the back-end instrumentation, and were involved in the on-sky testing of the devices. |
Impact | Several publications and on-going collaboration through the ERC H2020 OPTICON program, |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Investigations of laser uplink correction for increasing optical communications bandwidth to satellites |
Organisation | European Southern Observatory (ESO) |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | We designed, built, installed and operated a sodium laser guide star monitoring camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope that was used to measure and feedback position information of a laser launched from a small 45cm diameter telescope situated ~400m from the INT. The goal is to assess how well a communications laser launched from the ground could be stabilized at a LEO/GEO satellite. We also operated the laser traffic control system required to avoid interference of the laser work with the astronomical observations being undertaken at |
Collaborator Contribution | ESO provided the Laser and communications interface, DLR provided an additional auxiliary telescope for measuring and feeding back position from an alternative location. |
Impact | None to date - access to data recorded by DLR instruments requires a formal collaboration agreement to access that is still under negotiation. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Investigations of laser uplink correction for increasing optical communications bandwidth to satellites |
Organisation | German Aerospace Centre (DLR) |
Department | DLR Munich |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We designed, built, installed and operated a sodium laser guide star monitoring camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope that was used to measure and feedback position information of a laser launched from a small 45cm diameter telescope situated ~400m from the INT. The goal is to assess how well a communications laser launched from the ground could be stabilized at a LEO/GEO satellite. We also operated the laser traffic control system required to avoid interference of the laser work with the astronomical observations being undertaken at |
Collaborator Contribution | ESO provided the Laser and communications interface, DLR provided an additional auxiliary telescope for measuring and feeding back position from an alternative location. |
Impact | None to date - access to data recorded by DLR instruments requires a formal collaboration agreement to access that is still under negotiation. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Investigations of laser uplink correction for increasing optical communications bandwidth to satellites |
Organisation | National Institute for Astrophysics |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We designed, built, installed and operated a sodium laser guide star monitoring camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope that was used to measure and feedback position information of a laser launched from a small 45cm diameter telescope situated ~400m from the INT. The goal is to assess how well a communications laser launched from the ground could be stabilized at a LEO/GEO satellite. We also operated the laser traffic control system required to avoid interference of the laser work with the astronomical observations being undertaken at |
Collaborator Contribution | ESO provided the Laser and communications interface, DLR provided an additional auxiliary telescope for measuring and feeding back position from an alternative location. |
Impact | None to date - access to data recorded by DLR instruments requires a formal collaboration agreement to access that is still under negotiation. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | OPTICON Community Access programme |
Organisation | Observatory of Paris |
Department | Laboratory for Space Science and Astrophysical Instrumentation |
Country | France |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | We operate , support and administer a community access programme to the CANARY instrument for people who wish to test new instrumentation in a realistic observatory environment. |
Collaborator Contribution | Paris Observatory (LESIA) help support the on-sky operations |
Impact | None so far - first on-sky run planned for July 2019 |
Start Year | 2017 |
Title | HARMONI PDR L-NGS design study |
Description | The design and performance analysis document for the HARMONI natural guide star WFSing system for the LTAO system. |
Type Of Technology | Systems, Materials & Instrumental Engineering |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Impact | The LTAO system, of which this is a critical component has been officially included within the HARMONI instrument, meaning that the full scientific potential of this major UK-led instrument can now be realised. |
Title | MOSAIC Phase A design |
Description | The preliminary design of the MOSAIC instrument. Durham specifically delivered the design and documentation for the instrument main structure, and the adaptive optics system. |
Type Of Technology | Systems, Materials & Instrumental Engineering |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Impact | Design accepted by the observatory and review passed. |