Questions tagged [adaptive-optics]
Questions about the technology to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of rapidly changing optical distortions.
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How would the "Fluidic Telescope (FLUTE)" next generation telescope make and control a smooth, correct concave optical surface figure in microgravity?
The January 10, 2023 NASA Ames Research Center news item Fluidic Telescope (FLUTE): Enabling the Next Generation of Large Space Observatories discusses a proposed project to study the feasibility of a ...
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How are the aberrations seen in early JWST images corrected?
I found this image on space.com and it can also be found in NASA's JWST blog. This is one step in the process of aligning the 18 mirrors on JWST. A single relatively-isolated star has been selected. ...
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JWST mirrors each can be "positioned in tip, tilt, piston, horizontal & vertical decentering and clocking". What does this mean?
This interesting paper by Robert Warden refers to each mirror segment on JWST as having six actuators providing six degrees of freedom in positioning (plus one more to tweak the curvature). These ...
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Why is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's field of view shaped like a PacMan "ghost"?
The Curious Droid YouTube video NASA's Mega Hubble - The Roman Space Telescope illustrates the shape of the telescope's field of view and the outline has a smile or frown shape. For whatever reason it ...
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Do point spread functions from large single telescopes using adaptive optics still look like Airy functions for narrow-band filters?
this answer to Claim that 30-m class telescopes will have resolution far superior to Hubble: true? mentions
...the possibility of attaining near diffraction-limited images using adaptive optics.
The ...
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How do they keep lights from guided lasers in adaptive optics from interfering with the image?
From amateur searching of the info, I can find no mention of the configuration of the lasers when they work. From these pictures, I imagine that those 4 lasers are just outside of the 4 corners of the ...
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Number of lenslets in wavefront sensor array
I have to do a short calculation, but, quite frankly, I have no idea how to even start...
Suppose you have a 10-m telescope (f/10) with an infrared camera that observes at 10 micrometer. The seeing is ...
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When using adaptive optics, what is the shortest timescale of atmospheric changes in refractive index that astronomers have to deal with?
I am interested in the astronomer's need for speed in wavefront correction, especially when measuring in NIR and visible domain.
What is the fastest abberation coming from atmospheric turbulence in ...
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How do HabEx's internal coronagraph and external starshade work together and complement each other? What is it that each can do that the other can't?
Limits of space telescope? links to the video 4 Future Space Telescopes NASA wants to build and that page links to The New Great Observatories. These cover the four space-based instruments proposed by ...
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Does a continuous deformable mirror cause diffuse reflection?
We have all seen images like this of deformable mirrors:
Continuous deformable mirrors are known to have a higher quality over segmented mirrors, but it seems to me that a continuous mirror (or even ...
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Deformable optics for consumer telescopes
I am aware that there are adaptive imaging techniques for amateur astronomers. But these methods correct an image on a screen. This is nice, but to me the real lure of amateur astronomy is the act of ...
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Why are Shack-Hartmann sensors so expensive (4k+ USD)?
Recently I am searching for a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor for university laboratory usage. I was expecting my target sensor to be cheap, which is:
Low spatial wavefront resolution (50 x 50) for ...
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Are digital adaptive optics possible?
Adaptive optics generally apply slight changes to mirrors to account for atmospheric turbulence. These generally require either a mirror to be broken up into smaller mirrors, each with their own ...
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Can weak gravitational lensing or microlensing-induced wavefront distortion limit resolution of absurdly large aperture telescopes?
This is a theoretical question.
This answer to the question If we had the right technology could we see a distant star in detail? (presumably space-based) primarily addresses the scaling of ...
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Adaptive Optics Shack-Hartmann Sensor and Deformable Mirror
I have a technical question regarding the Shack-Hartmann sensor in deformable mirrors. What algorithm is used to take the Shack-Hartmann measurements of local tilt and turn them into a full phase ...
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How did VLT's adaptive optics obtain this resolution for Neptune? Is it really working in visible wavelengths?
This image of Neptune taken with the VLT is really impressive. The resolution is achieved by recent improvements in the adaptive optics.
Gizmodo: New Super-Crisp Images of Neptune Show How Far Our ...
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What is tilt anisoplanatism for Laser-guide-star usage in adaptive optic systems?
How does tip-tilt mirrors correct such issue? What is the physical origin of the error?
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Why not use only one support vane for the secondary mirror, to avoid multiple diffraction spikes?
Each vane holding the secondary mirror in front of the primary causes a diffraction spike. Couldn't the secondary mirror be held with only one vane?
If stability is the issue, couldn't it be ...
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How difficult is adaptive optics computationally?
What kind of computer do you need to do adaptive optics of big telescopes? Are we talking supercomputer clusters or can my desktop do it, or my smartphone? I suppose it depends on the size of the ...
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Why was the (small) Hubble better able to find KBO targets for New Horizons than large adaptive optics ground telescopes?
When initial searches for a Kuiper Belt object for New Horizons to fly to after passing Pluto did not find good targets, the Hubble telescope was used, and it resulted in the current targeted flyby ...
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How large does refraction become in radioastronomy?
For atmospheric refraction of visible light, Wikipedia gives the order of 1 arc minute at 45° altitude above the horizon, and 5.3 arc minutes at 10°. This is caused by the dielectric polarizability of ...
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How do tip tilt mirrors correct distortion in adaptive optics?
I'm currently trying to learn about how adaptive optics correct the blurriness caused by atmospherical seeing effects. This is my current understanding of how adaptive optics works (trying to offer ...
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Instead of using flexible mirrors, could software be used for adaptive optics?
Telescopes that use adaptive optics now use flexible mirrors to adjust for distortions in the atmosphere. The mirrors are flexed in real time to account for the distortions. I am wondering if it ...
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Adaptive Optics observations worse than natural seeing observations for faint structures?
I have read that one drawback of Adaptive Optics (AO) IFU observations is that they have lower SNR (compared natural seeing observations) and as a result it is harder to observe faint structures. For ...
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V471 Tauri's circumbinary brown dwarf non-observation; Applegate, or over-restrictive assumptions?
tl;dr Has the brown dwarf observation been disproven?
I have just started reading about the interesting object V471 Tauri. The first two sentences of the introduction to The V471 Tauri System: A ...
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Will the E-ELT use Adaptive Optics at visible wavelengths?
In this recent BBC article I read that the European Extremely Large Telescope or E-ELT is in final design and is planned to be on line by 2024, and that (of course) it will rely heavily on adaptive ...
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Why aren't ground-based observatories using adaptive optics for visible wavelengths (circa 2016)?
Adaptive Optics (AO) techniques allow ground based observatories to dramatically improve resolution by actively compensating for the effects of Astronomical Seeing.
The atmospheric effects are quite ...
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Why weren't the Hubble light-echo images of V838 Monocerotis supplemented by ground telescopes?
Drawing from this answer to V838 Monocerotis “light-echo” images morphed into nice video, but why so few original images?
The V838 Monocerotis expansion (not a supernova) and the observation of the ...
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