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uc:uc20230627_june_27_2023 [2023/06/27 18:22]
nchanove |
uc:uc20230627_june_27_2023 [2023/06/27 18:43] (current)
nchanove |
| John Wilson gave a status update on the new echelle spectrograph, which is currently in the conceptual design phase. The hope that we can have a lot of community engagement with the development of the instrument. The broad goal is to develop a replacement for ARCES, which has been a tremendous workhorse instrument for the 3.5m users for the past 20 years, to serve user needs for another 20 years. | John Wilson gave a status update on the new echelle spectrograph, which is currently in the conceptual design phase. The hope that we can have a lot of community engagement with the development of the instrument. The broad goal is to develop a replacement for ARCES, which has been a tremendous workhorse instrument for the 3.5m users for the past 20 years, to serve user needs for another 20 years. |
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| Work is underway for a conceptual design, with the goals of producing a high throughput spectrograph that operates from 350-1000 nm using state-of-the-art techniques for building it. The nominal resolution is similar to that of ARCES: R ~ 30k or higher. We foresee a white pupil spectrograph design (most echelles in the last 20 years have moved to this) with dual arms, one for the blue portion and one for the red. This enables us to tailor the cross disepersion and camera prescriptions for both ranges. We are planning an atmospheric dispersion corrector to address light loss at edges of band and tip-tilt image stabilization to remove jitter introduced from both from atmospheric turbulence and telescope vibrations, along with a slit mechanism and slit viewer camera. One open question is whether there is community interest in having a 2-slice image slicer. If one imagines having a circular spot of the target at slit, the slicer would divide the spot into 2 halves and enables us to double the resolution (with the high res mode getting to ~ 60k). The design team wants to get a sense from community regarding whether such a mode would be of interest since it has ramifications for detector sampling. Please consider this and talk to your users and provide feedback to Nancy. We also plan to develop and deliver a data reduction software suite. | Work is underway on a conceptual design, with the goal of producing a high throughput spectrograph that operates from 350-1000 nm using state-of-the-art techniques for building it. The nominal resolution is expected to be similar to that of ARCES: R ~ 30k or higher. We foresee a white pupil spectrograph design (most echelles in the last 20 years have moved to this) with dual arms, one for the blue portion and one for the red. This enables us to tailor the cross disepersion and camera prescriptions for both spectral ranges. We are planning an atmospheric dispersion corrector to address light loss at the edges of the bands and tip-tilt image stabilization to remove jitter introduced from both from atmospheric turbulence and telescope vibrations, along with a slit mechanism and slit viewer camera. One open question is whether there is community interest in having a 2-slice image slicer. If one imagines having a circular spot of the target at the slit, the slicer would divide the spot into 2 halves and enables us to double the resolution (with the high res mode getting to ~ 60k). The design team wants to get a sense from community regarding whether such a mode would be of interest since it has ramifications for detector sampling. **Please consider this and talk to your users and provide feedback to Nancy.** We also plan to develop and deliver a data reduction software suite. |
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| In terms of current activities, we recently took one half-night to use DSSI for high cadence sampling images at NA2 port to characterize how the image spots move around at high cadence. This allows us to say something about the predicted efficacy of a tip-tilt system down to about ~ 27 Hz. Additionally, Randy Hammond from the JHU Instrument Development Group is coming to APO in July to examine NA1 port and telescope structure. A science tiger team has been stood up and had one meeting so far; the purpose of that group is to provide guidance regarding what the community's desires are, have a place to vet ideas, etc. | In terms of current activities, we recently took one half-night to use DSSI for high cadence sampling images at the NA2 port to characterize how the image spots move around at high cadence. This allows us to say something about the predicted efficacy of a tip-tilt system down to about ~ 27 Hz. Additionally, Randy Hammond from the JHU Instrument Development Group is coming to APO in July to examine NA1 port and telescope structure. A science tiger team has been stood up and had one meeting so far; the purpose of that group is to provide guidance regarding what the community's desires are, have a place to vet ideas, etc. |
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| Near term goals: we are currently in the conceptual design phase, and hope to have a Conceptual Design Review by the end of CY23 or early 2024. We may also have a refined survey of the user community for people to weigh in on science needs. To reiterate, the instrument development team is really interested in getting feedback and engagement from the ARC community so that they can deliver an instrument that meets the needs of the community. As a more practical requirement, the funding environment for instrumentation is challenging and we will need to develop well thought out science cases to pursue funding opportunities. | As for near term goals, we are currently in the conceptual design phase and hope to have a Conceptual Design Review by the end of CY23 or early 2024. We may also have a refined survey of the user community for people to weigh in on science needs. To reiterate, the instrument development team is really interested in getting feedback and engagement from the ARC community so that they can deliver an instrument that meets the needs of the community. As a more practical requirement, the funding environment for instrumentation is challenging and we will need to develop well thought out science cases to pursue funding opportunities. |
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| Chip indicated that having an R~60k mode would enable lots of science, for example stellar abundance work like Caty Pilachowsky at Indiana University is doing. Kevin countered that for solar or giant type stars there is no scientific advantage for R~30k or 60k. | Chip indicated that having an R~60k mode would enable lots of science, for example stellar abundance work like Caty Pilachowski at Indiana University is doing. Kevin countered that for solar or giant type stars there is no scientific advantage of R~60k over R~30k. |
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| === Training update === | === Training update === |
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| book-keeping | Nancy mentioned three items: |
| surveys | - We are aware that the list of trained individuals on the APO web site is outdated. We have been maintaining a separate list and will be merging that with the online list to ensure that the information presented online is current. |
| heads-up for Q4 | - For those who come to APO for training visits, please urge all training participants to complete the evaluation form provided by Nancy. We strive to continually improve our training offerings but we need to hear from recent trainees about what worked well and what can be improved. |
| | - We are expecting at least three class visits during Q4, maybe more. **All institutions planning to bring classes to APO in Q4 should let us know ASAP so that we can prepare and begin to head off potential schedule conflicts.** |
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| === June AAS meeting recap === | === June AAS meeting recap === |
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| New backdrops for booth, ppl liked swag - great contacts | The June 2023 AAS meeting in Albuquerque was a success. We have new backdrops and banners for the booth, which looked really nice, and people liked the swag we gave out. The talk about APO that Nancy gave in the special session about astronomy in New Mexico was well received and generated interest, questions, and potential opportunities for new collaborations. |
| good talks, interest, areas for new collab | |
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| New action items from this meeting: | New action items from this meeting: |
| | * UC reps: remind your users to let us know ASAP if they need any KOSMOS slit widths that are not listed in the planned set to be delivered in August. |
| | * UC reps: ask your users to review the instrumentation notes above and provide Nancy with feedback if they have any. |
| | * UC reps: ask your institutional colleagues to notify us ASAP if they are planning to bring a class to APO in Q4. |
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