Instrumentation Projects
Observers interested in current performance information or anything else useful for preparing proposals, observing, or reducing data should visit the web site of the observatory to which the instrument in question was delivered.
Current Projects
MONSOON
The Monsoon Image Acquisition system is the NOAO solution for scalable, multi-channel high-speed image acquisition systems required for next generation projects. Monsoon is designed to be flexible enough to support CCD, CMOS and IR diode imaging arrays. MONSOON systems are being deployed in a number of systems: Indiana University FHiRE instrument for WIYN; IFAE (Barcelona); and the Dark Energy Survey DECam. NEWFIRM MONSOON (IR) and QUOTA MONSOON (CCD) have had first light.
SAM
The SOAR Adaptive optics Module (SAM) project for the SOAR telescope aims to provide a system capable of delivering significantly improved seeing over a 1-2 arcminute field in the visible wavelengths. It will exploit a new technique called “ground layer compensation” to correct for the turbulence caused by the first few thousand meters of atmosphere above the site, using a Rayleigh laser guide star to provide full sky coverage. It is being designed and built at NOAO-South in La Serena.
KOSMOS (Kitt Peak Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph)
A new optical spectrograph for the 4Meter telescope at Kitt Peak Observatory. This instrument will be a copy
of the Ohio State MultiObject Spectrograph (OSMOS),
modified for use on the KPNO 4-m Mayall telescope, and will be a joint venture between NOAO and Ohio State University.
The project is being funded by a supplemental award granted to NOAO by the National Science Foundation for
the ReSTAR program.
ODI
The One Degree Imager is a new wide field optical imaging capability to be deployed at WIYN in 2011. The imager uses orthogaonal transfer CCDs arranged in a mosaic of 64 4Kx4K devices. Fully configuarable guide regions may be defined on each device to provide tip tilt wavefront sensing accross the entire one degree field. The imager is expected to produce excellent images at WIYN providing a unique combination of field coverage and image quality.
DECam
The Dark Energy Camera is an international collaborative project led at Fermilab which will deploy a 2 degree field of view optical imager at the Blanco 4m at CTIO . The camera uses MONSOON controllers built at Fermilab and CCDs from the Lawrence Berkeley Labs. DECam will be used to carry out the Dark Energy Survey which seeks to understand the nature of Dark Energy.
Gemini
Gemini and its partners are developing several new capabilities for near term deployment. Chief among these is the multi conjugate adaptive optics system (MCAO ) for Gemini South, and its two intruments: Flamingos-2 , a near infrared MOS which will be deployed initially in seeing limited mode, and GSAOI , a near infrared imager.
Recent Projects
GNIRS
The Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph is a moderate resolution near-infrared (0.9-5.5 microns) spectrograph. It was delivered to Gemini South in October 2003, and began science use in February 2004. GNIRS is currently being rebuilt following an accident and will be deployed at Gemini North in 2009.
NEWFIRM
The NOAO Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Imager offers well-sampled coverage of a 28x28 arcminute field of view at the Cassegrain focus of the NOAO 4-meter facilities. NEWFIRm is deployed on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at KPNO, with commissioning on the CTIO Blanco 4-meter to follow.
TSIP: Telescope System Instrumentation Program
TSIP
is an NSF funded program to develop instrument capability in the US ground-based O/IR System . The funds are allocated through competetive peer review and go to non-Federal facilities (primarily 6.5m aperture and greater). A list of TSIP funded instruments is given here . The Keck, LBT, MMT, and Magellan observatories all have current TSIP instruments in development and/or recently deployed.
