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Cross-Disperser for the McMath-Pierce...(1Mar95) Solar-Stellar Spectrograph Completed! (from NSO, NOAO Newsletter No. 41, 1 March 1995) The cross-disperser was installed at the solar-stellar spectrograph following laboratory tests of the optical elements. The quality of the prism elements exceeded specs, and visual inspection of the output from an incandescent source showed sharp images with order separation ranging from very good in the red to excellent in the blue. The new cross-dispersed system is intended to yield simultaneous wavelength coverage extending from the K-line to about 700.0 nm with the 105 mm transfer lens and a large-format (1024 3072) CCD array. A paper describing the optical system in more detail appears in the Kona, HI, SPIE Proceedings, Instrumentation in Astronomy VIII", SPIE vol. 2198, p. 302 (1994). We will initially operate it in conjunction with our current TI 800 800 CCD while the rectangular array development and testing continues. Testing and characterization of the system at the telescope has begun. We will keep the user community advised of progress. The successful construction of the cross-disperser is due to the dedicated efforts and productive blending of individual talents in the areas of optical design, mechanical design and fabrication, and the specification of science goals and trade-offs. Congratulations! [Figure not included] The assembly above the solar-stellar spectrograph. The three prisms that serve as the cross-dispersing elements for the echelle grating are shown. Each successive prism is slightly larger than the preceding one, in order to avoid vignetting. The third (and largest) prism can be removed in order to enhance transmittance in the blue. The dot is a laser beam passing through the assembly. Mark Giampapa, Dave Jaksha, Ed Perkins, Jorge Simmons, Trudy Tilleman, Russ Cole
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