Michigan Infrared Combiner (MIRC): commissioning results at the CHARA Array

Autor: Jean Philippe Berger, Ettore Pedretti, Nathalie Thureau, John D. Monnier, Ming Zhao, L. Sturmann, Rafael Millan-Gabet, Judit Sturmann, Phil Muirhead, A. Tannirkulam, Harold A. McAlister, T. ten Brummelaar, Scott Webster
Přispěvatelé: Monnier, John D., Schöller, Markus, Danchi, William C.
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2006
Předmět:
Popis: The Michigan Infrared Combiner (MIRC) has been designed for two primary goals: 1) imaging with all six CHARA telescopes simultaneously in the near-infrared, 2) direct detection of "hot Jupiter" exoplanets using precision closure phases. In September 2005, MIRC was commissioned on-sky at the CHARA Array on Mt. Wilson, CA, successfully combining light from 4 telescopes simultaneously. After a brief overview of MIRC features and design philosophy, we provide detailed description of key components and present results of laboratory tests. Lastly, we present first results from the commissioning run, focusing on engineering performance. We also present remarkable on-sky closure phase results from the first night of recorded data with the best-ever demonstrated closure phase stability and precision (ΔΦ = 0.03 degrees).
Databáze: OpenAIRE