Post on 07-Jun-2020
The Maunakea Observatories sustained minor damage during the May 4 (6.9 mag) earthquake. Residents living near Kilauea (~50 km south of Hilo) are experiencing tragic volcanic eruptions…
CFHT Update
Doug Simons
CFHT Executive Director
Maunakea Observatories Background
CFHT Research Sampler
CFHT Instrumentation & Capabilities
The Most Powerful Collection of Telescopes in the World
MAUNAKEA OBSERVATORIES
A Wonderful Collaboration…At the Best Astronomy Site in the World
A billion dollar astronomical research complex
50 year legacy founded upon broadinternational partnerships
Unique source of high-tech jobs, educational resources, community engagement
Total Science Impact per Telescope(2016 – Courtesy D. Crabtree)
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MAUNAKEA
OBSERVATORIES
Smooth air flow across the summit minimizes turbulence, helping keep images steady and increasing resolution compared to most other high altitude sites Predominant East-West air flow,
unobstructed by land for thousands of miles before it reaches Hawaii
High altitude dry air allows more infrared and microwave radiation to reach the summit
than lower elevations
Low Humidity
Diurnal inversion layer frequently caps cloud tops below the summit
Most of the Maunakea observatories have been
optimized to take advantage of these conditions
At night this inversion layer helps block city lights from below
MAUNAKEA OBSERVATORIES
Radio/Microwave
LBO
Wide Field
High ResolutionInfrared
Diverse Capabilities → Collaborative Research
Commissioned in 1979, CFHT has a long history of innovation
First facility class adaptive optics system
First multi-object spectrometer
First integral field spectrometer
Largest digital camera
First to use 4x4k NIR sensor (H4RG)
Today CFHT specializes in -
O/IR panoramic imaging
Large surveys
Solar System
Exoplanets
Galaxies
Clusters, etc.
O/IR high-res spectroscopy and polarimetry
Imaging spectroscopy
EquatorialMount
3.6 m f/4primary
Prime Focus
Cass Focus + Fiber Feed
Dome Vents
5 instruments + Gemini Fiber Feed
The distinction between stars and brown dwarfs has always been based upon core fusion occurrence, but exactly what minimum mass leads to core fusion?
A comprehensive study by Dupuy (UT) and Liu (UH) finally empirically measured this minimum mass – 70 MJup
Minimum stellar surface temp – 1600 K
Measurements made at CFHT and Keck of 31 faint dwarf binaries (HST used too) Keck laser AO used to measure orbits of
binaries
CFHT WIRCAM used to measure astrometric reference grid around each binary
This minimum mass is slightly lower than the canonical 80 Mjup assumed for decades, based mostly upon theory
Star or Brown Dwarf?
Temporal Scale: 1 sec animation = 2 yrs real time
Observations of LSB galaxy Malin 1 (one of the largest disk galaxies known) made as part of NGVS
Bulk of Malin 1 composed of dark matter, extending well beyond its faint visible disk
Compared images in 6 bands (FUV, NUV, u, g, i, z) to various models, testing various assumptions about formation and evolution of Malin 1
Measured quiescent star formation rate over prolonged period suggests no violent collisions involved in formation of this giant disk galaxy – inconsistent with prevailing theories on formation of such large galaxies
Malin 1: A LSB Galaxy Discovered Years Ago – Still Has Surprises…
Ref: S. Boissier et al., 2016
Vennes et al. discovered an unusual white dwarf (LP 40-365), which may be the product of a failed type Ia supernova, resulting in the remnant white dwarf being jettisoned out of our galaxy Space velocity ~500 km/s
Devoid of hydrogen and helium –composed mostly of oxygen with traces of heavier elements
GRACES fiber system connecting Gemini/CFHT was used to record spectra of this high speed star KPNO and WHT used as well
Failed (subluminous) SN occurred ~50 Myr ago, a few kpc away
Failed Supernova
Origin of supernova and trajectories of remnant WD
First discovered by PanSTARRS, what was first thought to be a comet was quickly identified as the first detection of an object to visit our solar system from interstellar space
Hyperbolic orbit and 26 km/s speed
Karen Meech’s team at UH used CFHT to acquire some of the highest quality light curves for ‘Oumuamua, helping demonstrate its peculiar 10:1:1 shape and 7.5 hr rotation period
Name given by Ka’iu and Larry Kimura at UH Hilo and ImiloaAstronomy Center
Later adopted by IAU
1I/‘Oumuamua – A First in Many Ways
Meech et al., 2017
Associate Partners to CFHT established through renewable agreements and are structured to promote science and engineering collaboration
Associate Partners have –
Access to observe with all CFHT instrumentation, typically 5-10 nights per semester
Links to CFHT instrumentation and development projects (SPIRou, WIRCam, and MSE are recent/current examples)
Observer status on CFHT’s Science Advisory Council and Board
Means of stationing visiting scientists/engineers at CFHT’s Hawaii based facilities
Links to strategic interests in common with CFHT
Maunakea Observatories, students, future projects, etc.
Associate Partnerships
Status of CFHT Associate Partner Agreements –
Agreement with NAOC extends through 2018B hence seeking renewal now to ensure continuity of Chinese programs at CFHT
Agreement with ASIAA extends through 2019B with consistent demand for CFHT from Taiwan community
Brazil situation remains fluid – awaiting identification of funding to allow LNA to rejoin CFHT as an Associate Partner
Associate Partnerships
217 papers published in 2017 including CFHT data
Delivery of SPIRou
Numerous Discoveries
Innovative Community Outreach
Want to Learn More about CFHT?
MSE Status
Instrumentation
&
Facility Development
Photo: Don Mitchell
SPIRou
Ultra pure ~35 m fluoride fibers that transmit
through 2.5 µm
NIR high-res fiber-fed X-dispersed spectrometer
Single‐shot spectral domain 0.98‐2.4 μm (YJHK)
Resolution ~70k with ~1 m/s RV stability
Polarization measurements with <1% channel cross-talk
SPIRou Arrives Jan. 2018
SPIRou Being Assembled at CFHT
SPIRou Arrives at CFHT
SPIRou is CFHT’s latest instrument – a near infrared ultra-stable spectropolarimeter designed to search for exoplanets in the habitable zones of nearby low mass stars
SPIRou will be used to conduct a very large scale search for exoplanets from Maunakea - 300 nights via the Large Program CfP out now
Likely >500 nights of observing time over it’s lifetime
It is the first instrument to use a 1-2.5 µm H4RG near-infrared sensor and infrared transmitting fiber optics (transmits out to 2.5 µm)
If it meets performance specs, SPIRoushould, on average, detect a new planet each night it is used
SPIRou First Light a Few Weeks Ago…
Testing SPIRou via CFHT’s Remote Operations room
SPIRou – Current Status
Tests since delivery to CFHT show great promise for this instrument – arguably the most complex and ever built for CFHT
Throughput and velocity resolution need to be verified via on-sky tests this summer
Many low level noise sources can creep into the system – need to verify their combined effect through on-sky measurements
Anticipate large scale search for terrestrial class planets from CFHT starting this fall
CFHT’s Imaging FTS - SITELLE
Carbon Fiber Support Structure
Telescope Interface Plate
Control Electronics
Beam Splitter
CCD
Precision Scan Mirror
Filter Wheel & Calibration
CCD
In 2016 SITELLE joined MegaCam, WIRCam, and ESPaDOnS as a member of CFHT’s suite of facility class instruments
Depending on source brightness
R~3000-5000 is typical spectral resolution achieved
Scans require ~2-3 hours to complete
Short wavelength limit~380 nm
Powerful probe of emission line sources, absorption line sources TBD
CFHT’s Imaging FTS - SITELLE
Additional Instruments(MegaCam)
“Workhorse” instrument at CFHTMore papers have been generated by
MegaCam than all other instruments built for CFHT combined
340 Megapixel camera with 1°FoV
10 filters (BB+NB)
Well established data pipeline
Queue operated
Used to generate CFHT’s “Legacy Survey” containing ~40 million objects
Additional Instruments(Espadons)
R~70K fiber fed optical spectrometer, 370-1050 nm in one shot
Polarimetry mode used to study stellar magnetic fields
Fiber coupled to CFHT or Gemini
Currently ~1/3 of CFHT time allocated to Espadons
Additional Instruments(WIRCam)
1-2.5 µm imager
20x20 arcmin FoV
2x2 mosaic of H2RGs
Numerous BB and NB filters available
Bright time instrument
Astrometry
Precision photometry (transits)
Complements MegaCam
CFHT was among the first to migrate to remote observing, yielding a variety of benefits as a queue based observatory
Our most recent innovation is to adopt “SNR” queue operations
This is now the default mode for MegaCam and ESPaDOnS – our two most popular instruments
PI’s specify the SNR needed to support their program and observations are dynamically tuned to reach the desired SNR, instead of integrating a predetermined amount based upon various assumptions
Since most programs tended to overshoot SNR, the net effect has been to increase time available to all programs
Our Latest Operations Innovation
MegaCam SNR
ESPaDOnS SNR
Canada-France-Hawaii TelescopeMaunakea Spectroscopic Explorer
The Maunakea Observatories are a world leader in 21st century astronomy
With its diverse and modern instrumentation and operations, CFHT is among the most scientifically productive observatories on Maunakea
Innovation throughout the history of CFHT has been the secret to our success, and that innovation is taking us in even bolder directions in the future…