Telescopes in the Wind
I
An Experiment at W.M. Keck Observatory on the Summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii
Isaac Crosson
UH Hilo Physicsand Astronomy
Department
Effects of the Wind on a Mountain-Top Observatory
Effects of the Wind on a Mountain-Top Observatory
Turbulence inside the dome deforms the
primary mirror and causes poor seeing conditions
Year
Evolution of Primary Mirror Diameter
MirrorSize
(Meters)
Year
Evolution of Primary Mirror Diameter
MirrorSize
(Meters)
0.9-Meter Lick Telescope
1887
Year
Evolution of Primary Mirror Diameter
MirrorSize
(Meters)
0.9-Meter Lick Telescope
188710-Meter
Keck Telescope1992
Year
Evolution of Primary Mirror Diameter
MirrorSize
(Meters)
0.9-Meter Lick Telescope
188710-Meter
Keck Telescope1992
Next-Generation Extremely Large Telescope
projects (ELTs)
Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton was the first
Permanent Mountain-Top Observatory
Gemini North Telescope, Mauna Kea Hawaii
Gemini North Telescope, Mauna Kea Hawaii
Precision Instruments and Controls
Gemini North Telescope, Mauna Kea Hawaii
Ventilation Gates
Extremely Large Telescope Projects
Extremely Large Telescope Projects
Primary Mirror Diameter 20-100 meters
Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)
Location to be determined
Projected to be complete by 2020
Predicting the Wind Effect
Computer Simulation (CFD)
Secondary Mirror
Predicting the Wind Effect
Computer Simulations (CFD)
Wind Tunnel Experiments
Predicting the Wind Effect
Computer Simulations
(CFD)
Wind Tunnel Experiments
Predicting the Wind Effect
Computer Simulations
(CFD)
Wind Tunnel Experiments
Current Generation
Large Telescopes
Golden Opportunity at the Commissioning of Gemini South
Predicting the Wind Effect
Computer Simulations
(CFD)
Wind Tunnel Experiments
Current Generation
Large Telescopes
Current Experiments at Keck II and Gemini North
Details of the Keck II Experiment
Details of the Keck II Experiment
Mauna Kea Weather Center Archives
Details of the Keck II Experiment
Mauna Kea Weather Center Archives
Drive Control System(DCS) Log Files
Data Records from the TMT Configuration
A Directory Containing Files from a single night
of Keck II Operations
Nightly Files Contain Column Data Headed by Engineering Codewords
Decided to use an Event-Based Log File
My Script synchronizes Keck data with TMT data
Wind disturbance is a primary concern for next-generation extremely large telescope projects.
Experiments at existing large telescopes are best, but these are costly and difficult.
Wind data collected at Keck is most useful when it is cross-referenced with telescope activity logs, and external weather data.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Thank you to my mentor Chris Neyman, lead observing assistant Barbara Schaefer, software guru Shui Kwok, and everyone else who helped me at
Keck Observatory!
Thank you to Sarah Anderson, David Le Mignant, Scott Seagroves, Hilary O'bryan, my fellow interns, and everyone on the CFAO Big Island Akamai team!
Thank you to George Angeli and the other wind team engineers at the TMT Project!
The Akamai Observatory Internship program is funded by the Center For Adaptive Optics, a National Science Foundation
Science and Technology Center (STC), AST-9876783
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