OSIRIS software: the Mask Designer Tool

OSIRIS is a Day One instrument that will be available at the 10m GTC telescope which is being built at La Palma observatory in the Canary Islands. This optical instrument is designed to obtain wide-field narrow-band images using tunable filters and to do low-resolution spectroscopy in both long-slit and multislit modes. For the multislit spectroscopy mode, we have developed a software to assist the observers to design focal plane masks. In this paper we describe the characteristics of this Mask Designer tool. We discuss the main design concepts, the functionality and particular features of the software.     

OSIRIS: AO-assisted integral-field spectroscopy at the Keck Observatory

OSIRIS (OH-Suppressing Infra-Red Integral-field Spectrograph) is a new facility instrument for the Keck Observatory. After seeing first light in February 2005, OSIRIS is currently undergoing commissioning. OSIRIS provides the capability of performing three-dimensional spectroscopy in the near-infrared z, J, H, and K bands at the resolution limit of the Keck II telescope, which is equipped with adaptive optics and a laser guide star. The science case for OSIRIS is summarized, and the instrument and associated data reduction software are described.     

NAHUAL: a near‐infrared high‐resolution spectrograph for the GTC optimized for studies of ultracool dwarfs

We present the status of an ongoing study for a high‐resolution near‐infrared echelle spectrograph for the 10.4‐m GTC (Gran Telescopio de Canarias) which will soon start operating at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on the island of La Palma. The main science driver of this instrument, which we have baptized NAHUAL, is to carry out a high precision radial velocity survey of exoplanets around ultracool dwarfs. NAHUAL is being especially designed to achieve the highest possible accuracy for radial velocity measurements. The goal is to reach an accuracy of a few m/s. It is thus required that the instrument is cross‐dispersed and that it covers simultaneously a wide wavelength range. Absorption cells will be placed in front of the slit which will allow a simultaneous self‐reference similar to an iodine‐cell in the optical regime. It is planned to place the instrument at one of the Nasmyth platform of the GTC behind the Adaptive Optics system. Our current design reaches a maximum spectral resolution of λ/Δλ = 50000 with a slit width of 0.175 arcsec, and gives nearly complete spectral coverage from 900 to 2400 nm. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An Optical Intermediate Dispersion Spectrograph for the GTC

ODIN is an international consortium constituted to design and build a first-light multi-purpose optical intermediate dispersion spectrograph for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC, 10-m) to be installed at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma). This instrument should fulfill an important fraction of the needs of the Spanish astronomical community in optical spectroscopy performed at large telescopes, and must be highly competitive in a variety of research fields. We are proposing a spectrograph that will be capable of providing multi-object observations by means of optical fibers, integral field spectroscopy, and also multi-integral fields. It will be mounted at the Nasmyth focus of the GTC. One of the main drivers of our proposal is to cover the whole visible range allowed by the atmospheric cut-off with the highest efficiency, particularly at the UV end. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The EMIR Near-Infrared Multi-Object Spectrograph for GTC

EMIR is a near-infrared (NIR) multi-object spectrograph (MOS) proposed for first-generation common user instrument of the Gran Telescopio Canarias GTC. It has three observing modes: imaging, multiobject spectroscopy and integral-field spectroscopy, in the NIR Z, J, H and K bands. The design uses cryogenic multislit masks to allow simultaneous spectroscopy of up to approximately 50 objects. The spectral resolution R=5000 allows for effective "see through" the OH line forest that dominates the J and H sky backgrounds. EMIR addresses one of the fundamental goals of large telescopes, the spectroscopy of large quantities of faint sources. Science applications include young stellar objects embedded in molecular clouds, brown dwarfs, stellar clusters, resolved population in external galaxies and distant galaxies. EMIR is being designed by a consortium of Spanish, UK and French Institutes. Project updates and information will be posted at http://www.ucm.es/info/emir/. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Outgassing-induced effects in the rotational state of comet 67P/Churyumov—Gerasimenko during the Rosetta mission

The new target of the Rosetta mission is comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P/C-G). In order to support the planning of the mission, in particular the strategy during the mapping and landing phases, we have performed numerical simulations of the rotational evolution of a comet in the orbit of 67P/C-G. In these simulations, the currently known observational constraints have been taken into account and a large set of initial conditions were considered. For most of the simulations, we observe that the sublimation-induced torques produce significant changes in the rotational parameters of a 67P/C-G-like comet. Typical rates of change for the spin period from the rendezvous up to the end of the nominal mission range from 0.001 to depending on different circumstances as described in the text. At perihelion, rates of change of the orientation of the angular momentum vector amount to about 0.01-. These simulations suggest that a specific strategy should be defined in order to monitor likely variations of the rotational parameters. As an example we show a possible optimized schedule for observations with the OSIRIS instrument to determine the rotational parameters of comet 67P/C-G and their possible evolution.     

Observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 around the Deep Impact event by the OSIRIS cameras onboard Rosetta

The OSIRIS cameras on the Rosetta spacecraft observed Comet 9P/Tempel 1 from 5 days before to 10 days after it was hit by the Deep Impact projectile. The Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) monitored the cometary dust in 5 different filters. The Wide Angle Camera (WAC) observed through filters sensitive to emissions from OH, CN, Na, and OI together with the associated continuum. Before and after the impact the comet showed regular variations in intensity. The period of the brightness changes is consistent with the rotation period of Tempel 1. The overall brightness of Tempel 1 decreased by about 10% during the OSIRIS observations. The analysis of the impact ejecta shows that no new permanent coma structures were created by the impact. Most of the material moved with . Much of it left the comet in the form of icy grains which sublimated and fragmented within the first hour after the impact. The light curve of the comet after the impact and the amount of material leaving the comet ( of water ice and a presumably larger amount of dust) suggest that the impact ejecta were quickly accelerated by collisions with gas molecules. Therefore, the motion of the bulk of the ejecta cannot be described by ballistic trajectories, and the validity of determinations of the density and tensile strength of the nucleus of Tempel 1 with models using ballistic ejection of particles is uncertain.     

The GTC: An Advanced 10m Telescope for the ORM

The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) is a high performance 10-m class telescope whose construction has been promoted by the IAC (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias). It will be installed at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM), in the island of La Palma. First light is planned for end-2002. The key science drivers for the project are image quality, operational efficiency and reliability, as emphasized in the Conceptual Design Document which was finished in mid-97. The Preliminary Design is now proceeding on all aspects of the project. The GTC Project is presently funded at the 70% level by Spain. The scientific drives behind the GTC project are described here, as well as the current technical, managerial, and operational baseline. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tvashtar awakening detected in April 2006 with OSIRIS at the W.M. Keck Observatory

We detected a volcanic outburst in Io's northern hemisphere on 17 April 2006 with the OSIRIS imaging spectrometer at Keck, and confirmed it was still erupting on 2 June 2006. The eruption, which we name 060417A, was located in Tvashtar Paterae, ∼100 km southeast of the February 2000 eruption. The observed temperature was , over a surface area of , providing a total thermal output of .     

Visible–near infrared spectral indices for mapping mineralogy and chemistry with OSIRIS‐REx

The primary objective of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS‐REx) mission is to return to Earth a pristine sample of carbonaceous material from the primitive asteroid (101955) Bennu. To support compositional mapping of Bennu as part of sample site selection and characterization, we tested 95 spectral indices on visible to near infrared laboratory reflectance data from minerals and carbonaceous meteorites. Our aim was to determine which indices reliably identify spectral features of interest. Most spectral indices had high positive detection rates when applied to spectra of pure, single‐component materials. The meteorite spectra have fewer and weaker absorption features and, as a result, fewer detections with the spectral indices. Indices targeting absorptions at 0.7 and 2.7–3 μm, which are attributable to hydrated minerals, were most successful for the meteorites. Based on these results, we identified a set of 17 indices that are most likely to be useful at Bennu. These indices detect olivines, pyroxenes, carbonates, water/OH‐bearing minerals, serpentines, ferric minerals, and organics. Particle size and albedo are known to affect band depth but had a negligible impact on interpretive success with spectral indices. Preliminary analysis of the disk‐integrated Bennu spectrum with these indices is consistent with expectations given the observed absorption near 3 μm. Our study prioritizes spectral indices to be used for OSIRIS‐REx spectral analysis and mapping and informs the reliability of all index‐derived data products, including a science value map for sample site selection.     

Evidence for surface variegation in Rosetta OSIRIS images of asteroid 2867 Šteins

The OSIRIS camera onboard Rosetta successfully acquired images of asteroid 2867 Steins through a variety of color filters during the flyby on 5 September 2008. The best images of this 5 km diameter asteroid have a resolution of 78 m per pixel. We process the images by deconvolving with the point spread function and enlarging through the Mitchell-Netravali filter. The enhanced set is analyzed by means of various techniques (PCA, band ratios, stereo anaglyphs) to study surface morphology and search for variegation. We identify a landslide, which supports a YORP origin for Steins’ unusual diamond shape. In addition, we find that the interior of one of two large craters on the south pole is bluer than the rest of the body.     

Spatially resolved SO2 ice on Io, observed in the near IR

We present equivalent width maps of the 1.98 and 2.13 μm SO₂ ice absorption bands on the surface of Io. The data were taken on 17 April 2006 with the near-infrared mapping spectrometer, OSIRIS at the W.M. Keck Observatory, Hawaii. The maps show significant regional enhancements of SO₂ ice over the Bosphoros, Media, Tarsus and Chalybes Regiones.     

Component-resolved near-infrared spectra of the (22) Kalliope system

We observed (22) Kalliope and its companion Linus with the integral-field spectrograph OSIRIS, which is coupled to the adaptive optics system at the W.M. Keck 2 telescope on March 25, 2008. We present, for the first time, component-resolved spectra acquired simultaneously in each of the Zbb (1-1.18 μm), Jbb (1.18-1.42 μm), Hbb (1.47-1.80 μm), and Kbb (1.97-2.38 μm) bands. The spectra of the two bodies are remarkably similar and imply that both bodies were formed at the same time from the same material; such as via incomplete re-accretion after a major impact on the precursor body.     

The GSFC EUV and X-ray spectroheliograph on OSO-7

The Goddard Space Flight Center instrument carried on the pointed section of the OSO-7 satellite is described. This instrument contains: An extreme ultraviolet spectroheliograph using glancing incidence optics of Wolter's Type II to focus the Sun's light on the entrance slit of a concave grating spectrometer; an auxiliary H system; two X-ray spectroheliographs using mechanical collimators for spatial resolution and Ross filters to isolate spectral bands of interest, and a flare polarimeter operating in the 15–40 keV X-ray region. These subsystems may be operated in a number of modes which, when combined with the spacecraft modes, give the instrument great flexibility for making solar observations. Representative results from each of the subsystems are presented.     

The NOAA Goes-12 Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI) 1. Instrument, Operations, and Data

The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) was launched 23 July 2001 on NOAAs GOES-12 satellite and completed post-launch testing 20 December 2001. Beginning 22 January 2003 it has provided nearly uninterrupted, full-disk, soft X-ray solar images, with a continuous frame rate significantly exceeding that for previous similar instruments. The SXI provides images with a 1 min cadence and a single-image (adjustable) dynamic range near 100. A set of metallic thin-film filters provides temperature discrimination in the 0.6 – 6.0 nm bandpass. The spatial resolution of approximately 10 arcsec FWHM is sampled with 5 arcsec pixels. Three instrument degradations have occurred since launch, two affecting entrance filters and one affecting the detector high-voltage system. This work presents the SXI instrument, its operations, and its data processing, including the impacts of the instrument degradations. A companion paper (Pizzo et al., this issue) presents SXI performance prior to an instrument degradation that occurred on 5 November 2003 and thus applies to more than 420000 soft X-ray images of the Sun.     

The Imaging Vector Magnetograph at Haleakalā – II. Reconstruction of Stokes Spectra

The Imaging Vector Magnetograph (`IVM') at Mees Solar Observatory, Haleakal, Maui, Hawai`i, is designed to measure the magnetic field vector over an entire solar active region on the Sun. The first step in that process is to correct the raw data for all known systematic effects introduced by the instrument and Earth's atmosphere. We define a functional model of the atmosphere/instrument system and measure the corrections for the degradation introduced by each component of the model. We demonstrate the feasibility of this method and assess the accuracy of the IVM spectra with a direct comparison of the resulting Stokes spectra to a well-described spectropolarimeter.     

The mark II Nançay radioheliograph

We describe the new Nançay Radioheliograph (version II) which is a multicorrelator system. The main characteristics of this instrument are high space and time resolutions and flexible on-line data processing. At present it produces one-dimensional images at 169 MHz. This instrument is mainly intended for solar observations.An accurate calibration of the instrument has been carried out leading to a precise fringe stopping and to a proper knowledge of the grating response. Preliminary solar results are presented: existence of apparent motions in noise storms with a velocity of the order of 5000 km s^–1; observations of radiobursts as narrow as 0.7 (Kerdraon, 1977); observations of spikeburst activity.Presently in Sydney, Australia.     

Linking mineralogy and spectroscopy of highly aqueously altered CM and CI carbonaceous chondrites in preparation for primitive asteroid sample return

The highly hydrated, petrologic type 1 CM and CI carbonaceous chondrites likely derived from primitive, water‐rich asteroids, two of which are the targets for JAXA's Hayabusa2 and NASA's OSIRIS‐REx missions. We have collected visible and near‐infrared (VNIR) and mid infrared (MIR) reflectance spectra from well‐characterized CM1/2, CM1, and CI1 chondrites and identified trends related to their mineralogy and degree of secondary processing. The spectral slope between 0.65 and 1.05 μm decreases with increasing total phyllosilicate abundance and increasing magnetite abundance, both of which are associated with more extensive aqueous alteration. Furthermore, features at ~3 μm shift from centers near 2.80 μm in the intermediately altered CM1/2 chondrites to near 2.73 μm in the highly altered CM1 chondrites. The Christiansen features (CF) and the transparency features shift to shorter wavelengths as the phyllosilicate composition of the meteorites becomes more Mg‐rich, which occurs as aqueous alteration proceeds. Spectra also show a feature near 6 μm, which is related to the presence of phyllosilicates, but is not a reliable parameter for estimating the degree of aqueous alteration. The observed trends can be used to estimate the surface mineralogy and the degree of aqueous alteration in remote observations of asteroids. For example, (1) Ceres has a sharp feature near 2.72 μm, which is similar in both position and shape to the same feature in the spectra of the highly altered CM1 MIL 05137, suggesting abundant Mg‐rich phyllosilicates on the surface. Notably, both OSIRIS‐REx and Hayabusa2 have onboard instruments which cover the VNIR and MIR wavelength ranges, so the results presented here will help in corroborating initial results from Bennu and Ryugu.     

Probing young massive clusters with laser guide star adaptive optics

We use laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS/AO) on the 10 m Keck II telescope to obtain high spatial resolution images of young massive clusters (YMCs) in NGC1569 and M82. These data probe YMC structure and the relation of the YMCs to the ambient field star population. The higher resolution of Keck LGS/AO relative to Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS in the near-infrared enables us to examine whether YMCs are monolithic or hierarchical assemblies. The new integral-field spectrometer OSIRIS operating behind LGS/AO can trace the distribution of massive evolved stars within a cluster and reveal the nature of mass segregation.     

The imaging vector magnetograph at Haleakala

We describe an instrument we have built and installed at Mees Solar Observatory on Haleakala, Maui, to measure polarization in narrow-band solar images. Observations in Zeemansensitive photospheric lines have been made for nearly all solar active regions since the instrument began operations in 1992. The magnetograph includes a 28-cm aperture telescope, a polarization modulator, a tunable Fabry-Pérot filter, CCD cameras and control electronics. Stokes spectra of a photospheric line are obtained with 7 pm spectral resolution, 1 arc sec spatial resolution over a field 4.7 arc min square, and polarimetric precision of 0.1%. A complete vector magnetogram observation can be made every eight minutes. The flexibility of the instrument encourages diverse observations: besides active region magnetograms we have made, for example, composite vector magnetograms of the full solar disk, and H polarization movies of flaring regions.