Adjustment of a tower solar telescope and spectrograph: A method manual

Questions of the mounting and adjustment of a tower solar telescope are considered through the example of the TST-2 telescope of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory Scientific Research Institute. The authors describe the optical circuits of the telescope and spectrograph and list the basic requirements for the mutual arrangement of individual components of the telescope. Simple methods for adjusting elements of the telescope and spectrograph are described.     

射电望远镜远场区域强干扰源规避方法研究

随着频率使用率的提高, 射电天文台址地面或空间存在强电磁干扰致使望远镜接收机系统处于非线性状态. 为减少强电磁干扰的影响、提高天文观测效率, 提出了一种基于望远镜远场区域的强干扰源规避方法. 首先, 通过仿真分析确定的射电望远镜远场方向图, 结合望远镜与干扰源之间的位置关系, 分析了强电磁干扰到达射电望远镜焦点处的功率响应, 并依据接收机第2阶中频放大器性能参数, 确定射电望远镜处于非饱和状态的规避角度计算方法. 其次, 采用该方法计算分析了民航飞机对射电望远镜的影响, 若民航飞机上有主动发射的干扰源, 且不经过反射等传播现象, 当射电望远镜主波束轴偏开一定方向后, 可有效降低对射电望远镜的干扰强度.     

Herschel SPIRE FTS telescope model correction

Emission from the Herschel telescope is the dominant source of radiation for the majority of SPIRE Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) observations, despite the exceptionally low emissivity of the primary and secondary mirrors. Accurate modelling and removal of the telescope contribution is, therefore, an important and challenging aspect of FTS calibration and data reduction pipeline. A dust-contaminated telescope model with time invariant mirror emissivity was adopted before the Herschel launch. However, measured FTS spectra show a clear evolution of the telescope contribution over the mission and strong need for a correction to the standard telescope model in order to reduce residual background (of up to 7 Jy) in the final data products. Systematic changes in observations of dark sky, taken over the course of the mission, provide a measure of the evolution between observed telescope emission and the telescope model. These dark sky observations have been used to derive a time dependent correction to the telescope emissivity that reduces the systematic error in the continuum of the final FTS spectra to ～0.35 Jy.     

Comments on the next generation of ground-based solar telescopes

The development of telescope capabilities tends to go in spurts. These are triggered by the availability of new techniques in optics, mechanics and/or instrumentation. So has nighttime telescope technology developed since the construction in the nineteen-forties of the 5-m Hale telescope, first by the introduction in the sixties of high efficiency electronic detectors, followed recently by the production of large 8- to 10-m mirrors and now by the implementation of adaptive optics. In solar astronomy, major steps were the introduction of the coronagraph by Lyot in the nineteen-thirties and the vacuum telescope concept by Dunn in the sixties. In the last thirty years, telescope developments in solar astronomy have relied primarily on improved instrumental capabilities. As in nighttime astronomy, these instruments and their detectors are reaching their limits set by the quantum nature of light and the telescope diffraction. Larger telescopes are needed to increase sensitivity and angular resolution of the observations. In this paper, I will review recent efforts to increase substantially the telescope capabilities themselves. I will emphasize the concept of a large all-wavelength, coronagraphic telescope (CLEAR) which is presently being developed.Dedicated to Cornelis de Jager     

Upgrading and automating the AZT-8 70-cm telescope

The AZT-8 70-cm telescope of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory was upgraded in the early 2000s. Obsolete pieces of equipment of the telescope were replaced and new ones were developed. The creation of a special control program has enabled the telescope to be pointed at objects automatically. As a result, it has become much easier to control the telescope and the efficiency of using the observing time has increased significantly.     

Prospects for astronomical development in South Africa

Because of its geographical location and (astronomically) excellent climate South Africa can make an unique contribution to international astronomical research. An assessment of recent developments in telescope technology has shown that an advanced technology telescope of 4m-class can be constructed which will out-perform most existing 4m-class telescopes. Detailed consideration is given to the construction of such a telescope for optical/infrared astronomy, the new science that this will enable and the selection of a site of sufficiently good quality to justify the erection of such a telescope. If a telescope of this nature is sited in southern Africa it would provide the premier astronomical facility in Africa for decades to come.     

What can we Expect from a New Radio Telescope in Upper Egypt?

The selection criteria for the project of a new radio telescope in Egyptare described. The telescope will have a diameter of 32 m and will belocated in Abu Simbel (Upper Egypt). One major task of the telescope isthe participation in VLBI network operation.     

A novel method for telescope polarization modeling based on an artificial neural network

The polarization characteristics of an astronomical telescope is an important factor that affects polarimetry accuracy. Polarization modeling is an essential means to achieve high precision and efficient polarization measurement of the telescope, especially for the alt-azimuth mount telescope. At present, the polarization model for the telescope(i.e., the physical parametric model) is mainly constructed using the polarization parameters of each optical element. In this paper, an artificial neural network(ANN) is used to model the polarization characteristics of the telescope. The ANN model between the physical parametric model residual and the pointing direction of the telescope is obtained, which reduces the model deviation caused by the incompleteness of the physical parametric model. Compared with the physical parametric model, the model fitting and predictive accuracy of the New Vacuum Solar Telescope(NVST) is improved after adopting the ANN model. After using the ANN model, the polarization cross-talk from I to Q, U, and V can be reduced from 0.011 to 0.007, and the crosstalk among Q, U, and V can be reduced from 0.047 to 0.020, which effectively improves the polarization measurement accuracy of the telescope.     

NLST: India's National Large Solar Telescope

This article introduces the new Indian 2 m telescope which has been designed by MT Mechatronics in a detailed conceptual design study for the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. We describe the background of the project and the science goals which shall be addressed with this telescope. NLST is a solar telescope with high optical throughput and will be equipped with an integrated Adaptive Optics system. It is optimized for a site with the kind of seeing and wind conditions as they are expected at a lake site in the Himalayan mountains. The telescope can also be used for certain night time applications. We also give the scientific rationale for this class of telescope (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

采用VC + + 的射电望远镜控制软件在Windows XP下的设计和实现

射电望远镜控制软件的主要功能是控制射电望远镜精确、实时的跟踪指定目标,本文介绍了Windows XP系统下基于Visual C 的射电望远镜控制软件的设计,重点叙述了软件的功能、通信方式、图形界面的实现[2]。     

分布式望远镜控制系统的构想和实践

介绍了一种基于分布式控制思想的望远镜系统控制方案。使用这种控制方式可以大大简化望远镜电控系统的维护和改造工作，且扩展性强。我们通过在兴隆基地几台望远镜上的前期试验，在本中提出一个基于无线串口通讯的具体实施方案。     

A new calibration model for pointing a radio telescope that considers nonlinear errors in the azimuth axis

A new calibration model of a radio telescope that includes pointing error is presented, which considers nonlinear errors in the azimuth axis. For a large radio telescope, in particular for a telescope with a turntable, it is difficult to correct pointing errors using a traditional linear calibration model, because errors produced by the wheel-on-rail or center bearing structures are generally nonlinear. Fourier expansion is made for the oblique error and parameters describing the inclination direction along the azimuth axis based on the linear calibration model, and a new calibration model for pointing is derived. The new pointing model is applied to the 40 m radio telescope administered by Yunnan Observatories, which is a telescope that uses a turntable. The results show that this model can significantly reduce the residual systematic errors due to nonlinearity in the azimuth axis compared with the linear model.     

丽江2m级望远镜项目

在国家科技部,云南省,及中国科学院的支持下,2m级天文望远镜建设项目于2000年12月正式启动.在本文中,我们首先简要地介绍该项目的台址丽江高美古;其次,就该项目的情况给出详尽的介绍;最后,就该望远镜未来的一些计划进行了讨论.     

云台40m射电望远镜的指向误差校正

首先综述了射电望远镜指向误差校正的原理并对软件校准的两种方法进行了比较。其次阐述了利用软件校准的方法对云南天文台40m射电望远镜进行指向校正的过程,并给出其指向校正结果。结果是经过指向校正后该射电望远镜的指向精度达到观测要求。     

Interference coupling analysis based on a hybrid method: application to a radio telescope system

Working in a way that passively receives electromagnetic radiation from a celestial body,a radio telescope can be easily disturbed by external radio frequency interference as well as electromagnetic interference generated by electric and electronic components operating at the telescope site.A quantitative analysis of these interferences must be taken into account carefully for further electromagnetic protection of the radio telescope. In this paper, based on electromagnetic topology theory, a hybrid method that combines the Baum-Liu-Tesche(BLT) equation and transfer function is proposed.In this method, the coupling path of the radio telescope is divided into strong coupling and weak coupling sub-paths, and the coupling intensity criterion is proposed by analyzing the conditions in which the BLT equation simplifies to a transfer function. According to the coupling intensity criterion, the topological model of a typical radio telescope system is established. The proposed method is used to solve the interference response of the radio telescope system by analyzing subsystems with different coupling modes separately and then integrating the responses of the subsystems as the response of the entire system. The validity of the proposed method is verified numerically. The results indicate that the proposed method, compared with the direct solving method, reduces the difficulty and improves the efficiency of interference prediction.     

Investigating the efficiency of the Beijing Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera(BFOSC) of the Xinglong 2.16-m reflector

The Beijing Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera(BFOSC) is one of the most important instruments operating in conjunction with the 2.16-m telescope at Xinglong Observatory. Every year there are~20 SCI-papers published based on observational data acquired with this telescope. In this work,we have systemically measured the total efficiency of the BFOSC that operates as part of the 2.16-m reflector, based on observations of two ESO flux standard stars. We have obtained the total efficiencies of the BFOSC instrument of different grisms with various slit widths in almost all ranges, and analyzed factors which effect the efficiency of this telescope and spectrograph. For astronomical observers, the result will be useful for them to select a suitable slit width, depending on their scientific goals and weather conditions during observations. For technicians, the result will help them to systemically identify the real efficiency of the telescope and spectrograph, and to further improve the total efficiency and observing capacity of the telescope technically.     

卫星激光测距望远镜的指向改正

介绍激光测距望远镜全天区指向改正的实施方法及改正效果。通过实测的恒星指向误差数据,利用经优化的机架模型,对望远镜的全天区指向进行实时改正,基本达到了全天区白天激光测距的指向要求。     

乌站25m射电望远镜天线效率自动测量的软件实现

经常测量天线参数对于改进天线性能以及联测和单天线观测的数据处理都是至关重要的。以前的记录仪手工测量方式,非常繁琐和低效率,不利于对测量结果进行有效的统一管理和深入分析。根据天线效率的测量为例,在PC和Windows2000/XP软硬件平台下统一编程,集成实现天线参数测量的自动化、操作的人性化以及数据分析和曲线拟合的可视化。这将大大降低人工,提高测量效率,更好地保证天线的可靠、高精度的运行以及观测数据的处理。     

射电望远镜多目标观测策略优化

望远镜调度是望远镜运行中的关键组成部分, 用于辅助科研人员进行合理的观测计划安排, 提高望远镜的运行效率, 获取高质量的观测数据. 然而, 由于不同观测项目的科学需求不同, 望远镜的调度过程十分复杂. 针对短周期多目标的观测项目, 考虑望远镜换源时转动时长、观测高度角等因素进行建模, 采用贪心算法对中国科学院新疆天文台南山26m望远镜脉冲星到达时间观测列表进行调度. 通过模拟表明, 使用算法完成的观测列表可以有效地减少观测过程中的平均转动时长, 提升观测数据的质量, 提高望远镜时间利用率, 减少科研人员对观测列表编排的负担.     

斜轴式望远镜动力学建模与鲁棒控制

斜轴式望远镜是一种新颖的望远镜结构, 其独特的结构设计更适合南极等极端气候环境, 但目前国内外缺乏针对斜轴式望远镜详细的动力学建模与控制研究. 提出一套斜轴式望远镜动力学建模与鲁棒控制方法, 首先, 对斜轴式望远镜进行了动力学分析, 采用拉格朗日法建立望远镜2自由度刚体模型; 接着, 结合望远镜驱动系统的柔性和所受干扰, 完成了斜轴式望远镜的干扰情况下刚柔耦合系统数学模型的推导; 然后, 针对抗干扰问题, 根据所建数学模型, 设计了基于干扰观测器的滑模控制器, 对于所受干扰进行抑制, 实现了斜轴式望远镜的鲁棒控制; 最后, 仿真结果显示, 在考虑模型的非线性外部干扰的情况下, 相比于传统的比例-积分-微分控制器, 基于干扰观测器的滑模控制器使得系统具有更好的动态性能和抗干扰特性.