Twin High-Resolution, High-Speed Imagers for the Gemini Telescopes: Instrument Description and Science Verification Results

被引:60
作者
Scott, Nicholas J. [1 ]
Howell, Steve B. [1 ]
Gnilka, Crystal L. [1 ]
Stephens, Andrew W. [2 ]
Salinas, Ricardo [3 ]
Matson, Rachel A. [4 ]
Furlan, Elise [5 ]
Horch, Elliott P. [6 ]
Everett, Mark E. [7 ]
Ciardi, David R. [5 ]
Mills, Dave [7 ]
Quigley, Emmett A. [1 ]
机构
[1] NASA, Ames Res Ctr, Moffett Field, CA USA
[2] Gemini Observ, NSFs NOIRLab, Hilo, HI USA
[3] Gemini Observ, NSFs NOIRLab, La Serena, Chile
[4] US Naval Observ, Washington, DC 20392 USA
[5] NASA, Exoplanet Sci Inst, Caltech IPAC, Pasadena, CA USA
[6] Southern Connecticut State Univ, Dept Phys, New Haven, CT 06515 USA
[7] Natl Opt Astron Observ, Tucson, AZ USA
关键词
astronomical instrumentation; speckle interfcromctry; multiple stars; ground-based astronomy; optical astronomy; BINARY STARS; ORBITS; SYSTEM;
D O I
10.3389/fspas.2021.716560
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
Two new imaging instruments, 'Alopeke and Zorro, were designed, built, and commissioned at the Gemini-North and Gemini-South telescopes in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Here we describe them and present the results from over a year of operation. The two identical instruments are based on the legacy of the DSSI (Differential Speckle Survey Instrument) instrument, successfully used for years at the WIYN and the Gemini telescopes in Hawaii and Chile. 'Alopeke and Zorro are dual-channel imagers having both speckle (6.7 '') and "wide-field" (similar to 1 arcminute) field-of-view options. They were built to primarily perform speckle interferometry providing diffraction-limited imagery at optical wavebands, yielding pixel scale uncertainties of +/- 0.21 mas, position angle uncertainties of +/- 0.7(degrees), and photometric uncertainties of Delta m +/- 0.02-0.04 magnitudes (for the blue and red channels, respectively) when run through the standard data reduction pipeline. One of their main scientific roles is the validation and characterization of exoplanets and their host stars as discovered by transit surveys such as the NASA Kepler, K2, and TESS missions. The limiting magnitude for speckle observations at Gemini can be quite faint (r similar to 18 in good observing conditions) but typically the observed targets are brighter. The instruments can also function as conventional CCD imagers providing a 1 arc-minute field of view and allowing simultaneous two-color, high-speed time-series operation. These resident visitor instruments are remotely operable and are available for use by the community via the peer-reviewed proposal process.
引用
收藏
页数:15
相关论文
共 34 条
[1]   UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF STELLAR MULTIPLICITY ON THE DERIVED PLANET RADII FROM TRANSIT SURVEYS: IMPLICATIONS FOR KEPLER, K2, AND TESS [J].
Ciardi, David R. ;
Beichman, Charles A. ;
Horch, Elliott P. ;
Howell, Steve B. .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2015, 805 (01)
[2]   Identifying Bound Stellar Companions to Kepler Exoplanet Host Stars Using Speckle Imaging [J].
Colton, Nicole M. ;
Horch, Elliott P. ;
Everett, Mark E. ;
Howell, Steve B. ;
Davidson, James W., Jr. ;
Baptista, Brian J. ;
Casetti-Dinescu, Dana, I .
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, 2021, 161 (01)
[3]   Dynamical and physical properties of 22 binaries discovered by W. S. Finsen [J].
Docobo, J. A. ;
Andrade, M. .
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 2013, 428 (01) :321-339
[4]   BINARY STARS WITH COMPONENTS OF SOLAR TYPE: 25 ORBITS AND SYSTEM MASSES [J].
Docobo, J. A. ;
Ling, J. F. .
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, 2009, 138 (04) :1159-1170
[5]   The Densities of Planets in Multiple Stellar Systems [J].
Furlan, E. ;
Howell, S. B. .
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, 2017, 154 (02)
[6]   PHARO: A near-infrared camera for the Palomar Adaptive Optics System [J].
Hayward, TL ;
Brandl, B ;
Pirger, B ;
Blacken, C ;
Gull, GE ;
Schoenwald, J ;
Houck, JR .
PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC, 2001, 113 (779) :105-118
[7]   The Gemini Near-Infrared Imager (NIRI) [J].
Hodapp, KW ;
Jensen, JB ;
Irwin, EM ;
Yamada, H ;
Chung, R ;
Fletcher, K ;
Robertson, L ;
Hora, JL ;
Simons, DA ;
Mays, W ;
Nolan, R ;
Bec, M ;
Merrill, M ;
Fowler, AM .
PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC, 2003, 115 (814) :1388-1406
[8]   Characterizing binary stars below the diffraction limit with CCD-based speckle imaging [J].
Horch, Elliott P. ;
Franz, Otto G. ;
van Altena, William F. .
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, 2006, 132 (06) :2478-2488
[9]   Observations of Binary Stars with the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument. VII. Measures from 2010 September to 2012 February at the WIYN Telescope [J].
Horch, Elliott P. ;
Casetti-Dinescu, Dana I. ;
Camarata, Matthew A. ;
Bidarian, Akbar ;
van Altena, William F. ;
Sherry, William H. ;
Everett, Mark E. ;
Howell, Steve B. ;
Ciardi, David R. ;
Henry, Todd J. ;
Nusdeo, Daniel A. ;
Winters, Jennifer G. .
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, 2017, 153 (05)
[10]   MOST SUB-ARCSECOND COMPANIONS OF KEPLER EXOPLANET CANDIDATE HOST STARS ARE GRAVITATIONALLY BOUND [J].
Horch, Elliott P. ;
Howell, Steve B. ;
Everett, Mark E. ;
Ciardi, David R. .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2014, 795 (01)