Journal•ISSN: 2329-4124
Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems
SPIE
About: Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems is an academic journal published by SPIE. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Engineering & Telescope. It has an ISSN identifier of 2329-4124. Over the lifetime, 684 publications have been published receiving 8869 citations. The journal is also known as: JATIS.
Topics: Engineering, Telescope, Computer science, Adaptive optics, Wavefront
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology1, Harvard University2, Princeton University3, University of Chicago4, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network5, University of Copenhagen6, Arizona State University7, Carnegie Institution for Science8, Aarhus University9, University of Birmingham10, Goddard Space Flight Center11, University of Maryland, College Park12, Northern Kentucky University13, Vanderbilt University14, Lowell Observatory15, University of Texas at Austin16, University of Florida17, Max Planck Society18, Tokyo Institute of Technology19, University of California, Berkeley20, University of California, Santa Cruz21, Johns Hopkins University22, Space Telescope Science Institute23, Spanish National Research Council24, Lehigh University25, INAF26, Fisk University27
TL;DR: The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) as discussed by the authors will search for planets transiting bright and nearby stars using four wide-field optical charge-coupled device cameras to monitor at least 200,000 main-sequence dwarf stars.
Abstract: The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will search for planets transiting bright and nearby stars. TESS has been selected by NASA for launch in 2017 as an Astrophysics Explorer mission. The spacecraft will be placed into a highly elliptical 13.7-day orbit around the Earth. During its 2-year mission, TESS will employ four wide-field optical charge-coupled device cameras to monitor at least 200,000 main-sequence dwarf stars with I C ≈4−13 for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. Each star will be observed for an interval ranging from 1 month to 1 year, depending mainly on the star’s ecliptic latitude. The longest observing intervals will be for stars near the ecliptic poles, which are the optimal locations for follow-up observations with the James Webb Space Telescope. Brightness measurements of preselected target stars will be recorded every 2 min, and full frame images will be recorded every 30 min. TESS stars will be 10 to 100 times brighter than those surveyed by the pioneering Kepler mission. This will make TESS planets easier to characterize with follow-up observations. TESS is expected to find more than a thousand planets smaller than Neptune, including dozens that are comparable in size to the Earth. Public data releases will occur every 4 months, inviting immediate community-wide efforts to study the new planets. The TESS legacy will be a catalog of the nearest and brightest stars hosting transiting planets, which will endure as highly favorable targets for detailed investigations.
2,604 citations
TL;DR: The Lynx architecture enables a broad range of unique and compelling science to be carried out mainly through a General Observer Program, envisioned to include detecting the very first seed black holes, revealing the high-energy drivers of galaxy formation and evolution, and characterizing the mechanisms that govern stellar evolution and stellar ecosystems.
Abstract: Lynx, one of the four strategic mission concepts under study for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey, provides leaps in capability over previous and planned x-ray missions and provides synergistic observations in the 2030s to a multitude of space- and ground-based observatories across all wavelengths. Lynx provides orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity, on-axis subarcsecond imaging with arcsecond angular resolution over a large field of view, and high-resolution spectroscopy for point-like and extended sources in the 0.2- to 10-keV range. The Lynx architecture enables a broad range of unique and compelling science to be carried out mainly through a General Observer Program. This program is envisioned to include detecting the very first seed black holes, revealing the high-energy drivers of galaxy formation and evolution, and characterizing the mechanisms that govern stellar evolution and stellar ecosystems. The Lynx optics and science instruments are carefully designed to optimize the science capability and, when combined, form an exciting architecture that utilizes relatively mature technologies for a cost that is compatible with the projected NASA Astrophysics budget.
139 citations
TL;DR: The WFIRST-AFTA 2.37m telescope will provide the opportunity to host a coronagraph for the imaging and spectroscopy of planets and disks in the next decade.
Abstract: The WFIRST-AFTA 2.37 m telescope will provide the opportunity to host a coronagraph for the imaging and spectroscopy of planets and disks in the next decade. The telescope, however, is not ideal, given its obscured aperture. Only recently have coronagraph designs been thoroughly investigated that can efficiently work with this configuration. Three coronagraph designs, the hybrid Lyot, shaped pupil, and phase-induced amplitude apodization complex mask coronagraph have been selected for further development by the Astrophysics Focused Telescope Asset project. Real-world testbed demonstrations of these have just begun, so for now, the most reliable means of evaluating their potential performance comes from numerical modeling incorporating diffraction propagation, realistic system models, and simulated wavefront sensing and control. Here, we present the methods of performance evaluation and results for the current coronagraph designs.
123 citations
TL;DR: The hybrid Lyot coronagraph (HLC) as discussed by the authors was designed for the WFIRST-AFTA telescope to achieve a full 360-deg high-contrast dark field of view at 10−9 contrast levels or better, extending to within angular separations of 3 λ 0/D from the central star.
Abstract: The prospect of extreme high-contrast astronomical imaging from space has inspired developments of new coronagraph methods for exoplanet imaging and spectroscopy. However, the requisite imaging contrast, at levels of 1 billion to one or better for the direct imaging of cool mature exoplanets in reflected visible starlight, leads to challenging new requirements on the stability and control of the optical wavefront, at levels currently beyond the reach of ground-based telescopes. We review the design, performance, and science prospects for the hybrid Lyot coronagraph (HLC) on the WFIRST-AFTA telescope. Together with a pair of deformable mirrors for active wavefront control, the HLC creates a full 360-deg high-contrast dark field of view at 10−9 contrast levels or better, extending to within angular separations of 3 λ0/D from the central star, over spectral bandwidths of 10% or more.
102 citations
Tadayuki Takahashi, Motohide Kokubun, Kazuhisa Mitsuda, Richard L. Kelley1 +283 more•Institutions (73)
TL;DR: The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission as discussed by the authors is the 6 Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe.
Abstract: The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E > 2 keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month.
91 citations