Poster + Presentation + Paper
13 December 2020 Further development and testing of TCal: a mobile spectrophotometric calibration unit for astronomical imaging systems
Author Affiliations +
Conference Poster
Abstract
We describe and present initial testing of TCal, a mobile spectrophotometric calibration system that will be used to characterize the throughput as a function of wavelength for imaging systems at observatories around the world. TCal measurements will enhance the science return from follow-up observations of imaging surveys such as LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) and DES (Dark Energy Survey) by placing all tested imaging systems on a common photometric baseline. TCal uses a ~ 1 nm bandpass tunable light source to measure the instrumental response function of imaging systems from 300 nm to 1100 nm, including the telescope, optics, filters, windows, and detector. The system is comprised of a monochromator-based light source illuminating a dome flat field screen monitored by a calibrated CCD, which allows determination of the telescope throughput as a function of wavelength. This calibration will be performed at 1-8m telescopes that expect to devote time towards survey follow-up. Performing the calibration on these telescopes will reduce systematic errors due to small differences in bandpass, making follow-up efforts more precise and accurate.
Conference Presentation
© (2020) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
P. S. Ferguson, L. Barba, D. L. DePoy, L. M. Schmidt, J. L. Marshall, T. Prochaska, L. Bush, J. Mason, and M. Sauseda "Further development and testing of TCal: a mobile spectrophotometric calibration unit for astronomical imaging systems", Proc. SPIE 11447, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII, 114475U (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562736
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KEYWORDS
Calibration

Imaging systems

Spectral calibration

Astronomical imaging

Telescopes

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

Sensors

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