We present the Final Design of the WEAVE next-generation spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), together with a status update on the details of manufacturing, integration and the overall project schedule now that all the major fabrication contracts are in place. We also present a summary of the current planning behind the 5-year initial phase of survey operations. WEAVE will provide optical ground-based follow up of ground-based (LOFAR) and space-based (Gaia) surveys. WEAVE is a multi-object and multi-IFU facility utilizing a new 2-degree prime focus field of view at the WHT, with a buffered pick-and-place positioner system hosting 1000 multi-object (MOS) fibres, 20 integral field units, or a single large IFU for each observation. The fibres are fed to a single (dual-beam) spectrograph, with total of 16k spectral pixels, located within the WHT GHRIL enclosure on the telescope Nasmyth platform, supporting observations at R~5000 over the full 370-1000nm wavelength range in a single exposure, or a high resolution mode with limited coverage in each arm at R~20000. The project is now in the manufacturing and integration phase with first light expected for early of 2018.
We present an integrated end-end simulation of the spectral images that will be obtained by the weave spectrograph, which aims to include full modelling of all effects from the top of the atmosphere to the detector. These data are based in input spectra from a combination of library spectra and synthetic models, and will be used to provide inputs for an endend test of the full weave data pipeline and archive systems, prior to 1st light of the instrument.
SPICE is a high resolution imaging spectrometer operating at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, 70.4 - 79.0 nm and 97.3 - 104.9 nm. It is a facility instrument on the ESA Solar Orbiter mission. SPICE will address the key science goals of Solar Orbiter by providing the quantitative knowledge of the physical state and composition of the plasmas in the solar atmosphere, in particular investigating the source regions of outflows and ejection processes which link the solar surface and corona to the heliosphere. By observing the intensities of selected spectral lines and line profiles, SPICE will derive temperature, density, flow and composition information for the plasmas in the temperature range from 10,000 K to 10MK. The optical components of the instrument consist of an off axis parabolic mirror mounted on a mechanism with a scan range of 8 arc minutes. This allows the rastering of an image of the spectrometer slit, which is interchangeable defining the instrument resolution, on the sky. A concave toroidal variable line space grating disperses, magnifies, and re-images incident radiation onto a pair of photocathode coated microchannel plate image intensifiers, coupled to active pixel sensors. For the instrument to meet the scientific and engineering objectives these components must be tightly aligned with each other and the mechanical interface to the spacecraft. This alignment must be maintained throughout the environmental exposure of the instrument to vibration and thermal cycling seen during launch, and as the spacecraft orbits around the sun. The built alignment is achieved through a mixture of dimensional metrology, autocollimation, interferometry and imaging tests. This paper shall discuss the requirements and the methods of optical alignment.
KEYWORDS: Coronagraphy, Space operations, Signal to noise ratio, Curium, Diffraction, Aerospace engineering, Sensors, Solar processes, Charge-coupled devices, Interference (communication)
RAL Space is enhancing its program to lead the development of European capabilities in space-based visible-light coronal and heliospheric imaging instrumentation in the light of emerging opportunities such as the European Space Agency’s Space Situational Awareness program and recent S2 small-mission call. Visible-light coronal and heliospheric imaging of solar wind phenomena, such as coronal mass ejections and interaction regions, is of critical importance to space weather studies, both operationally and in terms of enabling the underpinning science. This work draws on heritage from scientific instruments such as LASCO (Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph) on the SOHO spacecraft, SMEI (Solar Mass Ejection Imager) on the Coriolis spacecraft and the HI (Heliospheric Imager) instruments on STEREO. Such visible-light observation of solar wind structures relies on the detection of sunlight that has been Thomson-scattered by electrons (the so-called K-corona). The Thomson-scattered signal must be extracted from other signals that can be many orders of magnitude greater (such as that from the F-corona and the solar disc itself) and this places stringent constraints on stray-light rejection, as well as pointing stability and accuracy. We discuss the determination of instrument requirements, key design trade-offs and the evolution of base-line designs for the coronal and heliospheric regimes. We explain how the next generation of instruments will build on this heritage while also, in some cases, meeting the challenges on resources imposed on operational space weather imagers. In particular, we discuss the optical engineering challenges involved in the design of these instruments.
WEAVE is the next-generation optical spectroscopy facility for the William Herschel Telescope and aims at
spectroscopic follow-up of ground-based (LOFAR) and space-based (Gaia) surveys. WEAVE places in the re-fitted
prime focus either 1000 fibres, 20 fibre-coupled mini-IFUs or a single large 600 fibre IFU. A spectrograph on the
Nasmyth platform analyses the light and supports, in a single exposure, either R~5,000 observations over the full 366-
975 nm wavelength range or simultaneous R~20,000 observations over two out of three pre-specified bands within this
wavelength range. This paper describes the requirements, optical design and mechanical design of the WEAVE
spectrograph.
We present an overview of and status report on the WEAVE next-generation spectroscopy facility for the William
Herschel Telescope (WHT). WEAVE principally targets optical ground-based follow up of upcoming ground-based
(LOFAR) and space-based (Gaia) surveys. WEAVE is a multi-object and multi-IFU facility utilizing a new 2-degree
prime focus field of view at the WHT, with a buffered pick-and-place positioner system hosting 1000 multi-object
(MOS) fibres, 20 integral field units, or a single large IFU for each observation. The fibres are fed to a single
spectrograph, with a pair of 8k(spectral) x 6k (spatial) pixel cameras, located within the WHT GHRIL enclosure on the
telescope Nasmyth platform, supporting observations at R~5000 over the full 370-1000nm wavelength range in a single
exposure, or a high resolution mode with limited coverage in each arm at R~20000. The project is now in the final
design and early procurement phase, with commissioning at the telescope expected in 2017.
SPICE is a high resolution imaging spectrometer operating at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, 70.4 – 79.0 nm and 97.3 -
104.9 nm. It is a facility instrument on the Solar Orbiter mission. SPICE will address the key science goals of Solar
Orbiter by providing the quantitative knowledge of the physical state and composition of the plasmas in the solar
atmosphere, in particular investigating the source regions of outflows and ejection processes which link the solar surface
and corona to the heliosphere. By observing the intensities of selected spectral lines and line profiles, SPICE will derive
temperature, density, flow and composition information for the plasmas in the temperature range from 10,000 K to
10MK. The instrument optics consists of a single-mirror telescope (off-axis paraboloid operating at near-normal
incidence), feeding an imaging spectrometer. The spectrometer is also using just one optical element, a Toroidal Variable
Line Space grating, which images the entrance slit from the telescope focal plane onto a pair of detector arrays, with a
magnification of approximately x5. Each detector consists of a photocathode coated microchannel plate image
intensifier, coupled to active-pixel-sensor (APS). Particular features of the instrument needed due to proximity to the Sun
include: use of dichroic coating on the mirror to transmit and reject the majority of the solar spectrum, particle-deflector
to protect the optics from the solar wind, and use of data compression due to telemetry limitations.
Light-emitting diode (LED) based endoscopic illumination devices have been shown to have several benefits over arclamp
systems. LEDs are energy-efficient, small, durable, and inexpensive, however their use in endoscopy has been
limited by the difficulty in efficiently coupling enough light into the endoscopic light cable. We have demonstrated a
highly homogenised lightpipe LED light source that combines the light from four Luminus LEDs emitting in the red,
green, blue and violet using innovative dichroics that maximise light throughput. The light source spectrally combines
light from highly divergent incoherent sources that have a Lambertian intensity profile to provide illumination matched
to the acceptance numerical aperture of a liquid light guide or fibre bundle. The LED light source was coupled to a
standard laparoscope and performance parameters (power, luminance, colour temperature) compared to a xenon lamp.
Although the total illuminance from the endoscope was lower, adjustment of the LEDs' relative intensities enabled
contrast enhancement in biological tissue imaging. The LED light engine was also evaluated in a minimally invasive
surgery (MIS) box trainer and in vivo during a porcine MIS procedure where it was used to generate 'narrowband'
images. Future work using the violet LED could enable photodynamic diagnosis of bladder cancer.
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