Contributions to adaptive optics, telescopes, remote sensing and space surveillance

对自适应光学、望远镜、遥感和空间监视的贡献

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04369
• 负责人: Hickson, Paul
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=679600
• 关键词: Contributions; adaptive; optics; telescopes; remote

The next-generation of extremely-large ground-based optical/infrared telescopes (ELTs) will provide a huge leap in scientific capability and discovery. With adaptive optics (AO), these telescopes will provide three times the resolution and as much as 100 times the sensitivity of the current ground-based and space telescopes. They will open new frontiers in fields ranging from the study of extra-solar planetary systems to the first objects forming in the distant Universe. AO is a technology that enables this performance by correcting for the blurring effect of atmospheric turbulence. Current AO systems are already providing impressive gains in resolution and sensitivity at major observatories. The next-generation telescopes will require high-powered lasers that produce artificial 'laser guide stars' in the upper atmosphere. The light from these are used to sense the instantaneous distortion introduced by the atmosphere, allowing the AO system to compensate for it. My research group is working with collaborators worldwide to help develop and perfect these systems. ******Telescope performance is also highly-dependent on its location. An outstanding site can enable new scientific programs, as well as improving the efficiency of astronomical observations. For this reason, detailed site surveys are conducted prior to the establishment of new astronomical facilities. One aspect of my research is to contribute to the characterization of potential telescope sites. To this end, I am involved in the development of new instruments and techniques that allow my team to measure the strength and distribution of atmospheric turbulence at the sites. Our instruments have been deployed to characterize potential sites in the Canadian Arctic and high mountain sites in Tibet, and a new initiative is underway to make measurements at Dome A in Antarctica in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.******Canadians are participating, with scientists in Belgium and India, in the International Liquid-Mirror Telescope - an astronomical survey telescope located in the Himalayas. The ILMT is a zenith-pointing 4-metre telescope equipped with a large imaging camera. It will survey the sky passing overhead night after night, searching for transient events such as supernovae and monitoring gravitational lenses. The design of the ILMT builds on technology developed at the University of Laval and UBC. My students and I will participate in the commissioning and testing of the ILMT and in its scientific programs.******My research includes studies of the near-Earth space environment. Space debris is a growing problem, with thousands of objects presently being tracked. But, there are potentially hundreds of thousands more objects that are too small to be seen by existing telescopes. I am working with NASA to help develop new facilities and techniques for the detection and study of space debris, and plan to expand this work using UBC's robotic telescope installed at Cerro Tololo in Chile.

极大的地面光学/红外望远镜（ELT）的下一代将为科学能力和发现提供巨大的飞跃。使用自适应光学器件（AO），这些望远镜将提供分辨率的三倍，是当前地面和空间望远镜的灵敏度的100倍。他们将在田间开放新的边界，从研究外行星系统的研究到遥远宇宙中形成的第一个物体。 AO是一种通过纠正大气湍流的模糊效果来实现这种性能的技术。当前的AO系统已经在主要观测站方面提供了令人印象深刻的分辨率和敏感性增长。下一代望远镜将需要高功率的激光器，在上层大气中产生人工“激光导向星”。这些光用于感知大气引入的瞬时失真，从而使AO系统可以补偿它。我的研究小组正在与全球合作者合作，以帮助开发和完善这些系统。 ******望远镜性能在其位置上也高度依赖。一个杰出的网站可以实现新的科学计划，并提高天文观测的效率。因此，在建立新的天文设施之前进行了详细的现场调查。我的研究的一个方面是为潜在望远镜站点的表征做出贡献。为此，我参与了新工具和技术的开发，这些新工具和技术使我的团队能够测量站点的大气湍流的强度和分布。我们的乐器已被部署以表征西藏加拿大北极和高山地点的潜在地点，并正在进行一项新的计划，以与中国科学院合作在南极洲的圆顶A进行测量。喜马拉雅山。 ILMT是一个配备大型成像摄像头的Zenith Point-Point 4米的望远镜。它将调查夜间夜间经过头顶的天空，寻找超新星和监视重力镜片等短暂事件。 ILMT的设计建立在拉瓦尔大学和UBC大学开发的技术。我和我的学生将参加ILMT及其科学计划的调试和测试。******我的研究包括对近地太空环境的研究。太空碎片是一个日益增长的问题，目前正在跟踪成千上万的物体。但是，可能有数十万个物体太小，无法被现有的望远镜看到。我正在与NASA合作，以帮助开发新的设施和技术来检测和研究太空碎片，并计划使用在智利Cerro Tololo安装的UBC的机器人望远镜扩展这项工作。