A high-Strehl low-resolution optical imager (BESSEL): a measurement of the inner scale of turbulence

Mary Anne Peters; Laird M. Close; Tom Stalcup; Matt Rademacher; Grover A. Swartzlander Jr.; Erin L. Ford; Rukiah S. Abdul-Malik

doi:10.1117/12.789592

15 July 2008 A high-Strehl low-resolution optical imager (BESSEL): a measurement of the inner scale of turbulence

Mary Anne Peters, Laird M. Close, Tom Stalcup, Matt Rademacher, Grover A. Swartzlander Jr., Erin L. Ford, Rukiah S. Abdul-Malik

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7015, Adaptive Optics Systems; 70156G (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789592
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

We have constructed a high-speed image stabilization system, BESSEL, that is capable of performing wavefront correction at a rate exceeding 1 kHz. BESSEL achieved on-sky Strehl ratios of 98-99% at 800 nm as we approached the inner scale of atmospheric turbulence when the refractor telescope aperture was stopped down to 25.4 mm (~r₀/2). This is better than expected from Kolmogorov theory, indicating that at D ~r₀/2 we are within the inner scale of turbulence. Utilizing high Strehls and the technique of roll subtraction enabled BESSEL to resolve the binary, ADS 10418AB, with separation of only 0.71 λ/D and a delta magnitude of ~3 mags at 800 nm. BESSEL's capability to produce high Strehls ratios means that the instrument can be used to test the performance of interference/phase coronagraphs on-sky for the first time. Integrated with an optical vortex coronagraph, BESSEL is capable of nulling the first airy ring of Betelgeuse by more then a factor of ten.

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Mary Anne Peters, Laird M. Close, Tom Stalcup, Matt Rademacher, Grover A. Swartzlander Jr., Erin L. Ford, and Rukiah S. Abdul-Malik "A high-Strehl low-resolution optical imager (BESSEL): a measurement of the inner scale of turbulence", Proc. SPIE 7015, Adaptive Optics Systems, 70156G (15 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789592

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