Development of wide-field and fast wavefront sensor of adaptive optics system for monitoring of solar system planets

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19H01941
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 16010:Astronomy-related
• Research Institution: Okayama University of Science
• Principal Investigator: Watanabe Makoto 岡山理科大学, 理学部, 准教授 (10450181)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 光赤外線天文学 / 補償光学 / 波面センサ / 惑星観測

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We are developing a new wide-field and fast wavefront sensor of our multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) system for monitoring of the solar system planets. The new wavefront sensor has a three times wider field of view and three times faster data acquisition speed than those of the current sensor. It can take the entire image of the planet at once, and therefore could increase the number of data points for wavefront measurements in field and arrange them more densely. It also enables the system to correct wavefront fast enough to follow variation in atmospheric turbulence. This upgrade would improve the correction performance of our MCAO system largely. We are going to do the closed-loop tests of this MCAO system in laboratory and the test observations on the telescope.

Free Research Field

光赤外線天文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

惑星の大気構造の生成メカニズムの解明には惑星を高解像度でモニター観測する必要があるが、地上観測では地球大気のゆらぎによって惑星からの光の波面が乱され解像度が劣化し、必要なデータが取れないという問題がある。本研究で開発している惑星観測用補償光学装置によって、0.4秒角という探査機にほぼ匹敵するほど高い解像度で、惑星全体の大気の運動を連続的かつ高い観測効率でモニター観測可能となる。また、本研究で提案する広視野波面センサによる多層共役補償光学系は同じく広がった観察対象である生物細胞や網膜観察の顕微鏡用補償光学装置への応用も期待できる。