Instruments
Designed and Built Here in Collaboration with our Partners
GPI
Local Member: James Graham (Project Scientist), Quinn Konopacky, Jerome Maire.
The Gemini Planet Imager is the next generation adaptive optics instrument being built for the Gemini Telescope. The goal is to image extrasolar planets orbiting nearby stars.
GPI will produce the first comprehensive survey of giant planets in the region where giant planets exist in our solar system — from 5 to 40 astronomical units radius. Dozens of these planets will be bright enough for high signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopy, moving our studies of extrasolar planets into the realm of detailed astrophysics.
We want to directly detect the light from an extrasolar planet to determine its mass and composition, with an ultimate goal of determining the nature of our own planetary system. More than 200 extrasolar planets are now known, but mostly through indirect Doppler techniques that indicate the planet’s mass and orbit. If we can directly pick out a planet from the star’s glare, we can use spectroscopy to measure the planet’s size, temperature, gravity, and even the composition of its atmosphere. By targeting many stars we will understand how common or unusual our own planetary system may be.
Initially, GPI will be deployed at Gemini South, a telescope with an 8-meter diameter mirror located on Cerro Pachon (Chilean Andes) at an altitude of 2715 meters (9000 feet). Later, GPI may also be used at the twin facility Gemini North, which is located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
First light and science operations are planned for mid-2012.
IRIS
Local member of the collaborations: Shelley Wright (Project Scientist) and David Law.
IRIS is a first generation near-infrared (0.85-2.5 μm) instrument being designed to sample the diffraction limit of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). IRIS will include an integral field spectrograph (R~4000) and imaging camera (17″x17″). Both the spectrograph and imager will take advantage of the high spatial resolution achieved with the Narrow-Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS) at four spatial scales (0.004″, 0.009″, 0.025″, 0.05″). IRIS will achieve an angular resolution ten times better than images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and will be the highest angular resolution near-infrared instrument in the world.
Arctic Telescope
Local member of the collaborations: Nick Law (PI) and Suresh Sivanandam.
The Dunlap Institute Arctic Telescope is a wide-field half-metre telescope designed to search for habitable transiting planets around cool stars. The system will operate in the high Canadian arctic, where 24-hour darkness will improve the survey’s detection efficiency by a large factor compared to mid-latitude sites.
Robo-AO
Local member of the collaboration: Nick Law (Project Scientist).
Robo-AO (formerly CAMERA) is a robotic laser guide star adaptive optics system designed for the Palomar 60-inch telescope.
The system is planned to achieve first light in mid-2011.
Our SPIE paper has more details.
TMT NSCU
Local member of the collaboration: Dae-Sik Moon (PI). TMT NSCU is science calibration system for the adaptive optics and infrared instruments of the future Thirty Meter Telescope.
WIFIS
Local member of the collaboration: Dae-Sik Moon (PI).
WIFIS (Wide Integral-Field Infrared Spectrograph) is a near-infared integral-field spectrograph with 6″ x 12″ field on a 10-m telescope (or 15″ x 30″ on a 4-m telescope) and R = 5000 spectral resolving power.
Potential host telescopes include Palomar 5-m, IRTF 3-m and 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (in collaboration with the University of Florida).
First light expected for 2012.
Our SPIE paper has more details.
NIRES
Local member of the collaboration: Dae-Sik Moon.
NIRES (Near-Infrared Echelle Spectrograph) is the facility near-infrared spectrograph of the 10-m Keck II telescope.
Status: Almost ready, first light expected for 2011.