Interferometric capability for the Magellan Project

Nathaniel P. Carleton; Wesley A. Traub; James Roger P. Angel

doi:10.1117/12.317139

24 July 1998 Interferometric capability for the Magellan Project

Nathaniel P. Carleton, Wesley A. Traub, James Roger P. Angel

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3350, Astronomical Interferometry; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.317139
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 1998, Kona, HI, United States

Abstract

The Magellan Project is building two 6.5-m telescopes, 60 m apart, at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. There are on-going plans to combine the beams of the two main telescopes, and of smaller auxiliary telescopes, for interferometric measurements. In this paper we consider the array of auxiliary telescopes as a stand-alone instrument, recognizing that it will operate as such for some large fraction of the time. Our interest is sharpened by the availability of six 1.8-m optical systems, retired from the Smithsonian-Arizona Multiple-Mirror Telescope in preparation for the installation of a single-mirror 6.5-m system. We have completed a design for a 1.8-m telescope, in which the MMT components are supported on a proven tripod mount. The optics-support uses steel for stiffness, and low-thermal- expansion rods for passive stability. This array will be a powerful tool for the investigation of stellar limb darkening, surface features, and changes of diameter in pulsations, as well as dust disks, shells, and binary companions. The 1.8-m telescopes on good sites such as Magellan's should be able to operate at full aperture for interferometry at 2.2 micrometers . They should therefore be able to reach to magnitude K equals 10 or so, and thus to cover substantial samples of both main-sequence and pre-main- sequence stars, and of fully evolved stars as well.

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Nathaniel P. Carleton, Wesley A. Traub, and James Roger P. Angel "Interferometric capability for the Magellan Project", Proc. SPIE 3350, Astronomical Interferometry, (24 July 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.317139

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