The search for artificial and natural objects in both cis-lunar and trans-lunar space has grown increasingly important. To accurately detect and track small objects, stray light mitigation is a necessity. Observations conducted in 2022 from a ground-based telescope intended to track such objects have been hampered by excess lunar stray light. In this paper, we present work done to resolve this problem by applying black pigments to the optical tube and thus suppressing its surface scattering. A non-sequential ray tracing model was created to analyze the telescope’s final focal plane irradiance. This model was used to identify critical and illuminated surfaces to determine the stray light paths that have affected observations. We conducted experimental tests to measure the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of various practical, readily available, and robust black coatings, including paints such as Black 3.0 and Musou. After application on the actual telescope tube, the new surface coating reduced the photon count on the detector from a variable-angle off-axis point source by 76% over all angles measured.
The large binocular telescope (LBT) can spectrally characterize faint objects from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near infrared (NIR) using two instruments, such as multiobjects double spectrograph (MODS) and LBT utility camera in the infrared (LUCI), which are pairs of imagers and spectrographs. Although LUCI can cover the NIR bands (0.9 to 2.4 μm), we currently need to use both LUCIs at the same time with existing gratings and filters. We report on the design and initial construction of a modular system called mask-oriented breadboard implementation for unscrambling spectra (MOBIUS) that enables a single LUCI to produce a full NIR spectrum (0.9 to 2.4 μm) in a single exposure. MOBIUS is a Littrow type spectrograph that is installed within the limited space of exchangeable mask frame space of LUCI. This plug-in concept requires no modification to the current instrument while dispersing the input slit perpendicular to the dispersion direction of the gratings in LUCI. With MOBIUS, we can utilize a slit length up to 2.3 arcsecond to acquire zJHK spectra without mixing orders at the LUCI image plane. In binocular observations with the LBT, a MODS spectrograph will be used with a LUCI + MOBIUS to acquire spectra across the full optical NIR wavelength range from 0.3 to 2.4 μm simultaneously. This will benefit studies of transient sources from rotating asteroids in our solar system to gamma-ray bursts, as well as anything with broad spectral features or unknown redshifts. The design process, tolerances, and initial table-top testing results to verify the operation of MOBIUS are presented in this work.
Bryan J. Holler, Stefanie N. Milam, James M. Bauer, Charles Alcock, Michele T. Bannister, Gordon L. Bjoraker, Dennis Bodewits, Amanda S. Bosh, Marc W. Buie, Tony L. Farnham, Nader Haghighipour, Paul S. Hardersen, Alan W. Harris, Christopher M. Hirata, Henry H. Hsieh, Michael Kelley, Matthew M. Knight, Emily A. Kramer, Andrea Longobardo, Conor A. Nixon, Ernesto Palomba, Silvia Protopapa, Lynnae C. Quick, Darin Ragozzine, Vishnu Reddy, Jason D. Rhodes, Andy S. Rivkin, Gal Sarid, Amanda A. Sickafoose, Amy A. Simon, Cristina A. Thomas, David E. Trilling, Robert A. West
We present a community-led assessment of the solar system investigations achievable with NASA’s next-generation space telescope, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). WFIRST will provide imaging, spectroscopic, and coronagraphic capabilities from 0.43 to 2.0 μm and will be a potential contemporary and eventual successor to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Surveys of irregular satellites and minor bodies are where WFIRST will excel with its 0.28 deg2 field-of-view Wide Field Instrument. Potential ground-breaking discoveries from WFIRST could include detection of the first minor bodies orbiting in the inner Oort Cloud, identification of additional Earth Trojan asteroids, and the discovery and characterization of asteroid binary systems similar to Ida/Dactyl. Additional investigations into asteroids, giant planet satellites, Trojan asteroids, Centaurs, Kuiper belt objects, and comets are presented. Previous use of astrophysics assets for solar system science and synergies between WFIRST, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, JWST, and the proposed Near-Earth Object Camera mission is discussed. We also present the case for implementation of moving target tracking, a feature that will benefit from the heritage of JWST and enable a broader range of solar system observations.
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