Recent Upgrades to the AST
January 2010
The AST has been recently upgraded with the goal of improving end-to-end photon throughput and to augment the telescope's observational capabilities. A new secondary mirror has been installed, and a system of new fiber optic cables with an array of aperture sizes now feed the echelle and HK spectrographs. The heart of the upgrade is a new acquisition/guiding head which facilitates the selection of aperture size, providing the desired resolution.
Wavelength range covers ~4900 to 7100 Å. Radial velocity precision of ± 0.15 km/s for narrow lined stars.
Spectra of faint stars to V=12.
Current Capabilities
|
Fiber diameter | Resolution | Exposure time for S/N= ~50 |
100 μm | ~40,000 | V=6, 3600s |
200 μm | ~30,000 | V=6, 900s |
365 μm | ~15,000 | V=6, 300s |