Evaluation For Drive Precision of Large Telescope

It’s dissertated the relationship of the drive precision of large telescope, optical quality of the telescope and Seeing of atmosphere in the observatory in the article. And it gives the evaluation for drive precision of large telescope from mathematics matrix. If the value of evaluation for drive precision is high, it shows that the practical error of drive is small. Or it shows the practical error of drive is large. Based on 2 16 meter telescope, the right ascension drive gear system, optical system and Seeing in Xinglong observatory, a value of evaluation of this drive system in the current condition is calculated. Three other values of evaluation are calculated for supposed conditions. From that we can infer the basic and super standard limits of evaluation for drive precision of the drive precision error which is required when building large telescope.

A high-contrast imaging coronagraph for segmented-mirror large aperture telescopes using a spatial light modulator

The primary mirrors of current and future large telescopes always employ a segmented mirror configuration.The small but non-negligible gaps between neighboring segments cause additional diffraction,which restricts the performance of high-contrast coronagraph.To solve this problem,we propose a coronagraph system based on a single liquid crystal spatial light modulator(SLM).This spatial light modulator is used for amplitude apodization,and its feasibility and potential performance are demonstrated using a laboratory setup using the stochastic parallel gradient descent(SPGD)algorithm to control the spatial light modulator,which is based on point spread function(PSF)sensing and evaluation and optimized for maximum contrast in the discovery working area as a merit function.The system delivers a contrast in the order of 10−6,and shows excellent potential to be used in current and future large aperture telescopes,both on the ground and in space.

Calculating real-time surface deformation for large active surface radio antennas using a graph neural network

This paper presents an innovative surrogate modeling method using a graph neural network to compensate for gravitational and thermal deformation in large radio telescopes.Traditionally,rapid compensation is feasible for gravitational deformation but not for temperature-induced deformation.The introduction of this method facilitates real-time calculation of deformation caused both by gravity and temperature.Constructing the surrogate model involves two key steps.First,the gravitational and thermal loads are encoded,which facilitates more efficient learning for the neural network.This is followed by employing a graph neural network as an end-to-end model.This model effectively maps external loads to deformation while preserving the spatial correlations between nodes.Simulation results affirm that the proposed method can successfully estimate the surface deformation of the main reflector in real-time and can deliver results that are practically indistinguishable from those obtained using finite element analysis.We also compare the proposed surrogate model method with the out-of-focus holography method and yield similar results.

Site testing campaign for the Large Optical Telescope at the Ali site

The Large Optical/infrared Telescope(LOT)is a ground-based 12 m diameter telescope which is proposed to be built in western China.The site selection for LOT in China began in 2016,and Ali was listed as one of the three candidate sites.Remote studies and local surveys have been carried out for more than 15 years in western China,and the results show that Ali is a promising site with comprehensive quality in terms of atmospheric and supporting conditions.An overview of the site testing campaign at the Ali site from 2016 to 2019 is presented.After the two years of data collection,the overall median seeing value is found to be 1.17 arcsec,the observable nights are 81.71%and the good observable nights are 71.76%.The weather conditions as follows,the median night temperature value is-5.18℃,the median night relative humidity value is 41.25%,the median night atmospheric pressure value is 540.92 hPa,the median night wind speed value is 7.41 m s-1 and the mainly wind direction is southwestern(SW).The median night sky background value is 22.07 magV.We also discuss the wind speed at different locations on-site,the possibility of light pollution and the effect of wind speed on differential image motion monitor(DIMM)seeing measurements.

Extended state observer-based control with an adjustable parameter for a large ground-based telescope

The high-precision requirements will always be constrained due to the complicated operating conditions of the ground-based telescope. Owing to various internal and external disturbances, it is necessary to study a control method, which should have a good ability on disturbance rejection and a good adaptability on system parameter variation. The traditional proportional-integral(PI) controller has the advantage of simple and easy adjustment, but it cannot deal with the disturbances well in different situations. This paper proposes a simplified active disturbance rejection control law, whose debugging is as simple as the PI controller, and with better disturbance rejection ability and parameter adaptability. It adopts a simplified second-order extended state observer(ESO) with an adjustable parameter to accommodate the significant variation of the inertia during the different design stages of the telescope. The gain parameter of the ESO can be adjusted online with a recursive least square estimating method once the system parameter has changed significantly. Thus, the ESO can estimate the total disturbances timely and the controller will compensate them accordingly. With the adjustable parameter of the ESO, the controller can always achieve better performance in different applications of the telescope. The simulation and experimental verification of the control law was conducted on a 1.2-meter ground based telescope. The results verify the necessity of adjusting the parameter of the ESO, and demonstrate better disturbance rejection ability in a large range of speed variations during the design stages of the telescope.

Error analysis and distribution of the driving mechanism for large spherical radio telescope active reflector

In order to reduce the cost,3-PRS mechanism is introduced into the application of supporting theactive reflector unit of large radio telescope.The kinematic model of 3-PRS mechanism with rotationaljoint errors is derived to solve the error problem in actual engineering application.Then based on the errormodel,inverse and forward kinematics are analyzed.Because the solutions can not be analytically ex-pressed,a numerical method is applied.Afterwards,the parasitic motion errors are analyzed using searchmethod and empirical formulas of the maximum parasitic motion error are put forward.Finally,the toler-ance is distributed using empirical formulas to avoid interference between adjacent reflector units.Theanalyses provide a theoretical basis for the design and installation of large radio telescope active reflector.

Non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector of a large radio telescope under solar radiation

The non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector of a large radio telescope may cause serious deformation of the main reflector,which will dramatically reduce the aperture efficiency of a radio telescope.To study the non-uniform temperature field of the main reflector of a large radio telescope,numerical calculations including thermal environment factors,the coefficients on convection and radiation,and the shadow boundary of the main reflector are first discussed.In addition,the shadow coverage and the non-uniform temperature field of the main reflector of a 70-m radio telescope under solar radiation are simulated by finite element analysis.The simulation results show that the temperature distribution of the main reflector under solar radiation is very uneven,and the maximum of the root mean square temperature is 12.3℃.To verify the simulation results,an optical camera and a thermal imaging camera are used to measure the shadow coverage and the non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector on a clear day.At the same time,some temperature sensors are used to measure the temperature at some points close to the main reflector on the backup structure.It has been verified that the simulation and measurement results of the shadow coverage on the main reflector are in good agreement,and the cosine similarity between the simulation and the measurement is above 90%.Despite the inevitable thermal imaging errors caused by large viewing angles,the simulated temperature field is similar to the measured temperature distribution of the main reflector to a large extent.The temperature trend measured at the test points on the backup structure close to the main reflector without direct solar radiation is consistent with the simulated temperature trend of the corresponding points on the main reflector with the solar radiation.It is credible to calculate the temperature field of the main reflector through the finite element method.This work can provide valuable references for studying the thermal deformation and the surface accuracy of the main reflector of a large radio telescope.

THE LARGE SKY AREA MULTI-OBJECT FIBER SPECTROSCOPIC TELESCOPE (LAMOST)

Ⅰ. THE SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE Abundant physical information about remote celestial bodies is contained in their optical spectra. The optical spectra of enormous amount of celestial bodies are critical in astronomical research of wide field of view and large samples that concerns various frontiers in astronomy and astrophysics. Up to now, however, among the tens of billions of all kinds of celestial bodies recorded by imaging surveys, only a very little part (about one ten thousandth)

Advances in optical engineering for future telescopes

Significant optical engineering advances at the University of Arizona are being made for design, fabrication, and construction of next generation astronomical telescopes. This summary review paper focuses on the technological advances in three key areas. First is the optical fabrication technique used for constructing next-generation telescope mirrors. Advances in ground-based telescope control and instrumentation comprise the second area of development. This includes active alignment of the laser truss-based Large Binocular Telescope(LBT) prime focus camera, the new MOBIUS modular cross-dispersion spectroscopy unit used at the prime focal plane of the LBT, and topological pupil segment optimization. Lastly, future space telescope concepts and enabling technologies are discussed. Among these, the Nautilus space observatory requires challenging alignment of segmented multi-order diffractive elements. The OASIS terahertz space telescope presents unique challenges for characterizing the inflatable primary mirror, and the Hyperion space telescope pushes the limits of high spectral resolution, far-UV spectroscopy. The Coronagraphic Debris and Exoplanet Exploring Pioneer(CDEEP) is a Small Satellite(Small Sat) mission concept for high-contrast imaging of circumstellar disks and exoplanets using vector vortex coronagraph. These advances in optical engineering technologies will help mankind to probe, explore, and understand the scientific beauty of our universe.

Analyzing the capability of a radio telescope in a bistatic space debris observation system

A bistatic space debris observation system using a radio telescope as the receiving part is introduced. The detection capability of the system at different working frequencies is analyzed based on real instruments. The detection range of targets with a fixed radar cross section and the detection ability of small space debris at a fixed range are discussed. The simulations of this particular observation system at different transmitting powers are also implemented and the detection capability is discussed. The simulated results approximately match the actual experiments. The analysis in this paper provides a theoretical basis for developing a space debris observation system that can be built in China.

A Reverse-Design Strategy for the Track Error of the Qi Tai Telescope Based on Pointing Accuracy

The Qi Tai Telescope(QTT),which has a 110 m aperture,is planned to be the largest scale steerable tele-scope in the world.Ideally,the telescope’s repeated pointing accuracy error should be less than 2.5 arc seconds(arcsec);thus,the telescope structure must satisfy ultra-high precision requirements.In this pur-suit,the present research envisages a reverse-design method for the track surface to reduce the difficulty of the telescope’s design and manufacture.First,the distribution characteristics of the test data for the track error were verified using the skewness coefficient and kurtosis coefficient methods.According to the distribution characteristics,the azimuth track error was simulated by a two-scale model.The error of the long period and short amplitude was characterized as large-scale and described by a trigonometric function,while the short period and high amplitude error was characterized as small-scale and simulated by a fractal function.Based on the two-scale model,effect of the error on the pointing accuracy was deduced.Subsequently,the relationship between the root mean square(RMS)of the track error and the RMS of the pointing accuracy error of the telescope was deduced.Finally,the allowable RMS value of the track error was derived from the allowable pointing accuracy errors.To validate the effectiveness of the new design method,two typical radio telescopes(the Green Bank Telescope(GBT)and the Large Millimeter Telescope(LMT))were selected as experimental examples.Through comparison,the theoretical calculated values of the pointing accuracy of the telescope were consistent with the measured values,with a maximum error of less than 10%.

Hybrid position/force control strategy and experiment of the six-cable driven parallel manipulator for the forty-meter aperture radio telescope

This paper mainly analyzes a hybrid position/force control strategy and experiment of a six-cable driven parallel manipulator for a forty-meter aperture radio telescope. Through the establishments of a kinematic model, a catenary model and a cable-force characteristics model, a basic method is presented based on preventing the pseudo-drag problem of a flexible cable and realizing the hybrid position/force control for a six-cable driven parallel manipulator, and a hybrid position/force control system is developed. Some specific experiments in two typical velocities for astronomical observations are carried out. Experimental results show that the tracking accuracy is related to the speed of the movement. The desired tracking accuracy of the support system is achieved through an effective hybrid position/force control strategy, the cable forces are controlled effectively, and the pseudo-drag problem of flexible cable is solved. This study establishes the foundation of achieving the harmonious movement of the six-cable driven parallel manipulator, A-B rotating platform and the Stewart fine tuninz olatform.

Back Frame Optimization of a Large Radio Telescope Based on Force Cone Method

A new research perspective is proposed to optimize the topology of truss structure by force cone method,which involves force cone drawing rules and growth rules.Through the comparison with the mature variable density topology optimization method,the effectiveness of force cone method is verified.This kind of new method is simple and easy to understand(no need to master complex structural optimization design theory).Besides,it is time-saving in finite element calculations,and can obtain an optimized truss layout easily.By drawing the force cone,its application on a large radio telescope’s back frame structure shows that,compared with the existing one in terms of structural stiffness,Root Mean Square(RMS)precision,and beam stress distribution,the optimized back frame using the force cone method has higher stiffness,better RMS,more uniform stress,and lighter weight.