On-sky operations with the ALES integral field spectrograph

Jordan M. Stone; Andrew J. Skemer; Philip Hinz; Zack Briesemeister; Travis Barman; Charles E. Woodward; Mike Skrutskie; Jarron Leisenring

doi:10.1117/12.2313977

6 July 2018 On-sky operations with the ALES integral field spectrograph

Jordan M. Stone, Andrew J. Skemer, Philip Hinz, Zack Briesemeister, Travis Barman, Charles E. Woodward, Mike Skrutskie, Jarron Leisenring

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10702, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII; 107023F (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313977
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

The integral field spectrograph configuration of the LMIRCam science camera within the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) facilitates 2 to 5 µm spectroscopy of directly imaged gas-giant exoplanets. The mode, dubbed ALES, comprises magnification optics, a lenslet array, and direct-vision prisms, all of which are included within filter wheels in LMIRCam. Our observing approach includes manual adjustments to filter wheel positions to optimize alignment, on/off nodding to track sky-background variations, and wavelength calibration using narrow band filters in series with ALES optics. For planets with separations outside our 1”x1” field of view, we use a three-point nod pattern to visit the primary, secondary and sky. To minimize overheads we select the longest exposure times and nod periods given observing conditions, especially sky brightness and variability. Using this strategy we collected several datasets of low-mass companions to nearby stars.

Citation Download Citation

Jordan M. Stone, Andrew J. Skemer, Philip Hinz, Zack Briesemeister, Travis Barman, Charles E. Woodward, Mike Skrutskie, and Jarron Leisenring "On-sky operations with the ALES integral field spectrograph", Proc. SPIE 10702, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII, 107023F (6 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313977

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