A thousand and one nights of seeing on Mt. Wilson

David F. Buscher

doi:10.1117/12.177276

9 June 1994 A thousand and one nights of seeing on Mt. Wilson

David F. Buscher

Proceedings Volume 2200, Amplitude and Intensity Spatial Interferometry II; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.177276
Event: 1994 Symposium on Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation for the 21st Century, 1994, Kailua, Kona, HI, United States

Abstract

The Mark III optical interferometer has been in routine operation on Mt. Wilson, near Los Angeles CA, since 1988. Because it employs active fringe-tracking, seeing measurements are a natural byproduct of any astronomical observation. An automated seeing analysis program has allowed us to extract measurements of the coherence time, t_(omicron ), and the high-frequency spectral index of the power spectrum of fringe motion for all clear nights in the observing seasons 1989-1991. This provides a unique database of the seeing; very few other measurements of the temporal properties of astronomical seeing exist, and none with such a representative sampling of nights. We examine various statistical properties of the seeing and infer quantities of interest to the design of future interferometers.

Citation Download Citation

David F. Buscher "A thousand and one nights of seeing on Mt. Wilson", Proc. SPIE 2200, Amplitude and Intensity Spatial Interferometry II, (9 June 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.177276

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