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Register a new userA new generalized differential image motion monitor
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We present first results of a new instrument, the Generalized Differential Image Motion Monitor (GDIMM), aiming at monitoring parameters of the optical turbulence (seeing, isoplanatic angle, coherence time and outer scale). GDIMM is based on a small telescope equipped with a 3-holes mask at its entrance pupil. The seeing is measured by the classical DIMM technique using two sub-pupils of the mask (6 cm diameter separated by a distance of 20 cm), the isoplanatic angle is estimated from scintillation through the third sub-pupil (its diameter is 10 cm, with a central obstruction of 4 cm). The coherence time is deduced from the temporal structure function of the angle of arrival (AA) fluctuations, thanks to the high-speed sampling rate of the camera. And the difference of the motion variances from sub-apertures of different diameters makes it possible to estimate the outer scale. GDIMM is a compact and portable instrument, and can be remotely controlled by an operator. We show in this paper the first results of test campaigns obtained in 2013 and 2014 at Nice observatory and the Plateau de Calern (France). Comparison with simultaneous data obtained with the Generalized Seeing Monitor (GSM) are also presented.
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We present the Generalised Differential Image Motion Monitor. It is a compact instrument dedicated to measure 4 parameters of the optical turbulence: seeing, isoplanatic angle, coherence time and wavefront coherence outer scale. GDIMM is based on a small telescope (28cm diameter) equipped with a 3-holes mask at its entrance pupil. The instrument is fully automatic, and performs continuous monitoring of turbulence parameters at the Calern Observatory (France). This paper gives a description of the instrument, data processing and error budget. We present also statistics of 3.5 years of monitoring of turbulence parameters above the Calern Observatory.
The Generalised Differential Image Motion Monitor (GDIMM) was proposed a few years ago as a new generation instrument for turbulence monitoring. It measures integrated parameters of the optical turbulence, i.e the seeing, isoplanatic angle, scintillation index, coherence time and wavefront coherence outer scale. GDIMM is based on a fully automatic small telescope (28cm diameter), equipped with a 3-holes mask at its entrance pupil. The instrument is installed at the Calern observatory (France) and performs continuous night-time monitoring of turbulence parameters. In this communication we present long-term and seasonnal statistics obtained at Calern, and combine GDIMM data to provide quantities such as the equivalent turbulence altitude and the effective wind speed.
The strength and vertical distribution of atmospheric turbulence is a key factor determining the performance of optical and infrared telescopes, with and without adaptive optics. Yet, this remains challenging to measure. We describe a new technique using a sequence of short-exposure images of a star field, obtained with a small telescope. Differential motion between all pairs of star images is used to compute the structure functions of longitudinal and transverse wavefront tilt for a range of angular separations. These are compared with theoretical predictions of simple turbulence models by means of a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo optimization. The method is able to estimate the turbulence profile in the lower atmosphere, the total and free-atmosphere seeing, and the outer scale. We present results of Monte-Carlo simulations used to verify the technique, and show some examples using data from the second AST3 telescope at Dome A in Antarctica.
I describe a new, open-source astronomical image-fitting program called Imfit, specialized for galaxies but potentially useful for other sources, which is fast, flexible, and highly extensible. A key characteristic of the program is an object-oriented design which allows new types of image components (2D surface-brightness functions) to be easily written and added to the program. Image functions provided with Imfit include the usual suspects for galaxy decompositions (Sersic, exponential, Gaussian), along with Core-Sersic and broken-exponential profiles, elliptical rings, and three components which perform line-of-sight integration through 3D luminosity-density models of disks and rings seen at arbitrary inclinations. Available minimization algorithms include Levenberg-Marquardt, Nelder-Mead simplex, and Differential Evolution, allowing trade-offs between speed and decreased sensitivity to local minima in the fit landscape. Minimization can be done using the standard chi^2 statistic (using either data or model values to estimate per-pixel Gaussian errors, or else user-supplied error images) or Poisson-based maximum-likelihood statistics; the latter approach is particularly appropriate for cases of Poisson data in the low-count regime. I show that fitting low-S/N galaxy images using chi^2 minimization and individual-pixel Gaussian uncertainties can lead to significant biases in fitted parameter values, which are avoided if a Poisson-based statistic is used; this is true even when Gaussian read noise is present.
Atomic clock technology is advancing rapidly, now reaching stabilities of $Delta f/f sim 10^{-18}$, which corresponds to resolving $1$ cm in equivalent geoid height over an integration timescale of about 7 hours. At this level of performance, ground-based atomic clock networks emerge as a tool for monitoring a variety of geophysical processes by directly measuring changes in the gravitational potential. Vertical changes of the clocks position due to magmatic, volcanic, post-seismic or tidal deformations can result in measurable variations in the clock tick rate. As an example, we discuss the geopotential change arising due to an inflating point source (Mogi model), and apply it to the Etna volcano. Its effect on an observer on the Earths surface can be divided into two different terms: one purely due to uplift and one due to the redistribution of matter. Thus, with the centimetre-level precision of current clocks it is already possible to monitor volcanoes. The matter redistribution term is estimated to be 2-3 orders of magnitude smaller than the uplift term, and should be resolvable when clocks improve their stability to the sub-millimetre level. Additionally, clocks can be compared over distances of thousands of kilometres on a short-term basis (e.g. hourly). These clock networks will improve our ability to monitor periodic effects with long-wavelength like the solid Earth tide.
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