Diffraction-limited imaging in the visible at the WHT Craig Mackay, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

La Palma & The WHT The LPO is one of the very best sites. The WHT is a good telescope, with negligible dome seeing. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

La Palma & The WHT The LPO is one of the very best sites. The WHT is a good telescope, with negligible dome seeing. Competitive instrumentation essential to establishing a real niche. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

La Palma & The WHT The LPO is one of the very best sites. The WHT is a good telescope, with negligible dome seeing. Competitive instrumentation essential to establishing a real niche. Diffraction-limited imaging in visible will fit the bill. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Lucky Imaging: The Einstein Cross HST/ACS (Left image), Lucky Image on NOT (Right image). 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Globular cluster M13 on the Palomar 5m. Seeing ~650 mas. Used PALMAO + our EMCCD Lucky Camera. With 30% selection, ~17% Strehl (I-band) ~40 mas resolution. Highest resolution image ever taken in the visible. Large Telescope Lucky Imaging. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

14 December 2007: U3A, King’s Lynn The Lucky/AO images resolve <40 mas, ~ 3 times Hubble. Large Telescope Lucky Imaging.

14 December 2007: U3A, King’s Lynn Large Telescope Lucky. (From Olivier Guyon, Subaru telescope. AO usually needs a bright reference star.

14 December 2007: U3A, King’s Lynn Large Telescope Lucky. (From Olivier Guyon, Subaru telescope. AO usually needs a bright reference star. We are building a new kind of wavefront curvature sensor.

14 December 2007: U3A, King’s Lynn Large Telescope Lucky. (From Olivier Guyon, Subaru telescope. AO usually needs a bright reference star. We are building a new kind of wavefront curvature sensor. Much more sensitive than Shack-Hartmann sensors particularly for low-order.

14 December 2007: U3A, King’s Lynn Large Telescope Lucky. (From Olivier Guyon, Subaru telescope. AO usually needs a bright reference star. We are building a new kind of wavefront curvature sensor. Much more sensitive than Shack-Hartmann sensors particularly for low-order. Can work with reference objects x fainter.

A similar system can now be built now for the WHT. Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

A similar system can now be built now for the WHT. Will allow a wide range of problems to be tackled that require >HST resolution in visible. Examples include globular cluster physics, quasar host galaxies, AGN studies, compact gravitational lenses, MACHO surveys in crowded regions and many others. Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

A similar system can now be built now for the WHT. Will allow a wide range of problems to be tackled that require >HST resolution in visible. Examples include globular cluster physics, quasar host galaxies, AGN studies, compact gravitational lenses, MACHO surveys in crowded regions and many others. Also works as high-time resolution instrument. Photon-counting CCDs allow limited fields at 1000Hz. Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Use a low-order AO system using a curvature sensor. On WHT would give resolution of milliarcsecs in V to I-bands (HST is ~125 mas). Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Use a low-order AO system using a curvature sensor. On WHT would give resolution of milliarcsecs in V to I-bands (HST is ~125 mas). Selection rate typically 30% to 40%. FOV 2000x2000, so 30x30 to 150x150 arcsecs. Require reference star of I~18, so ~90% sky coverage. Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Use a low-order AO system using a curvature sensor. On WHT would give resolution of milliarcsecs in V to I-bands (HST is ~125 mas). Selection rate typically 30% to 40%. FOV 2000x2000, so 30x30 to 150x150 arcsecs. Require reference star of I~18, so ~90% sky coverage. Already under development in Cambridge with STFC/PPRP grant. Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Capital cost ~ £200K, plus ~£300K salaries. Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Capital cost ~ £200K, plus ~£300K salaries. First light of basic system in 15 months. Complete in 24 months (user interface/reduction software is main effort). Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Capital cost ~ £200K, plus ~£300K salaries. First light of basic system in 15 months. Complete in 24 months (user interface/reduction software is main effort). Unique capability that really exploits the quality of the La Palma site. Opportunity for UK to take a world lead in the only way known to deliver diffraction limited imaging in the visible. Lucky/AO Imager for the WHT. 22 March 2010: Science with WHT

Instrumentation Group Institute of Astronomy University of Cambridge, UK