The Argus Array Technology Demonstrator: rapid prototyping of core technologies for an all-sky multiplexed survey telescope

Hank Corbett IV; Alan Vasquez Soto; Lawrence Machia; Nathan Galliher; Ramses Gonzalez; Glenn Walters; Nicholas M. Law

doi:10.1117/12.2629489

29 August 2022 The Argus Array Technology Demonstrator: rapid prototyping of core technologies for an all-sky multiplexed survey telescope

Hank Corbett IV, Alan Vasquez Soto, Lawrence Machia, Nathan Galliher, Ramses Gonzalez, Glenn Walters, Nicholas M. Law

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12182, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IX; 121824D (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629489
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

The Argus Optical Array is a synoptic survey instrument that will use 900 commercial off-the-shelf telescopes to cover a composite all-sky of view with a total collecting area equivalent to a 5-meter telescope. We are currently carrying out a staged development process, leading up to the construction of the 38-telescope Argus Pathfinder system, which will observe the entire Northern sky between −20◦ < δ < 72◦ each night for 15 minutes per field. Argus Pathfinder is currently scheduled for a Q3 2022 deployment to the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in Rosman, NC. The Argus Array Technology Demonstrator (A2TD) is the first in this series of prototype instruments, and consists of 9-telescopes in a fiberglass enclosure on a tracking platform. The A2TD is a tool for rapid development, testing, and performance validation of the essential subsystems of the Argus Array design, including a custom-developed tracking drive and polar alignment system, thermal environment control, optical windows, and observatory control. The A2TD is also used for on-sky validation of telescope and camera pairs that have been bench-aligned, and for development of observatory automation and control software that are either directly transferable or scalable to later development stages, including the Argus Pathfinder. In this paper, we present the development process and design of the Argus Technology Demonstrator, and highlight early results from on-sky testing with the instrument.

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Hank Corbett IV, Alan Vasquez Soto, Lawrence Machia, Nathan Galliher, Ramses Gonzalez, Glenn Walters, and Nicholas M. Law "The Argus Array Technology Demonstrator: rapid prototyping of core technologies for an all-sky multiplexed survey telescope", Proc. SPIE 12182, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IX, 121824D (29 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629489

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KEYWORDS

Telescopes

Cameras

Optical arrays

Control systems

Optical instrument design

Point spread functions

Observatories

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