Paper 13094-38
Paper 13094-38
The SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper Survey Telescopes: from conception to science
18 June 2024 • 15:20 - 15:40 Japan Standard Time | Room G403/404, North - 4F
Abstract
The SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper (LVM) survey employs an array of four, 16-cm telescopes feeding 3 fiber spectrographs at Las Campanas Observatory, with the goal of mapping the entire Galactic plane with 37” spatial resolution and R~4000 spectral resolution. The demands of the survey led to some unique challenges and unconventional design and architecture choices: each telescope uses a two-mirror siderostat in alt-alt configuration feeding optomechanical components, including the fiber feed, on a fixed breadboard. After roughly four years of design, development, construction, testing, and commissioning, the LVM telescopes entered regular survey operations in late 2023. This paper presents an overview of the entire project, from input scientific requirements to the actual performance achieved on-sky.
Presenter
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Germany)
Tom Herbst is a senior staff astronomer and research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg. He received his PhD from Cornell University and completed a post-doctoral at the University of Hawaii before moving to the MPIA. His science interests are in the field of high angular resolution astronomy, with an emphasis on star formation. He is the Telescope Lead for the SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper and the Principal Investigator of the LINC-NIRVANA instrument on the LBT.