AstroTechTalk – att

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Version 615 (modified by Vianak Naranjo, 5 months ago) ( diff )
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The AstroTechTalk (ger) offers a place to discuss, for all interested colleagues and especially for the technical departments, the project leaders, the administration and the scientists as the ultimately users:

status of instrumentation projects
scientific tasks and features of the instruments in construction or planned
new possible involvements
technical innovations and developments
technical problems and their solutions
logistical problems and their solutions
how to improve operation and observation
project standards.

Time: Always Mondays 15:00 - 16:00

Location: MPIA Hoersaal

Outline:

Announcements (news, visitors, etc.) (mainly in German)
Talk of about 30 min about a selected topic (German or English, will be announced)
Follow up discussion and questions (German or English, depending on the speaker)

Proposals for talks: Please send an email to "huber -at- mpia.de" or "naranjo -at- mpia.de" - alternatively you might reach us by phone (06221-528331 or -290) or in person (room 111 or 018) at MPIA.

Date	Speaker	Topic
17.03.2025	Jörg F. Wagner (University of Stuttgart)	The SOFIA flying observatory: technology and history SOFIA was an airborne observatory of NASA and DLR for infrared astronomy. It was operated at altitudes of around 13 km, where observation conditions are better than on the ground. A large reflector telescope was installed in the fuselage of a Boeing 747. Compared to satellite-borne observatories, SOFIA's observation instruments could be easily replaced and were directly accessible to scientists in flight. Construction and commissioning of the observatory lasted from 1999 to 2014, with observation operations continuing until 2022. The lecture presents the technology and history of the SOFIA project. Presentation: German Slides: German Questions: German, English
15.09.2025	Fabian Walter	The next generation of radio interferometers: DSA-2000 and ngVLA The construction of large radio interferometers is planned for the coming years, in particular the DSA-2000 radio camera and the ‘next generation VLA’. These require a new generation of receivers and telescopes, which I will discuss. Both projects are in the planning phase, and the prototypes of both telescopes are currently being built by the German company mtex. The reflectors and turnheads are being manufactured by the company CONCAD in Walldürn, which we will visit as part of this year's company outing. Presentation: German Slides: English Questions: German, English
07.10.2025	Matt Preston (Sales Director Europe – Teledyne Princeton Instruments and Photometrics)	Teledyne Scientific Imaging – New Cameras and Sensors for Astronomy Teledyne technology (https://www.teledynevisionsolutions.com/de-DE/) is successfully used in a number of astronomical instruments. In his talk, Matt Preston will give an overview on the Large Area Sensor CMOS and new technology developments at Teledyne and their applications in astronomy. Presentation: English Slides: English Questions: English
20.10.2025	Jens Helmling (CAHA)	50 years of technological evolution at the Calar Alto Observatory Technology develops incredibly fast. For years, Calar Alto received most of its technology from the MPIA, initially with photoplanes, even in the IR range, then came Retincon, CCDs, IR detectors, and increasingly CMOS. Today, many developments are carried out on site by Calar Alto staff, from new telescope control systems to improvements in efficiency, for example in Carmenes' radial velocity measurements. In this talk, Jens Helmling will take us on a journey of technological evolution along the last 50 years of the observatory. Presentation: German Slides: English Questions: English/German
11.11.2025	Maria Vincent (University of Hawaii, WM Keck Observatory)	Entering a new Era of Adaptive Optics with more powerful Deformable Mirrors Advances in high-contrast imaging of exoplanets and circumstellar disks hinge on increasingly capable adaptive optics. This talk presents a major instrumentation effort on Maunakea to reduce residual wavefront error and improve contrast through two facility adaptive optics upgrades: the Keck II High-Order Advanced Keck Adaptive Optics (HAKA) upgrade and Subaru’s next-generation facility AO (AO3k). Both upgrades center on higher-order ALPAO deformable mirrors with enhanced wavefront sensing and real-time control. In this presentation, laboratory activities are highlighted, particularly test-bench setup, modular lab control software, and results from the site-acceptance testing of the higher-order DM at Keck. Together, these improvements target higher Strehl ratios and deeper raw contrast at small angular separations, enabling sharper direct spectroscopy of older, cooler exoplanets and revealing scattered-light structure in moderately extincted, planet-forming disks. The presentation concludes with selected science outcomes from the upgraded Subaru AO system. Presentation: English Slides: English Questions: English
24.11.2025	Daniel P. Violette (NASA)	AstroPix: Novel High Voltage CMOS Detectors for Next-generation Gamma-ray Observatories A next-generation gamma-ray observatory operating in the medium-energy gamma-ray band (~100 keV to 100 MeV) will provide capabilities critical for advancing multi-messenger astrophysics by providing the electromagnetic context for the universe’s most explosive and energetic processes. Improvements in tracker detector technologies and instrument design are required to probe the nature of black holes, neutron stars, and relativistic jets. AstroPix detectors are High-Voltage Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) adapted from CMOS detector technologies developed for the ATLAS experiment at CERN. AstroPix detectors possess a large dynamic energy range (25-700 keV) with high spatial (500um x 500um) segmentation and spectral (<10% FWHM at 60 keV) resolution. AstroPix has been optimized for large area detector arrays (> meters2) and each detector provides on-chip signal digitization, low-power operation (1.5 mW/cm2), and chip-to-chip command and data handling. In his talk, Daniel Violette will discuss the need for low-power, highly tileable detectors for future gamma-ray observatories, introduce the AstroPix detector, and highlight current and future applications of the technology. Presentation: English Slides: English Questions: English