Navigation


Date Speaker Topic
21.02.2022 Martin Kürster MPIA Project Overview

This talk will provide an overview of the ongoing
astronomical instrumentation projects of the MPIA.

It presents

* which work packages the MPIA has taken over
within the respective consortium which collaborates in development and construction,

* the current phase of each project and the overall schedule,

* the main characteristics of the instruments, such as
type, wavelength, resolution, field-of-view, etc.

A brief look at the science planned with each instrument rounds off the presentation.

Presentation: German
Slides: English
Questions: German, English
28.02.2022 -- --
07.03.2022 Wolfgang Brandner
&
Wolfgang Gässler
ANDES - more than a mint chocolate

Searching for the word ANDES in the internet one of the first
products one can find is a mint chocolate. More than 120
astronomers and engineers worldwide are about to change this.
They are working on ANDES the ArmazoNes high Dispersion
Echelle Spectrograph for the E-ELT, which will cover the
wavelength range from the U-band to the near infrared providing precision data to understand exoplanet atmospheres in detail or measure the evolution of fundamental constants (Feinstrukturkonstante) back to the beginning of the universe.

The ANDES instrument will consist of a front end including an
adaptive optics system, which is picking up the light in the focal
plane. Some fiber feed to three spectrographs - UBV, RI, YJH
band - and an optional fourth spectrograph for K-band, where our institute with the APEx-department is most interested in.
Therefore, we lead a Phase B study of this K-band spectrograph. Transmission spectroscopy is defining the requirements of the
K-band spectrograph for us. Other important constraints are
the size (volume) and mass, and the highest possible optical throughput. The decision on whether or not to proceed with
the K-band spectrograph will happen after the completion of
the current Phase B study of the ANDES instrument sometime
in 2024. Hopefully it will not end like in Monty Pythons 'Meaning
of life' after just one more mint.

Presentation: German
Slides: English
Questions: German, English
14.03.2022 -- --
21.03.2022 Markus Feldt SPHERE+

Since 2015, SPHERE has been providing regular data and has not only enabled the consortium of manufacturers to produce well over 100 publications, but has also actually delivered transformative discoveries in the field of exoplanets and planet-forming disks. In one respect, however, its success has been limited: The instrument, which was conceived as a "planet hunter", has found planets, but the ultimate success has - foreseeably - failed to materialise, despite an enormous amount of observation time. However, 6 years of experience provided valuable information about the limiting factors, which have now been reliably identified, as well as possible remedies. This gave rise to the idea of a "SPHERE+" upgrade - an improvement in spectral resolution, as well as an upgrade of the XAO system with a second stage.

Presentation: German
Slides: English
Questions: German, English
28.03.2022 -- --
04.04.2022 Andreas Bichler (OptoSigma) OptoSigma - From University partner to space explorer

OptoSigma (jap.: SigmaKoki) is a global leader in developing and manufacturing high-quality photonic components. Started 45 years ago, as a flexible and price efficient partner of Japanese universities, OptoSigma developed as global player in photonics and laser industries. Over many decades, OptoSigma collected also a lot of astronomic experiences, which result in February 2021 in the SuperCam of the Mars Rover Perseverance.

Presentation: German
Slides: English
Questions: German, English
11.04.2022 -- --
18.04.2022 Holiday Easter Monday
25.04.2022 André Boné Tolerance studies for the Relay Optics of MICADO

MICADO is the Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations, a first light instrument for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). MICADO can operate in a stand-alone mode where the ELT focal plane is reimaged to the MICADO focal plane via the relay optics (RO). This subsystem consists of an optical bench made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, the MICADO calibration assembly, a cover to protect all opto-mechanical components on top of the bench, and an optical assembly.

André Boné will present the optical design of the MICADO relay optics, and its tolerance analysis. These tolerances affect the WFE, the exit pupil quality, and optical distortion. The considered effects are alignment (internal and external), optical manufacturing tolerances, and mechanical effects such as mount-induced aberrations, warping of the supporting bench, and the thermal behavior of the subsystem. We will look into how these analyses are performed, and walk through some pros and cons of solutions that bring the system into compliancy.

Presentation: English
Slides: English
Questions: English
02.05.2022 -- --
09.05.2022 -- --
16.05.2022 -- --
23.05.2022
Aline Dinkelaker (AIP) Canceled due to IT problems. New date: June 13

30.05.2022 Silvia Scheithauer The James Webb Space Telescope: A New Look into the Depths of the Universe

On December 25, 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched into space on an Ariane rocket from Europe's Korou Spaceport in French Guiana.

JWST is the largest observatory ever sent into space and is an international collaboration of the U.S., European and Canadian space agencies NASA, ESA and CSA. It carries four scientific instruments designed to unlock more secrets from the universe: With JWST, we will be able to look farther into the past than ever before and observe the first galaxies, we will learn more about the birth of stars and planets, and we will be able to study planets outside our own solar system.

The technology of the satellite itself is unique and a masterpiece of engineering. For example, the observatory - which is the size of a tennis court - had to be folded up for launch on the Ariane 5 rocket and then unfolded again fully automatically in space. Development of JWST began back in 1996, construction itself in 2004, with the four instruments ready between 2012 and 2013 and the entire satellite in 2021.

In this talk, I will give an overview of the fascinating history of JWST: From the idea to the construction and test, to the launch and the currently ongoing commissioning phase.

Presentation: German
Slides: English
Questions: German, English
06.06.2022 Holiday Whit Monday
13.06.2022 Aline Dinkelaker (AIP) Astrophotonics: Bringing Integrated Photonic Components to the Telescope

Anlogous to electronics, photonics is a technology, based on photons interacting with matter, that has become a game-changer around the globe. Waveguides in optical fibers and photonic integrated circuits (PIC) have become an immensely successful innovation. Photonic components offer enormous potential for astronomical instrumentation, as they can reduce the amount of bulky, heavy free-space optics and pave the way for innovative solutions. Such astrophotonic devices are already integrated in high-end instruments, leading to groundbreaking discoveries, e.g. the study of the supermassive Black Hole in our Milky Way using GRAVITY at the VLT (Nobel Prize for Physics 2020). With the ongoing development of novel manufacturing methods and designs, the field of astrophotonics continues to grow.

At the innovation center innoFSPEC Potsdam, photonic solutions are developed for applications along the signal chain of optical/NIR telescopes, e.g. fiber-based OH-suppression filters (potentially for ELT-MOS/MOSAIC), frequency combs (for STELLA), a PIC-based spectrograph (PAWS), or interferometric beam combiners, also based on PIC (for CHARA). After design, manufacture, and initial laboratory characterization, such components are being prepared for on-sky tests, to validate them for use in real instruments. I will give a brief overview of the astrophotonic research activities at AIP and highlight our current work on beam combiners for stellar interferometry.

Presentation: German
Slides: English
Questions: German, English
20.06.2022 Armin Böhm The new precision mechanics workshop

The past years have brought a lot of changes to the precision mechanics workshop.

Armin Böhm will not only present the new machines, but also the associated work spaces and the corresponding construction measures that within the last 8 years have given the precision mechanics workshop its new look.

After the talk there will be a small on-site tour of the precision mechanics workshop. If you are at the institute, feel free to join us at 15h in front of the precision mechanics workshop!

Presentation: German
Slides: German
Questions: German, English
27.06.2022 -- Institute meeting
04.07.2022 Natalie Fischer & Florian Seitz An experience for everyone: Workshops for children and teenagers at the House of Astronomy

Before the pandemic, about 3000 children and teenagers from schools and daycare centers visited the House of Astronomy every year. Most of them came to one of our workshops.

Today we would like to tell you and show you what they can learn in our workshops. At the beginning we will give you a short introduction in the lecture hall of the HdA and afterwards we invite you to try out in the two seminar rooms what kind of astronomical hands-on activities we do with the potential young scientists of tomorrow.

Presentation: German
Slides: German
Questions: German, English
11.07.2022 -- --
18.07.2022 Vianak Naranjo HAWAII-4RG Detector for PANIC

Apart from presenting the results of the characterization of the Hawaii-4RG Detector, Vianak Naranjo will briefly remind us of the reason why the detector was procured. She will also explain the “tiny” complications one can face with such a device and its solutions, and will take the opportunity to inform us about the status and outlook of the project.

Presentation: German
Slides: English
Questions: German, English
25.07.2022 -- --
Last modified 12 months ago Last modified on 18 Apr 2023, 15:50:47