What’s After JWST? Follow a Team Working on Technology for Next-Gen Ground Observatories
Some telescopes are about to become much more precise, thanks in part to a team at the University of Toronto.
Led by Associate Professor Suresh Sivanandam, U of T astronomers have built, tested, and installed brand-new telescope equipment that can enhance visibility by correcting for distortions in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Along with colleagues at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, the team went “live” with this installation in the fall of 2022, at the MMT Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.
Referred to in astronomy as “adaptive optics,” this system uses adjustable mirrors on telescopes and specialized cameras to measure and compensate for distortions. Its application means that observatories like MMT will be able to reach their full potential and provide valuable new insights into the universe.
Sivanandam works from the SHARP Lab at the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, where he is an Associate Professor. He and his team created a custom-built, near-infrared camera and developed machine-learning algorithms to improve sky coverage by enhancing the availability to see stars for observation.
These improvements that instrumentation-specialized astronomers like Sivanandam and others are implementing will be particularly important for adaptive optics systems for upcoming large ground-based observatories, such as the Thirty Meter Telescope and the European Extremely Large Telescope. These observatories have extremely large mirrors, which will collect a large amount of light and provide much higher resolution images than existing smaller telescopes.
The SHARP Lab hopes that this will not only lead to improvements among future observatories, but also greater adoption among existing observatories with adaptive optics systems.
This short documentary follows the SHARP Lab team from March 2022 up until they shipped their system out in June 2022 for integration in at the MMT telescope in Arizona. The MMT telescope began commissioning the new Adaptive Optics system in late 2022. The telescope will be available for scientific observations later in 2023.
Timestamps:
00:00 Prologue
01:11 Why Adaptive Optics are Important for Large Observatories
04:15 Challenges Ahead
05:35 Assembling and Testing the Near Infrared Wavefront Sensor
07:20 A Leak!
09:52 Predictive Control with Machine Learning
12:20 The Problem with Latency in AO Systems
14:27 How to Improve Machine Learning Training
16:10 Looking ahead to the MMT in Arizona
About the Researchers:
Suresh Sivanandam is an Associate Professor at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics and the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. He studies the formation and evolution of galaxies. Sivanandam specializes in astronomical instrumentation, and is a key member in many projects that focus on advancing instrumentation in adaptive optics.
Jacob Taylor is a PhD student at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics. He focuses on enhancing adaptive optics systems for astronomical observations. He uses novel hardware, calibration methods, and software to improve image clarity and atmospheric correction. His goal is to advance our understanding of the universe by enhancing observatory capabilities worldwide.
Robin Swanson is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Toronto and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics. His research focuses on combining astronomical instrumentation with machine learning and computer vision tools.
About the Dunlap Institute:
The Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto is an endowed research institute with over 80 faculty, postdocs, students, and staff, dedicated to innovative technology, groundbreaking research, world-class training, and public engagement. The research themes of its faculty and Dunlap Fellows span the Universe and include: optical, infrared and radio instrumentation, Dark Energy, large-scale structure, the Cosmic Microwave Background, the interstellar medium, galaxy evolution, cosmic magnetism and time-domain science. The Dunlap Institute, the David A. Dunlap of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and other researchers across the University of Toronto's three campuses together comprise the leading concentration of astronomers in Canada, at the leading research university in the country. The Dunlap Institute is committed to making its science, training, and public outreach activities productive and enjoyable for everyone of all backgrounds and identities.
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Filmed and directed by Jonathan Qu and Kevin Li
Audio Courtesy: Bell Media.