Re: [APML]: Adaptive Optics for Film Photography

["Tom Krajci" <krajcit@det5wg57.barksdale.af.mil>]

> From:          barber@sbig.com (Michael Barber)
> Subject:       Re: [APML]: Adaptive Optics for Film Photography
> Reply-to:      astro-photo@nightsky.com
 
> Mike, AF9Y wrote:
> 
> >Any plans to make the AO system available for use
> >with conventional film photography?  Could you do 
> >it by using a bino viewer after the AO mirror with
> >the ST-7 (or maybe even the ST-4) on one side and
> >the camera on the other?
> 
> For the time being the AO will only work with the ST-7/8 because it was
> developed around the dual sensor head.  A separate head presents a number of
> problems.  First, there must be a good correlation between the motion of the
> guide star and the image.  The farther the guide star is from the imaging
> chip the bigger the problem.  

Yes, One problem with this is how large is the 
useable aplanatic/isoplanatic patch - how large is the piece of sky 
that's corrected by various types of adaptive optics?

For the really fancy, laser beam, flexible mirror schemes that 
correct as much of the aberrations as possible the patch of sky 
that's corrected is only a few arcseconds in size. . .smaller than 
the size of Jupiter!

For the AO-2/stellar products using tip/tilt (doesn't correct all 
problems, but still an improvment) I think the piece of sky that's 
fixed is about one arcminute. . .Jupiter just fits in this.

A system that works for wider field imaging?  I don't know if there's 
any size of isoplanatic patch that you'll find large enough for that 
- so all you're gonna do is correct for things like wind, drive 
errors. . .which is still pretty good but it's not correcting every 
possible atmospheric flaw.

Tom Krajci

Capt Tom Krajci
B-52 Intelligence Officer
"In God we trust, all others we monitor!"
http://spur.barksdale.af.mil