Abstract
We developed a scan mirror mechanism (SMM) that enable a slit-based spectrometer or spectropolarimeter to precisely and quickly map an astronomical object. The SMM, designed to be installed in the optical path preceding the entrance slit, tilts a folding mirror and then moves the reflected image laterally on the slit plane, thereby feeding a different one-dimensional image to be dispersed by the spectroscopic equipment. In general, the SMM is required to scan quickly and broadly while precisely placing the slit position across the field-of-view (FOV). These performances are in high demand for near-future observations, such as studies on the magnetohydrodynamics of the photosphere and the chromosphere. Our SMM implements a closed-loop control system by installing electromagnetic actuators and gap-based capacitance sensors. Our optical test measurements confirmed that the SMM fulfills the following performance criteria: i) supreme scan-step uniformity (linearity of 0.08\(\%\)) across the wide scan range (\(\pm 1005^{ \prime \prime}\)), ii) high stability (\(3 \sigma =0.1^{\prime \prime}\)), where the angles are expressed in mechanical angle, and iii) fast stepping speed (26 ms). The excellent capability of the SMM will be demonstrated soon in actual use by installing the mechanism for a near-infrared spectropolarimeter onboard the balloon-borne solar observatory for the third launch, Sunrise III.
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Acknowledgments
The balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise III is a mission of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS, Germany), and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL, USA). Sunrise III looks at the Sun from the stratosphere using a 1-meter telescope, three scientific instruments, and an image stabilization system. Significant contributors to the mission are a Spanish consortium, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ, Japan), and the Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics (KIS, Germany). The Spanish consortium is led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA, Spain) and includes the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Universitat de València (UV), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). Other partners include NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility Balloon Program Office (WFF-BPO) and the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). Sunrise III is supported by funding from the Max Planck Foundation, NASA under Grant #80NSSC18K0934, Spanish FEDER/AEI/MCIU (RTI2018-096886-C5) and a “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” award to IAA-CSIC (SEV-2017-0709), and the ISAS/JAXA Small Mission-of-Opportunity program and JSPS KAKENHI JP18H05234, and NAOJ Research Coordination Committee, NINS. We would also thank significant technical support from the Advanced Technology Center (ATC), NAOJ. We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.
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Oba, T., Shimizu, T., Katsukawa, Y. et al. Development of Fast and Precise Scan Mirror Mechanism for an Airborne Solar Telescope. Sol Phys 297, 114 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-022-02044-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-022-02044-y