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18-12-2009MICADO the movie
| Submitter: | Marco Drost |
| Description: | MICADO is the Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations, which is being designed to work with adaptive optics on the E-ELT. The movie shows the compact instrument with its two cryostat doors during installation at the E-ELT’s Nasmyth platform. The instrument is supported by and positioned under MAORY, the Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics module. This gravity invariant location eliminates differential flexure of MICADO. The second take shows the instrument during operation. The main function of MICADO is to image the sky which is done through a large number of selectable wide and narrow-band near infrared filters, at a large 53” field of view at the diffraction limit of the E-ELT. MICADO consists of two arms. The primary arm is a high throughput imaging camera with a single 3mas pixel scale. This arm is designed with fixed mirrors for superior stability, thus optimizing astrometric precision. In addition, MICADO will have an auxiliary arm to provide an increased degree of flexibility. In the current design, this arm provides (i) a finer 1.5mas pixel scale over a smaller field, and (ii) a 4mas pixel scale for a simple, medium resolution, long-slit spectroscopic capability. However, in principle the auxiliary arm also opens the door to many other options, including a ‘dual imager’ based on a Fabry-Perot etalon to image separate emission line and continuum wavelengths simultaneously, or a high time resolution detector. The opto-mechanical design shown in this movie is the final result of the Phase A study done by NOVA/ASTRON. The NOVA/ASTRON team is responsible for the mechanical and cryogenic design of MICADO. On December 1st the design passed the Phase A review at ESO with success. |
| Copyright: | MPE (Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik) |
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