Within the project SLOBATCO (Slovak-Bavarian Telescope Collaboration) the Astronomical Institute of the
Slovak Academy of Sciences and Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences collaborate in the
development and commissioning of the new Ø1.3 m astronomical telescope and the corresponding scientific
instrumentation. The project is funded by the Bavarian Academic Center for Central, Eastern and
Southeastern Europe (BAYHOST). Technical work packages are targeting filter wheel software for the VIS
camera, additional IR filters, and an upgrade of the mirror coating facility by additional sputtering equipment.
Since 2015, the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (AI SAS) is operating a modern EU-funded reflecting telescope with a 130 cm primary mirror, located in the Skalnaté Pleso Observatory in the Tatra Mountains at an altitude of 1783 m. In 2018, the funding agency BAYHOST granted the proposed project SLOBATCO to Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences. The cooperation project pursues the development of astronomical NIR filters, which are designed for the atmospheric transmission windows in the infrared spectral range. In order to avoid a complex cryogenic filter wheel for the NIR CCD camera operated at low temperatures, the observations should be realized through a segmented filter using precise shifts of the image field. The bi-national cooperation project and the specification of the infrared filter combination are presented in this poster contribution.
With ground based optical telescopes astronomers observe celestial objects over a wide spectral range. As usually three or even more reflections at telescope mirrors are involved, good reflection properties of the mirror coatings are important. The aluminum evaporation technique has been - and is still - the standard solution for the reflective coatings of large astronomical mirrors. Such coatings have excellent reflectivity in the ultraviolet and in the visible, but perform poorly in the infrared. Silver is the metal having highest reflectivity for wavelengths longward of 400 nm, but isn´t the best choice for reflectivity in the ultraviolet and for blue light. To avoid degradation by oxidation, durable silver coatings need to be protected by transmitting overcoating layers. In the presented study, different metallic coatings – including unusual ones like sputtered iridium - are characterized to identify a coating that is most suitable for the spectral range from ultraviolet to infrared. Experimental results are compared to simulations based on the complex refractive indices of these materials. Thereby dependence of incidence angle and polarization is also considered.
X-ray telescopes usually operate in space and are quite different from astronomical telescopes for visible light. For normal angles of incidence, optical light is reflected on the mirror surface, whereas X-rays are either transmitted or absorbed. However, also high reflectivity X-rays mirrors are possible, when the incident rays direction is almost parallel to the mirror surface. Such grazing incidence mirrors are usually coated with thin layers of precious metals like iridium, gold or platinum, as this result in high X-ray reflectivity. These noble metals offer a wide range of reflection up to high photon energies, but, due to a series of absorption edges, have low reflectivity in the 2 - 4 keV band and below. This contribution presents the development of innovative material combinations based on thin layers of iridium and chromium, followed by an additional layer of carbon-based materials. We also discuss corresponding production methods (like dip coating) for enhanced reflectivity mirror coatings of future X-ray telescopes.
Poster
Im Rahmen einer bayerisch-tschechischen Kooperation entstanden zwei mechanisch baugleiche Röntgenteleskope, bestückt mit Gold- und Iridium-beschichteten Planspiegeln. Die Charakterisierung der nach dem ägyptischen Gott HORUS benannten Teleskope erfolgte an der Röntgentestanlage PANTER des Max-Plack-Instituts für extraterrestrische Physik. Diese Vakuum-Testanlage simuliert parallel auf die Teleskope einfallendes Sternenlicht, wobei hier die Strahlung aus einer Röntgenquelle in 120 Metern Abstand stammt. Die Messungen selbst fanden in einer daran angebauten 12 Meter langen Testkammer von 3,5 Metern Durchmesser statt. Im März 2021 sahen die HORUS-Teleskope zum erstem Mal Röntgenlicht. Während der Testkampagne von ca. 54 Stunden Dauer wurden 536 Einzelmessungen an den beiden Teleskopen durchgeführt, bei denen Photonenenergien und Einfallswinkel variiert wurden. Von einer empfindlichen CCD-Kamera, einem Prototyp der eROSITA-Satellitenkamera, wurden hierbei insgesamt 11.153.574 Röntgenphotonen individuell detektiert, analysiert und digital verarbeitet. Die beiden Weitwinkel-Röntgenteleskope haben eine Winkelauflösung von circa 4 Bogenminuten und eine Brennweite von rund zwei Metern.
The goal of this project is to develop satellite components for space-based astronomical satellite payloads. Thereby advanced materials like iridium and innovative manufacturing technologies will be applied. After environmental testing and space qualifications tests it is planned to do an astronomical experiment with a stratospheric balloon or a sounding rocket. The work is embedded in ACCASI („Aschaffenburg Competence Center for Astronomical and Space Instumentation“)