Dealing with the forecast of the optical turbulence as a tool to support astronomy assisted by AO facilities
Date Issued
2015
Author(s)
Abstract
In the context of the research activities related to the forecast of the optical turbulence and the atmospherical parameters being relevant for ground-based astronomy we focus here our attention on two specific topics: 1. pros and cons of different solutions to supply wind speed and direction stratification on the whole atmosphere all along a night to support AO facilities; 2. the necessity of instrumentation for optical turbulence monitoring (vertical profiles on the whole atmosphere) to be used operationally. In the last two decades the development and the use of different vertical profilers covering the whole atmosphere or part of it in application to the astronomy took place. Several instruments based on different principles (with associated pros and cons) have been applied in different contexts in astronomy with a main use in the site characterization and site selection. Time changed and the necessity of the astronomy supported by AO facilities is much more demanding with a diversification of applications. Recently, motivated by a precise necessity related to the identification of an absolute reference to carry out studies on optical turbulence forecasts (MOSE project), we carried out a verification of the reliability of a few instruments that lead us to put in evidence some limitations for a few of them. At the same time such a detailed analysis permitted us to clarify the nature of some astroclimatic parameters. The main conclusion at which we arrived is two-fold. From one side we could trace a list of warnings related to different uses of such instruments. On the other side we could identify open problems that indicate that there is still space for research in the field of turbulence monitoring in application to the astronomy. Some suggestions are proposed.
Volume
595
Issue
1
Conferenece
Adapting to the Atmosphere Conference 2014
Conferenece place
Durham, UK
Conferenece date
15-18 September, 2014
Issn Identifier
1742-6588
Ads BibCode
2015JPhCS.595a2020M
Rights
open.access
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
masciadri_et_al_2015.pdf
Description
PDF editoriale
Size
274.01 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
d09018e08374a00b002650ea2457acfc