FLAIR wide-field multiobject spectroscopy system

Frederick G. Watson; Anthony Patrick Oates; Peter M. Gray

doi:10.1117/12.19137

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1 July 1990 FLAIR wide-field multiobject spectroscopy system

Frederick G. Watson, Anthony Patrick Oates, Peter M. Gray

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Proceedings Volume 1235, Instrumentation in Astronomy VII; (1990) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.19137
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation for the 21st Century, 1990, Tucson, AZ, United States

Abstract

The evolution, current status, and planned improvements of the FLAIR fiber-optic-link multiobject spectroscopy system used on the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope of the Anglo-Australian Observatory are reviewed and illustrated with diagrams and sample spectra. Consideration is given to the original FLAIR system using photographic film to record spectra, the introduction of a slow-scan cryogenic CCD camera in 1986, the problems of focal-surface coverage and sensitivity in the prototype FLAIR, the improved Panache fiber feed and on-chip pixel binning scheme installed in 1988, and the dispersion options offered by the FLAIR-Panache system. The limitations of the present FLAIR configuration are discussed, along with improvements involving (1) the use of a new spectrograph with Schmidt optics for both collimator and camera and (2) advanced plate-holder and positioner systems making it possible to load FLAIR into the telescope in a few seconds instead of an hour.

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Frederick G. Watson, Anthony Patrick Oates, and Peter M. Gray "FLAIR wide-field multiobject spectroscopy system", Proc. SPIE 1235, Instrumentation in Astronomy VII, (1 July 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.19137

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