Dr. Alison B. Peck Profile

Dr. Alison B. Peck

Instrument and User Support Scientist at Gemini Observatory

SPIE Involvement:

Conference Chair | Symposium Chair | Editor | Author

Publications (11)

SPIE Conference Volume | July 23, 2018

Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems VII

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 10, 2018

Gemini infrared multi-object spectrograph: instrument overview

Proc. SPIE. 10702, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Spectrographs, Stars, Gemini Observatory, Imaging spectroscopy, Adaptive optics, Infrared spectroscopy, Infrared radiation, Galactic astronomy, James Webb Space Telescope

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 10, 2018

Visiting instruments as part of a strategic plan

Proc. SPIE. 10704, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems VII

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Spectrographs, Gemini Observatory, Aerospace engineering, Spectroscopy, Polarimetry, Exoplanets, Infrared spectroscopy, Gemini Planet Imager

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 6, 2018

IGRINS at the Discovery Channel Telescope and Gemini South

Proc. SPIE. 10702, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Spectrographs, Astronomy, Electronics, Stars, Gemini Observatory, Infrared spectroscopy, Space telescopes, K band

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The Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrometer (IGRINS) was designed for high-throughput with the expectation of being a visitor instrument at progressively larger observing facilities. IGRINS achieves R∼45000 and > 20,000 resolution elements spanning the H and K bands (1.45-2.5μm) by employing a silicon immersion grating as the primary disperser and volume-phase holographic gratings as cross-dispersers. After commissioning on the 2.7 meter Harlan J. Smith Telescope at McDonald Observatory, the instrument had more than 350 scheduled nights in the first two years. With a fixed format echellogram and no cryogenic mechanisms, spectra produced by IGRINS at different facilities have nearly identical formats. The first host facility for IGRINS was Lowell Observatory’s 4.3-meter Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT). For the DCT a three-element fore-optic assembly was designed to be mounted in front of the cryostat window and convert the f/6.1 telescope beam to the f/8.8 beam required by the default IGRINS input optics. The larger collecting area and more reliable pointing and tracking of the DCT improved the faint limit of IGRINS, relative to the McDonald 2.7-meter, by ∼1 magnitude. The Gemini South 8.1-meter telescope was the second facility for IGRINS to visit. The focal ratio for Gemini is f/16, which required a swap of the four-element input optics assembly inside the IGRINS cryostat. At Gemini, observers have access to many southern-sky targets and an additional gain of ∼1.5 magnitudes compared to IGRINS at the DCT. Additional adjustments to IGRINS include instrument mounts for each facility, a glycol cooled electronics rack, and software modifications. Here we present instrument modifications, report on the success and challenges of being a visitor instrument, and highlight the science output of the instrument after four years and 699 nights on sky. The successful design and adaptation of IGRINS for various facilities make it a reliable forerunner for GMTNIRS, which we now anticipate commissioning on one of the 6.5 meter Magellan telescopes prior to the completion of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

SPIE Conference Volume | August 23, 2016

Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems VI

SPIE Conference Volume | August 20, 2014

Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems V

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 4, 2014

The ALMA assembly, integration, and verification project: a retrospective analysis

Proc. SPIE. 9150, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VI

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Astronomy, Calibration, Adaptive optics, Synthetic apertures, Antennas, Radio astronomy, Systems modeling, Lead

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The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is a joint project between astronomical organizations in Europe, North America, and East Asia, in collaboration with the Republic of Chile. ALMA consists of 54 twelve-meter antennas and 12 seven-meter antennas operating as an aperture synthesis array in the (sub)millimeter wavelength range. Assembly, Integration, and Verification (AIV) of the antennas was completed at the end of the year 2013, while the final optimization and complete expansion to validate all planned observing modes will continue. This paper compares the actually obtained results of the period 2008-2013 with the baselines that had been laid out in the early project-planning phase (2005-2007). First plans made for ALMA AIV had already established a two-phased project life-cycle: phase 1 for setting up necessary infrastructure and common facilities, and taking the first three antennas to the start of commissioning; and phase 2 focused on the steady state processing of the remaining units. Throughout the execution of the project this lifecycle was refined and two additional phases were added, namely a transition phase between phases 1 and 2, and a closing phase to address the project ramp-down. A sub-project called Accelerated Commissioning and Science Verification (ACSV) was carried out during the year 2009 in order to provide focus to the whole ALMA organization, and to accomplish the start-of-commissioning milestone. Early phases of CSV focused on validating the basic performance and calibration. Over time additional observing modes have been validated as capabilities expanded both in hardware and software. This retrospective analysis describes the originally presented project staffing plans and schedules, the underlying assumptions, identified risks and operational models, among others. For comparison actual data on staffing levels, the resultant schedule, additional risks identified and those that actually materialized, are presented. The observed similarities and differences are then analyzed and explained, and corresponding lessons learned are presented.

SPIE Conference Volume | August 20, 2012

Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IV

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 28, 2010

ALMA: status report on construction and early results from commissioning

Proc. SPIE. 7733, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes III

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Astronomy, Oscillators, Interferometers, Receivers, Adaptive optics, Antennas, Phase measurement, Optical correlators

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