New Telescope Attachment Allows Ground-Based Observations of New Worlds (VIDEO)
Caption
The stability of the stellar image on a telescope detector is integral in achieving high precision photometric measurements. This video compares diffuser-assisted observations (right) to the two other most commonly used observing modes to observe transiting exoplanets: (left) observations using a defocused telescope, creating broad, but often highly unstable stellar images, and (middle) in-focus observations, which often fluctuate and "dance" around on the detector, degrading their precision. The diffused observations consistently deliver a broad and stable image of the star throughout the observations. The video images were obtained with the wide-field Infrared camera (WIRC) on the 5m Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, with and without a diffuser.
Credit
Ming Zhao, Penn State
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