A local attenuation filter for accurate photometry of near-infrared bright stars

Abstract

I have developed a special ND filter (Local Attenuation Filter) for observing bright near-infrared stars. This filter is a 60mm diameter with a 4mm thickness, on which an attenuation (0.02% transparency) patch with an 8mm diameter is coated. This filter is expected to be installed near the focal plane of telescope, and the flux through this patch is attenuated. Using this filter, we can observe the attenuated bright star together with not affected field stars as reference for relative photometry. This filter has been installed to the IRSF 1.4m telescope and used for the monitoring of NIR bright stars, for example, η Car.