SOAR Telescope: 4-meter high-performance-mount performance results

Abstract

The 4.1-meter SOuthern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope mount and drive systems have been commissioned and are in routine operation. The telescope mount, the structure and its full drive systems, was fully erected and tested at the factory prior to reassembly and commissioning at the observatory. This successful approach enabled complete integration, from a concrete pier to a pointing and tracking telescope, on the mountain, in a rapid 3-month period. The telescope mount with its high instrument payload and demanding efficiency requirements is an important component for the success of the SOAR scientific mission. The SOAR mount utilizes rolling element bearings for both azimuth and elevation support, counter torqued sets of gear motors on azimuth and two frameless torque motors built into the elevation axles. Tracking jitter and its associated spectra, pointing errors and their sources, bearing friction and servo performances are critical criteria for this mount concept and are important factors in achieving the mission. This paper addresses the performance results obtained during the integration, commissioning, and first light periods of the telescope mount system.