Telescope Research Articles

Improving Image Quality of the Solar Disk Imager (SDI) of the Lyα Solar Telescope (LST) Onboard the ASO-S Mission

Abstract The in-flight calibration and performance of the Solar Disk Imager (SDI), which is a pivotal instrument of the Lyα Solar Telescope onboard the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory mission, suggested a much lower spatial resolution than expected. In this paper, we developed the SDI point-spread function (PSF) and Image Bivariate Optimization Algorithm (SPIBOA) to improve the quality of SDI images. The bivariate optimization method smartly combines deep learning with optical system modeling. Despite the lack of information about the real image taken by SDI and the optical system function, this algorithm effectively estimates the PSF of the SDI imaging system directly from a large sample of observational data. We use the estimated PSF to conduct deconvolution correction to observed SDI images, and the resulting images show that the spatial resolution after correction has increased by a factor of more than three with respect to the observed ones. Meanwhile, our method also significantly reduces the inherent noise in the observed SDI images. The SPIBOA has now been successfully integrated into the routine SDI data processing, providing important support for the scientific studies based on the data. The development and application of SPIBOA also paves new ways to identify astronomical telescope systems and enhance observational image quality. Some essential factors and precautions in applying the SPIBOA method are also discussed.

Shooting Scheme for Perturbations in Optimised Solution of the Orbital Boundary Value Problem

AbstractMonitoring of the near-Earth space environment has become more and more important in recent times. The constantly increasing amount of space debris is a major threat for space activities and an exhaustive knowledge about the space objects population is of primary importance for civil and military applications. The surveillance of the space surrounding the Earth is achieved by means of sensors based on different technologies. Passive optical observations using ground telescopes are usually employed to track space objects in high altitude orbits. The obtained measurements are sparse, and their arcs are very short. The computation of the orbit based on these observations is challenging and several methods have been proposed. One of the known approaches relies on an optimization scheme of the classical boundary value problem. However, in the latter, the object motion is described by a Keplerian orbit without considering additional perturbations. In this novel approach, orbital perturbations are introduced in the computation procedure using a shooting model. The improved algorithm is applied to simulated observations of objects in the geostationary region under the influence of solar radiation pressure. The measured arcs are separated by intervals of one or more orbit revolutions. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated in terms of accuracy considering different levels of perturbation.

Demonstration of daytime CubeSat-to-ground laser communication in OOK modulation with a dual-mode superconducting nanowire single-photon detector

Single-photon detectors have been adopted in deep space laser communication to improve the sensitivity of the ground receiver. For low-earth-orbit (LEO) laser communication, a ground receiver with upgraded sensitivity offers several advantages, such as reducing the ground telescope aperture size for mobile applications, giving a large tolerance for atmosphere attenuation, and reducing the power requirement for the transmitter in space. On-off keying (OOK) is one of the most common intensity modulations in the LEO laser communications, but is not suitable for conventional single-photon detectors which output photon counting clicks. In this paper, we demonstrate an LEO cube-satellite (CubeSat) to ground communication with a dual-mode superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) that can both operate at single-photon counting regime and quasi-linear mode under 50 Mbps OOK modulation. The CubeSat-to-ground results show that the SNSPD can work well both during the day and at night, and cope effectively with the large fluctuation of optical power in satellite-to-ground links and the significant variation of background photon noise in a day. The optical power corresponding to bit error ratio less than 10−3 is estimated in a separate experiment, which is -45 dBm for low dark counts at night, and -35 dBm for high background noise in the daytime (∼10 Mcps upper limit). This work demonstrates the feasibility of adopting the modified dual-mode SNSPDs in the OOK format satellite-to-ground laser communications both at night and in the day.

Ground-Based Cloud Image Segmentation Method Based on Improved U-Net

Cloud image segmentation is a technique that divides images captured by meteorological satellites or ground-based observations into different regions or categories. By extracting the distribution, shape, and dynamic features of clouds, it provides precise data support for the meteorological and environmental fields, significantly influencing photovoltaic (PV) power generation forecasting, astronomical telescope observatory site selection, and weather forecasting. A ground-based cloud image segmentation model based on an improved U-Net is proposed, which adopts an overall encoder–decoder structure. In the encoder phase, this paper constructs a dilated convolution–atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP)–dilated convolution structure to enhance early cloud feature extraction. Dilated convolution is a novel type of convolution that expands the receptive field by inserting holes into standard convolution, thereby capturing a larger range of contextual information. ASPP maintains high resolution while paying attention to both local details and global structures of the image. In the decoder stage, the bicubic interpolation method is used for up-sampling to restore the feature map resolution and improve the clarity of the segmented image. The bicubic interpolation method refers to the use of cubic polynomial functions to interpolate the pixel values of the input image. In addition, this paper designs a novel skip connection layer structure between the encoder and decoder, composed of a depthwise separable path (DS path) and an improved channel spatial attention module (Im-CSAM) connected in sequence. The DS path combines depthwise separable convolutions and residual structures to facilitate information exchange between high-level and low-level features. The Im-CSAM is a modular attention mechanism that focuses on important cloud features in spatial and channel dimensions to enhance segmentation accuracy. Experiments show that compared to the traditional U-Net, the accuracy, precision, and MIoU of this model improved by 2.2%, 4.1%, and 5.0%, respectively, in the SWINySEG dataset, and by 3.2%, 3.6%, and 5.8%, respectively, in the TCDD dataset, proving that the improved method has a better generalization ability and segmentation performance.

A renewable and socially accepted energy system for astronomical telescopes

A renewable and socially accepted energy system for astronomical telescopes

The Mueller pupils Reduction-Zernike polynomial decomposition and polarization design criteria for the astronomical telescope system

The Mueller pupils Reduction-Zernike polynomial decomposition and polarization design criteria for the astronomical telescope system

CTC and CT5TEA: An advanced multi-channel digitizer and trigger ASIC for imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes

CTC and CT5TEA: An advanced multi-channel digitizer and trigger ASIC for imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes

Axial gravitational quasi-normal modes of spherically symmetric black hole in f(R) gravity and its optical appearance

This paper investigates the axial gravitational perturbations originating from spherically symmetric black holes in f(R) gravity, along with the optical appearance of such a black hole. The aim is to search for evidence of the existence of these black holes in astrophysical observations and thereby test the correctness of the f(R) theory. In literature Kalita and Mukhopadhyay (Eur Phys J C 79:877, 2019), the spherically symmetric black hole metric in f(R) gravity is obtained. By comparing it with the metric for spherically symmetric black holes in general relativity, we find that the modification of gravity due to f(R) can be described in this black hole spacetime using a parameter Cf\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$C_f$$\\end{document}. Next, we study axial gravitational perturbations in this spacetime and successfully derive a decoupled axial perturbation equation. We also discuss the impact of f(R) gravity on the quasi-normal mode frequencies. Additionally, we have also investigated the optical appearance of the black hole. We discuss the impact of the parameter Cf\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$C_f$$\\end{document} on the observable characteristics of the accretion disk. In principle, both of these effects can be observed using gravitational wave detectors and astronomical telescopes.

Spiral magnetic fields and their role on accretion dynamics in the circumnuclear disk of Sagittarius A*: Insight from λ = 850 μm polarization imaging

Abstract We showcase a study on the physical properties of the circumnuclear disk (CND) surrounding the supermassive black hole (SMBH) Sgr A* of the Galactic Center, emphasizing the role of magnetic field ($\boldsymbol {B}$ field) with $0.50\,$pc spatial resolution. Based on the sensitive $\lambda = 850\, \mu$m polarization data taken with the JCMT SCUBA2/POL2 (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2), we analyzed ancillary datasets: CS $J = 2$–1 emission taken with ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array), continuum emissions taken at $\lambda = 6\,$cm and at $\lambda = 37\, \mu$m taken with the VLA (Very Large Array) and SOFIA (the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy telescope). The $\boldsymbol {B}$ field within the CND exhibits a coherent spiral pattern. Applying the model described by Wardle and Königl (1990, ApJ, 362, 12; the WK model) to the observed $\boldsymbol {B}$ field pattern, it favors gas-pressure-dominant models without dismissing a gas-and-$\boldsymbol {B}$ field comparable model, leading us to estimate the $\boldsymbol {B}$-field strength in the ionized cavity around Sgr A* as $0.24^{+0.06}_{-0.04}\,$mG. Analysis based on the WK model further allows us to derive representative $\boldsymbol {B}$-field strengths for the radial, azimuthal, and vertical components as $(B_r, B_\phi , B_z) = (0.4 \pm 0.1, -0.7 \pm 0.2, 0.2 \pm 0.05)\,$mG, respectively. A key finding is that the $|B_\phi |$ component is dominant over $B_r$ and $B_z$ components, consistent with the spiral morphology, indicating that the CND’s $\boldsymbol {B}$-field is predominantly toroidal, possibly shaped by accretion dynamics. Considering the turbulent pressure, estimated plasma $\beta$ values indicate that the effective gas pressure should surpass the magnetic pressure. Assessing the CND of our MWG in the toroidal-and-vertical stability parameter space, we propose that such an “effective” magneto-rotational instability (MRI) may likely be active. The estimated maximum unstable wavelength, $\lambda _{\rm max} = 0.1 \pm 0.1\,$pc, is smaller than the CND’s scale height ($0.2 \pm 0.1\,$pc), which indicates the potential for the effective MRI intermittent cycles of $\sim 10^6\,$yr, which should profoundly affect the CND’s evolution, considering the estimated mass accretion rate of $10^{-2} M_{\odot }\,$yr$^{-1}$ to the SMBH.

Transparent composites for efficient neutron detection

Transparent, inorganic composite materials are of broad interest, from structural components in astronomical telescopes and mirror supports to solid-state lasers, smart window devices, and gravitational wave detectors. Despite great progress in material synthesis, it remains a standing challenge to fabricate such transparent glass composites with high crystallinity (HC-TGC). Here, we demonstrate the co-solidification of a mixture of melts with a stark contrast in crystallization habit as an approach for preparing HC-TGC materials. The melts used in this approach are selected so that glass formation and crystal precipitation occur simultaneously and synergistically, avoiding the formation of interfacial cracks, residual pores, and delamination effects. Using this method, various unusual hybridized HC-TGC materials such as oxychloride, oxybromide, and oxyiodide composite systems were fabricated in dense, bulk shapes. These materials exhibit intriguing optical properties and neutron response-ability. Using such HC-TGC materials, we develop a neutron detector and demonstrate the application for efficient neutron monitoring and even single neutron detection. We expect that these findings may help to bring about a generation of fully inorganic, transparent composites with synergistic combinations of conventionally incompatible materials.

Research on Distortion Control in Off-Axis Three-Mirror Astronomical Telescope Systems

With off-axis reflection systems with specific distortion values serving as objectives or collimators, it is possible to compensate and correct for spectral line bending in spectroscopic instruments. However, there is limited research on the precise control of distortion, which poses particular challenges in large field-of-view optical systems. This paper presents a method for controlling distortion in off-axis reflection systems. Based on Seidel aberration theory and the relationship between distortion wavefront error and primary ray error, we construct objective functions with structural constraints and aberration constraints. The initial structure with specific distortion values is then solved using a differential evolution algorithm. The effectiveness and reliability of this method are verified through the design of an off-axis three-reflection system. The method provided in this study facilitates the design of remote sensing instruments.

End-to-end simulations of photonic phase correctors for adaptive optics systems.

Optical beams and starlight distorted by atmospheric turbulence can be corrected with adaptive optics systems to enable efficient coupling into single-mode fibers. Deformable mirrors, used to flatten the wavefront in astronomical telescopes, are costly, sensitive, and complex mechanical components that require careful calibration to enable high-quality imaging in astronomy, microscopy, and vision science. They are also impractical to deploy in large numbers for non-imaging applications like free-space optical communication. Here, we propose a photonic integrated circuit capable of spatially sampling the wavefront collected by the telescope and co-phasing the subapertures to maximize the flux delivered to an output single-mode fiber as the integrated photonic implementation of a deformable mirror. We present the results of end-to-end simulations to quantify the performance of the proposed photonic solution under varying atmospheric conditions toward realizing an adaptive optics system without a deformable mirror for free-space optical receivers.

Wide-field optical tracking of LEO objects: Theoretical assessment and observing strategy

Wide-field optical tracking of LEO objects: Theoretical assessment and observing strategy

New quasars behind the Magellanic Clouds

Context. Quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are a basis for an absolute reference system for astrometric studies. A system like this at the far side of nearby galaxies is required to facilitate measuring of the proper motions of these galaxies. However, the foreground contamination from the galaxies themselves is a problem for the QSO identification. Aims. We search for new QSOs behind the two Magellanic Clouds, the Magellanic Bridge, and the Magellanic Stream. Methods. We identify QSO candidates with a combination of near–infrared colors and variability criteria from the public ESO Visual and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Magellanic Clouds (VMC) survey. We confirm their nature from broad emission lines with low-resolution optical spectroscopy. Results. We confirmed the QSO nature of 136 objects. They are distributed as follows: 12 behind the Large Magellanic Cloud, 37 behind the Small Magellanic Cloud, 63 behind the Bridge, and 24 behind the Stream. The QSOs span a redshift range from z~0.1 to z~2.9. A comparison of our quasar selection with the Quaia quasar catalog, based on Gaia low-resolution spectra, yields a selection and confirmation success rate of 6–19%, depending on whether the quality of the photometry, the magnitude ranges, and the colors are considered. Our candidate list is rather incomplete, but the objects in it are likely to be confirmed as quasars with a probability of ~90%. Finally, we report a list of 3609 objects in the entire VMC survey that match our color and variability selection criteria; only 1249 of them have Gaia counterparts. Conclusions. Our combined infrared color and variability criteria for the QSO selection prove to be efficient: ~90% of the observed candidates are bona fide QSOs and allow us to generate a list of new high-probability quasar candidates.

Thai National Radio Astronomy Observatory Project and a future South-East Asian VLBI Network

Abstract NARIT initiated a national flagship project in 2017 for development of radio astronomy and geodesy in Thailand. In this project, a 40-m Thai National Radio Telescope (TNRT) and a 13-m VLBI Global Observing System radio telescope are constructed in Chiang Mai. The 40-m TNRT is the largest telescope for radio astronomy in South-East Asia. Its flexible operation with a wide-frequency coverage 0.3-115 GHz will allow us to uniquely contribute to the time-domain astronomy as well as carry out unbiased surveys for a wide variety of research fields, which were published in a white paper. Within the framework of collaboration with VLBI arrays in the world, TNRT will drastically improve the imaging quality and performances based on its unique geographical location. Through commissioning of the L-band system, the 1st Call for Proposals of the 40-m TNRT in the L-band1 has been internationally announced on 10th October 2023, TST 10 am. Future vision for establishment of forthcoming regional VLBI networks based on TNRT is also introduced: Thai National VLBI Array and South-East Asian VLBI Network in collaboration with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Sensorless Model Predictive Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Using an Unscented Kalman Filter

This paper deals with the application of the Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm to the sensorless control of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM). The proposed estimation strategy, based on the unscented Kalman filter (UKF), uses only the measurement of the motor current for the online estimation of speed, rotor position and load torque. Information about the system state is fed into the MPC algorithm. The results verify the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed sensorless control technique. To demonstrate its real-world applicability, implementation in low-speed direct drive astronomy telescope mount systems is investigated. The outcomes of the implementation are thoroughly examined, leading to insightful conclusions drawn from the observed results. Through rigorous theoretical analysis and extensive simulation studies, this paper establishes a solid foundation for the proposed sensorless control technique. The results obtained from simulation studies and real-world applications underscore the efficacy and versatility of the proposed approach, offering valuable insights for the advancement of sensorless control strategies in motor applications. The main aim of this work is to demonstrate and validate the practical feasibility of combining two complex techniques, establishing that such an integration is not only possible but also effective in achieving the desired objectives.

Enhanced Solar Coronal Imaging: A GAN Approach with Fused Attention and Perceptual Quality Enhancement

The activity of the solar corona has a significant impact on all aspects of human life. People typically use images obtained from astronomical telescopes to observe coronal activities, among which the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is particularly widely used. However, due to resolution limitations, we have begun to study the application of generative adversarial network super-resolution techniques to enhance the image data quality for a clearer observation of the fine structures and dynamic processes in the solar atmosphere, which improves the prediction accuracy of solar activities. We aligned SDO/AIA images with images from the High-Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) to create a dataset. This research proposes a new super-resolution method named SAFCSRGAN, which includes a spatial attention module that incorporates channel information, allowing the network model to better capture the corona’s features. A Charbonnier loss function was introduced to enhance the perceptual quality of the super-resolution images. Compared to the original method using ESRGAN, our method achieved an 11.9% increase in Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and a 4.8% increase in Structural Similarity (SSIM). Additionally, we introduced two perceptual image quality assessment metrics, the Natural Image Quality Evaluator (NIQE) and Learned Perceptual Image Patch Similarity (LPIPS), which improved perceptual quality by 10.8% and 1.3%, respectively. Finally, our experiments demonstrated that our improved model surpasses other models in restoring the details of coronal images.

Artificial Intelligence in Astronomical Optical Telescopes: Present Status and Future Perspectives

With new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and application scenarios constantly emerging, AI technology has become widely used in astronomy and has promoted notable progress in related fields. A large number of papers have reviewed the application of AI technology in astronomy. However, relevant articles seldom mention telescope intelligence separately, and it is difficult to understand the current development status of and research hotspots in telescope intelligence from these papers. This paper combines the development history of AI technology and difficulties with critical telescope technologies, comprehensively introduces the development of and research hotspots in telescope intelligence, conducts a statistical analysis of various research directions in telescope intelligence, and defines the merits of these research directions. A variety of research directions are evaluated, and research trends in each type of telescope intelligence are indicated. Finally, according to the advantages of AI technology and trends in telescope development, potential future research hotspots in the field of telescope intelligence are given.

Automatic Classification of All-Sky Nighttime Cloud Images Based on Machine Learning

Cloud-induced atmospheric extinction and occlusion significantly affect the effectiveness and quality of telescope observations. Real-time cloud-cover distribution and long-term statistical data are essential for astronomical siting and telescope operations. Visual inspection is currently the primary approach for analyzing cloud distribution at ground-based astronomical sites. However, the main disadvantages of manual observation methods are human subjectivity, heavy workloads, and poor real-time performance. Therefore, a real-time automatic cloud image classification method is desperately needed. This paper presents a novel cloud identification method named the PSO+XGBoost model, which combines eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) with particle-swarm optimization (PSO). The entire cloud image is divided into 37 sub-regions to identify the distribution of the clouds more precisely. Nineteen features, including the sky background, star density, lighting conditions, and subregion grayscale values, are extracted. The experimental results have shown that the overall classification accuracy is 96.91%, and our model can outperform several state-of-the-art baseline methods. Our approach achieves high accuracy in comparison with the manual observation methods. Moreover, this method meets telescope real-time scheduling requirements.

High-performance absorber with substitutable materials for short-wave infrared sensing

The optical absorption device plays a crucial role as a component of the infrared astronomical telescope and possesses a significant impact on astronomical observations. A simple metamaterial absorber with substitutable middle materials is made for short-wave infrared sensing. The absorber is designed as a hollow square column, using a patterning approach for the top-layer structure of metamaterials. The absorption characteristics are verified using the impedance matching method, which involves extracting S-parameters and then performing inverse calculations to determine the absorber’s equivalent impedance. The result shows the highest absorption peak is at 3.25 μm, reaching 99.71%, with an impressive average absorption rate of 99.01% between 1.52 and 3.66 μm. The results demonstrate that this absorber shows polarization insensitivity while maintaining high absorption even at large angles of incidence. The distribution of the electromagnetic field within the absorber, the electromagnetic losses within individual layers, and their impact on the absorptive performance are analyzed in detail. Polarization angles, transverse magnetic polarization, and transverse electric polarization are further explored. The parameters of each layer have been discussed. An investigation of the intermediate dielectric layer has been conducted. The proposed absorber shows the potential to achieve exceptional absorption performance under various dielectric conditions, rendering it a promising candidate for use in astronomical observation, medical tests, infrared detection, invisible short-wave infrared systems, radar and various optical devices.