Astronomical Instruments Research Articles

The Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World ed. by Paul T. Keyser and John Scarborough

Reviewed by: The Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World ed. by Paul T. Keyser and John Scarborough Kenneth F. Kitchell Jr. The Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World. Edited by Paul T. Keyser and John Scarborough. New York, NY and Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2018. Pp. xv +1045. Hardback, $175.00. ISBN 978-0- 199-73414-6. Handbooks on classical subjects are now a fixture in our field and several recent ones have highlighted, and thus promoted, marginalized areas of study. The current volume aims at the same goal, offering a “synoptic synthesis of how scholars currently understand [ancient] sciences” (1) and it expands its scope to include ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China. The essays are divided into five sections as follows: A, ten essays, covers the ancient scientific traditions beyond Greece and Rome; B, Greek science, four essays; C, Hellenistic Science, sixteen essays; D, Greco-Roman Science, eleven essays; E, late antique and early Byzantine science. The individual essays cover such disciplines as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, geography, natural science, mechanics and pneumatics, astrology, alchemy, music and harmonic theory, pharmacology, dietetics, physiognomy and more. Thus, the scope of the book is vast, as to both subject matter and the thirteen centuries it covers. [End Page 508] A collection such as this raises some important questions about the recent trend to produce very expensive handbooks. The first is their goal. Are they written for those already expert in a given area or for those who wish to learn more about an area of study and its current scholarship in a limited number of pages? In this reviewer’s opinion, the work under review has a bit of both. Before going further, let me state that no one of whom I am aware is sufficiently competent in all these scientific and mathematical areas to pass judgement on the technical content of each essay. Rather, I approached this review by looking at essays on areas of which I know little and also at some about which I know more. In so doing I hoped to be able to determine how useful the book would be for non-experts and experts alike. Section A is especially challenging as it deals with technical topics from cultures with which the average classicist may not be familiar. Some chapters seem very aware that they are writing for non-specialists, but others employ technical terms and mathematical formulas that will baffle many. In the Greco-Roman chapters we are on more familiar ground. Nonetheless, technical terms abound for some fields (mathematics and astronomy, for example) and without foreknowledge the average reader may, as did I, occasionally lose the thread. Such examples do not taint the entire work. Many essays are clear to a non- specialist. In others, if one cannot follow the actual mathematics, at least one can understand the scope of, say, the uses of mathematics in ancient Egypt. If we do not really understand “concentric-deferent-with epicycle” (793-94) we can still marvel at Ptolemy’s astronomical instruments. We meet fascinating people like Scribonius Largus and Celsus, with whom we may not have been familiar. Perhaps the issues I have raised are inherent to a core question surrounding handbooks. Should they contain entry level essays that are readily intelligible by any reasonably educated reader, or are they essays for people already working in that field? My own preference is for the former, but I fully understand that the limits of space for each chapter and the vast expanse of centuries, cultures and disciplines this handbook attempts to cover may combine to leave little space for introductory material. There is much to be learned from this particular handbook. It is easier to learn it in some essays than in others, and all essays contain bibliographies for further reading. Line drawings and photographs are helpful. For some chapters, many readers will need frequent recourse to dictionaries and patient friends from other disciplines. Perhaps this book, especially given its cost, will be most useful for an [End Page 509] institutional library, allowing readers to pick and choose which chapters appeal to them. Kenneth F...

Contextualising the Arabic Nomenclature of Coronelli’s Celestial Globe at the Biblioteca Federiciana in Fano.

At the end of the 17th century, different editions of the terrestrial and celestial globes by the geographer and cosmographer Vincenzo Coronelli (1650-1718) were circulating all around Europe. After the production of two large globes (384 cm in diameter) for Louis XIV (1681-1683), Coronelli’s pair of terrestrial and celestial globes had acquired enough prestige to hit the market as geographical and astronomical instruments, but also as grand decorative and collectible objects.

Present status and prospects of the Tunka Radio Extension

The Tunka Radio Extension (Tunka-Rex) is a digital radio array operating in the frequency band of 30-80 MHz and detecting radio emission from air-showers produced by cosmic rays with energies above 100 PeV. The experimentis installed at the site of the TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic rays and Gamma Astronomy) observatory and performs joint measurements with the co-located particle and air-Cherenkov detectors in passive mode receiving a trigger from the latter. Tunka-Rex collects data since 2012, and during the last five years went throughseveral upgrades. As a result the density of the antenna field was increased by three times since its commission. In this contribution we present the latest results of Tunka-Rex experiment, particularly an updated analysis and efficiency study, which have been applied to the measurement of the mean shower maximum as a function of energy for cosmic rays of energies up to EeV. The future plans are also discussed: investigations towards an energy spectrum of cosmic rays with Tunka-Rex and their mass composition using a combination of Tunka-Rex data with muon measurements by the particle detector Tunka-Grande.

TAIGA: results and perspectives

In this talk, we describe the status and the perspectives of the hybrid Air Shower Array TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic rays and Gamma Astronomy) which is currently under construction in the Tunka Valley close to Lake Baikal and is taking data in its initial configurations. TAIGA is designed for the study of gamma rays and charged cosmic rays in the energy range of 1013 eV - 1018 eV. It has the potential to play an important role in the search for Galactic Pevatrons and within a multi-messenger approach to explore the high-energy sky.

Statistical Analysis of Solar Radio Burst Type III and Type IV with Relation to Solar Activities

Solar activities are natural phenomena that occur at the solar surface by ejecting energy into interplanetary space and consequently hitting Earth’s atmosphere where the commencement of geomagnetic storms. Generally, solar radio bursts originated at the same level as the solar flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and shock at solar atmosphere which the Sun project the radio energy into the interstellar medium. This is a novel study to investigate the correlation between solar burst type IV and type III based on their properties. The analysis is based on the statistical data of type IV and type III solar bursts from 2006 – 2011. The statistics of solar burst type IV associated with type III were obtained through e-Callisto (Compact Astronomical Low-frequency Low-cost Instrument for Spectroscopy Transportable Observatory) Spectrometer in the years 2006 until 2011. The aim of this study is to find out whether type III bursts preserved energy to solar bursts type IV thus led to the formation of geomagnetic storm. Statistical data from this study showed that most of the burst type IV were preceded and followed by type III burst. The total number of type IV events studied was 37, with 20 preceded by type III and the remainder with other types. Predominantly, solar bursts events are accompanied with great solar flares (class X and M) producing major storms. Although the study did not show much correlation between bursts type IV and type III in producing these storms, there are several possible explanations for this result. It may be the case that solar events such as solar flare, CMEs and active region ejected from the solar disc is not heading towards Earth and the energy has eventually dispersed into the interplanetary medium.

Solar radio burst in National Space Agency of Malaysia (ANGKASA)

The sun is an active star that produces large-scale energetic events, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These phenomena are observable across the electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays at hundreds of MeV to radio waves with wavelengths of tens of metres. Solar flares and CMEs can excite plasma oscillations which can emit radiation at metric and decametric wavelengths. These radio bursts are classified in five main types. This paper gives a solar radio burst type III (16 July 2017) in National Space Agency (ANGKASA), Banting, Selangor, Malaysia. Compact Astronomical Low-Cost Instrument for Spectroscopy in Transportable Observatories (CALLISTO) is used in this system to observe solar radio activities. The main applications for this CALLISTO is to observe a solar radio bursts and radio frequency interference (RFI) monitoring for astronomical science, education and outreach. The CALLISTO natively operates between 45MHz to 870MHz and its observed daily.

Grand, A Giant Radio Array For Neutrino Detection: Objectives, Design And Current Status

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) aims to answer one of the most pressing open questions in astrophysics: what is the origin of ultra-highenergy cosmic rays (UHECRs)?. It will do so indirectly: UHECRs make secondary UHE neutrinos which encode information about the properties of UHECRs and their sources. GRAND is designed to discover UHE neutrinos even under pessimistic predictions of their flux, reaching a sensitivity of 6x10−9GeV.cm−2.s−1.sr−1 around 109GeV. It will do so by using 20 sub-arrays of 10 000 radio antennas forming a total detector area of 200 000 km2, making it the largest air-shower detector ever built. With this sensitivity, GRAND will discover cosmogenic neutrinos in 3 years of operation, even in disfavorable scenarios. Because of its subdegree angular resolution, GRAND will also search for point sources of UHE neutrinos, both steady and transient. Moreover, GRAND will be a valuable instrument for astronomy and cosmology, allowing for the discovery and followup of large numbers of radio transients - fast radio bursts, giant radio pulses - and studies of the epoch of reionization. In this contribution we will present briefly some of the science goals, detection strategy, construction plans and current status of the GRAND project.

175 РОКІВ АСТРОНОМІЧНІЙ ОБСЕРВАТОРІЇ КИЇВСЬКОГО УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ

In 2020, the Astronomical Observatory celebrates its 175th anniversary. The first director of the observatory was a student of the founder of the Pulkovo Observatory, Academician V.Ya. Struve Vasily Fedorovich Fedorov. Under his leadership, a site for the observatory was selected, a project was developed (by architect V. Beretti), a main building was constructed, and basic observatory astronomical instruments were commissioned. He also prepared and taught basic astronomy and surveying courses for university students. After him at the university, the post of professor of astronomy and director of the Astronomical Observatory was occupied by well-known astronomers A.P. Shidlovsky, M.F. Handrikov, R.P. Vogel, S.D. Chornyi. The main area of scientific research since the foundation of the observatory until the 1940s was astrometry and theoretical astronomy. With the arrival at the University of Kiev in 1939, the already well-known astronomer S.K. Vsekhsviatsky, along with existing scientific trends, astrophysical studies began. He started studying the small bodies of the solar system, physics of the sun and solar activity, astrophysics at the University of Kiev. The most important scientific achievements of the astronomers of the university include the work of determining the orbits of celestial bodies, the meridian observations of stars to create and maintain the celestial coordinate system, numerous observations of solar eclipses, which created the concept of dynamic solar corona, observing comets and meteors, application of the general theory of relativity in astronomy, development of the theory of gravitational lensing, opening of comets and participation in the international scientific project of the European Space Agency “Rosetta” on the research of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Complex Field Mapping of Large Direct Detector Focal Plane Arrays

Complex field mapping is a powerful tool to characterize the optical performance of astronomical instruments, and has become the standard for characterizing heterodyne array cameras. Recently, an adaptation of the heterodyne beam mapping technique was demonstrated on a single pixel of a direct detector instrument. We present a novel measurement apparatus and data acquisition techniques to efficiently reconstruct the complex field pattern of individual pixels across a direct detector focal plane array. These techniques are scalable to high pixel counts as the technology maturation and scientific requirements push to larger arrays. For this demonstration, we used an engineering model of the low-frequency band of the APEX microwave kinetic inductance detector camera with a center frequency of $\nu = {\text{350}}$ GHz. Amplitude and phase radiation patterns were measured from all 880 pixels of the test array in two orthogonal polarizations. We also discuss an updated postprocessing pipeline using the complex field data to characterize the optical performance of the array. Using the measured complex field pattern, we extract the co- and cross-polarization patterns and Gaussian beam parameters, and propagate the beam from the measurement plane to additional planes of interest across all pixels in the test array. Complex field measurements of direct detectors allow more precise characterization of beam parameters when compared to thermal measurements, particularly for individualized fitting in postprocessing not reliant on the accuracy of the probe system alignment. These techniques enable high-precision characterization of individualized beam parameters as well as the overall optical system to very large format arrays with modest computational processing power. These results demonstrate the diagnostic power of the presented measurement and analysis techniques.

Characterization of Cameras for the COSMO K-coronagraph

Abstract Digital image sensors are ubiquitous in astronomical instrumentation and it is well known that they suffer from issues that must be corrected for data to be scientifically useful. I present discussion on errors resulting from digitization and characterization of nonlinearity and ADC errors of the PhotonFocus MV-D1024E cameras selected for the K-coronagraph of the Coronal Solar Magnetism Observatory. I derive an analytic expression for quantization errors. The MV-D1024E camera has adequate bit depth for which quantization error is not an issue. I show that this is not the case for all cameras, particularly those with deep wells and low read noise. The impact of nonlinearity and ADC errors on science observations of the K-coronagraph is analyzed using a simplified telescope model. Errors caused by the camera ADCs result in systematic errors in the measurement of the polarimetric signal of several times 10−9 B ⊙, which is about an order of magnitude above the desired sensitivity. I demonstrate a method for post-facto data correction using a lookup table and derive parameters from camera characterization measurements that were made with a lab setup. Nonlinearity is traditionally addressed with a global correction. I show through analysis of calibration data that for the MV-D1024E this correction leaves residual systematic errors after dark and gain correction of up to 1% of the signal. I demonstrate that a pixel-wise correction of nonlinearity reduces the errors to below 0.1%. These corrections are necessary for the K-coronagraph data products to meet the science requirements. They have been implemented in the instrument data acquisition system and data reduction pipeline. While no other instruments besides the K-coronagraph or cameras besides the MV-D1024E are discussed here, the results are illustrative for all instruments and cameras.

Active optics in astronomy – modeling of deformable substrates: freeform surfaces for FIREBall and MESSIER

Abstract Active optics techniques on large telescopes and astronomical instrumentations provide high imaging quality. For ground-based astronomy, the co-addition of adaptive optics again increases angular resolution up to providing diffraction-limited imaging at least in the infrared. Active and adaptive optics marked milestone progress in the detection of exoplanets, super-massive black holes, and large-scale structure of galaxies. This paper is dedicated to highly deformable active optics that can generate non-axisymmetric aspheric surfaces – or freeform surfaces – by use of a minimum number of actuators: a single uniform load acts over the surface of a vase-form substrate whilst under reaction to its elliptical perimeter ring. Two such instruments are presented: (1) the Faint Intergalactic Redshifted Emission Balloon (FIREBall) telescope and multi object spectrograph (MOS) where the freeform reflective diffraction grating is generated by replication of a deformable master grating, and (2) the MESSIER wide-field low-central-obstruction three-mirror-anastigmat (TMA) telescope proposal where the freeform mirror is generated by stress figuring and elastic relaxation. Freeform surfaces were obtained by plane super-polishing. Preliminary analysis required use of the optics theory of 3rd-order aberrations and elasticity theory of thin elliptical plates. Final cross-optimizations were carried out with Zemax raytracing code and Nastran FEA elasticity code in order to determine geometry of the deformable substrates.

František Nušl, Vice-President of the IAU 1928–1935, and inventor of the circumzenithal telescope

AbstractThe Czech astronomer František Nušl (1867–1951) was professor of mathematics, practical astronomy and geometrical optics at Prague Charles University. His scientific contribution to astronomy consisted mainly of inventing and constructing of new astronomical and geodetical instruments. Together with his friend Josef Jan Frič, founder of the Ondřejov Observatory, he developed and improved the circumzenithal telescope (1899–1903–1906–1922–1932), a portable instrument with a mercury horizon for determining the geodetic position using the Gauss method of equal altitudes. This instrument won the gold medal at theExposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Modernein Paris in 1937. Nušl, independently of Ernst Öpik, invented the wobbling mirror for determining the velocity of meteors by visual observation, and constructed an unique guiding system for the Ondrejov astrograph etc. The organizational activities of Frantisek Nušl were considerably rich, too: He was one of the founders of the Czech Astronomical Society in 1917, in the years 1922–1948 he served as its president. From 1918 until his retirement in 1937 he was the director of the Ondrejov Observatory, 40 km south of capital city of Prague, lectured astronomy at the Prague university and held many popular lectures including regular courses in radio broadcasting. František Nušl was member of several commisions of international scientific unions; he organized the 3rdGeneral Assembly of IUGG (International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics) in Prague 1927, and in IAU (International Astronomical Union) he was elected as Vice-President in the years 1928–1935. One can conclude that he was the main person who formed the Czech astronomy in the interwar period.

Rotating black hole shadow in perfect fluid dark matter

We study analytically the shadow cast by the rotating black hole in the perfect fluid dark matter. The apparent shape of the shadow depends upon the black hole spin a and the perfect fluid dark matter intensity parameter k (k>0). In general, the shadow is a perfect circle in the non-rotating case (a=0) and a deformed one in the rotating case (a≠ 0). The deformation gets more and more significant with the increasing a, similar to the Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes. In addition, {there exists a reflection point ̃k0. When k<̃k0, the size of the shadow decreases with the increasing k and the distortion increases with the increasing k. When k>̃k0}, the size of the shadow increases with the increasing k and the distortion decreases with the increasing k. Furthermore, the energy emission rate of the black hole in the perfect fluid dark matter increases with the increasing k and the peak of the emission shifts to higher frequencies. Finally, we propose that to observe the effect of the black hole spin a and the perfect fluid dark matter intensity k on the shadow of the black hole Sgr A* at the center of the Milky Way, highly improved techniques would be necessary for the development of future astronomical instruments.

Long-term Spectroscopic Observations of the Atmospheric Airglow by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Spectra of the atmospheric airglow, termed sky spectra, are collected to estimate the total amount of contamination present in science spectra, and are intended to be used in a sky subtraction process. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) are large astronomical data sets that have nearly continuously recorded sky spectra at latitude 32.78° N longitude 105.82° W over a duration of 14 years. With a bandpass from 3800 Å to 9200 Å, the BOSS and SDSS airglow spectra contain emission from atomic and molecular oxygen, atomic sodium, and the hydroxyl molecule. The BOSS and SDSS sky spectra are an invaluable long-term record of the variations in airglow emission. Using the BOSS and SDSS sky spectra an analysis of airglow temporal variations was performed. Airglow variations were examined on the three timescales of nightly, annual, and long-term. In this manner the amplitude of airglow temporal variations has been estimated. Coincident satellite observations of the atmospheric profiles in temperature, constituent concentrations, and airglow emissions from the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument were also examined. The atmospheric profiles were used to gain a deeper understanding of the variations in airglow emission processes as they are observed by ground based astronomical instruments.

Sundial Horizontal dalam Penentuan Penanggalan Jawa Pranata Mangsa

Sundial sebagai instrumen astronomi bersejarah yang dapat digunakan dalam menyelesaikan masalah-masalah dasar astronomi. Penanggalan Jawa Pranata Mangsa yang penentuannya berdasarkan posisi Matahari menjadi hal yang dapat diperhitungkan. Metode yang sudah ada� yaitu para petani menggunakan� pecak kaki untuk mengetahui kapan masuk awal mangsa dalam penanggalan Jawa Pranata Mangsa Metode tersebut menurut penulis tidak menghasilkan hasil yang akurat. Melihat cara penentuannya yang seperti itu, Sundial dapat mengatasi problem tersebut untuk digunakan sebagai salah satu metode dalam penentuan Penanggalan Jawa Pranata Mangsa. Dalam tulisan ini digunakan penelitian yang bersifat kualitatif dengan pendekatan deskriptif �analitik yang bertujuan untuk mengetahui uraian secara mendalam yang menggambarkan konsep astronomis yang terdapat dalam Sundial Horizontal dan menganalisa konsep matematisnya mengenai posisi Matahari dan data lainnya yang diperlukan dalam penentuan Penanggalan Jawa Pranata Mangsa. Dengan teknik pengumpulan data melalui penelitian lapangan (field research) yaitu menggunakan Sundial Horizontal sebagai data primer dengan metode observasi partisipan dan eksperimen. Sedangkan data sekunder berasal dari literatur dan dokumen berupa buku, tulisan, makalah-makalah yang berkaitan dengan obyek penelitian. Hasil temuan dalam penelitian ini Penentuan penanggalan Jawa Pranata Mangsa menggunakan Sundial Horizontal (Sundial Pranata Mangsa ) lebih akurat dibandingkan dengan menggunakan pecak kaki seseorang, ini murni dari bagaimana pengguna melaksanakan praktek lapangan secara langsung dalam penentuan penanggalan Jawa Pranata Mangsa.

Instruments of authority: Tycho Brahe’s technological illustrations

ABSTRACTThe astronomical instruments of Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, were crucial to his intended reform of astronomy in the sixteenth century. Tycho represented these devices in a series of images that were circulated in range of contexts, thereby disseminating information about his technology to a wider audience. Through an analysis of the iconographical content of these images and a consideration of the ways in which they were circulated, this article argues that images of technology were in fact crucial to Tycho’s attempts to establish his authority as an astronomer. Embodying his claims to accuracy and recruiting trust in his innovative instruments, the images reinforced the validity of his astronomy and thereby played a central role in sustaining his reputation as an astronomer.

Sensitivity limits of millimeter-wave photonic radiometers based on efficient electro-optic upconverters

Conventional ultra-high sensitivity detectors in the millimeter-wave range are usually cooled as their own thermal noise at room temperature would mask the weak received radiation. The need for cryogenic systems increases the cost and complexity of the instruments, hindering the development of, among others, airborne and space applications. In this work, the nonlinear parametric upconversion of millimeter-wave radiation to the optical domain inside high-quality (Q) lithium niobate whispering-gallery mode (WGM) resonators is proposed for ultra-low noise detection. We experimentally demonstrate coherent upconversion of millimeter-wave signals to a 1550 nm telecom carrier, with a photon conversion efficiency surpassing the state-of-the-art by 2 orders of magnitude. Moreover, a theoretical model shows that the thermal equilibrium of counterpropagating WGMs is broken by overcoupling the millimeter-wave WGM, effectively cooling the upconverted mode and allowing ultra-low noise detection. By theoretically estimating the sensitivity of a correlation radiometer based on the presented scheme, it is found that room-temperature radiometers with better sensitivity than state-of-the-art high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT)-based radiometers can be designed. This detection paradigm can be used to develop room-temperature instrumentation for radio astronomy, earth observation, planetary missions, and imaging systems.

Possibility of identifying matter around rotating black hole with black hole shadow

Shadows cast by the rotating black hole in perfect fluid matter are studied using analytical method. We consider three kinds of matter with standard equation of state in Cosmology: −1/3 (dark matter), 0 (dust) and 1/3 (radiation). The apparent shape of the shadow depends on the black hole spin a and the perfect fluid matter intensity k. We find that the shadow is a perfect circle in the non-rotating case (a=0) and a distorted one in the rotating case (a≠0), similar to what is found for other black holes. Interestingly, different kinds of matter have different influences on the black hole shadow. Dark matter has the strongest effect, dust is the next and radiation is the weakest. By applying our result to the black hole Sgr A* at the center of the Milky Way, we find that the angular resolution required to distinguish among different kinds of matter around the black hole is not much higher than that of current astronomical instruments would be able to achieve in the near future. We propose that observing the black hole shadow provides a possibility of identifying the dominant matter near the black hole.

Benchmarking Current Capabilities for the Generation of Excitation and Photoionisation Atomic Data

The spectra currently emerging from modern ground- and space-based astronomical instruments are of exceptionally high quality and resolution. To meaningfully analyse these spectra, researchers utilise complex modelling codes to replicate the observations. The main inputs to these codes are atomic data such as excitation and photoionisation cross sections, as well as radiative transition probabilities, energy levels, and line strengths. In this publication, the current capabilities of the numerical methods and computer packages used in the generation of these data are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to Fe-peak species and the heavy systems of tungsten and molybdenum. Some of the results presented to highlight certain issues and/or advances have already been published in the literature, while other sections present new recently evaluated atomic data for the first time.

SOPHISM: An End-to-end Software Instrument Simulator

Abstract We present a software simulator for the modeling of astronomical instrumentation, which includes platform effects and software processing. It is an end-to-end simulator, from the entrance of the telescope to the data acquisition at the detector, along with software blocks dealing, e.g., with demodulation, inversion, and compression. Developed following the Solar Orbiter/Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (SO/PHI) instrument, it comprises elements such as a filtergraph, polarimetric modulator, detector, vibrations, and accumulations. Through these, the simulator performs most of the analyses that can be done with light in astronomy, such as differential photometry, spectroscopy, and polarimetry. The simulator is coded with high flexibility and ease of implementation of new effects and subsystems. Thus, it allows for the user to adapt it to a wide variety of instruments, even not exclusively solar ones, as illustrated with an example of application to a night-time observation. The simulator can provide support in the phase of instrument design and help assess tolerances and test solutions to underperformances arising during the instrument operations. All this makes SOPHISM a very valuable tool for all the stages of astronomical instrument definition, design, operation, and lifetime tracking evaluation.