MagAO-X first light

Abstract

MagAO-X is a new “extreme” adaptive optics system for the Magellan Clay 6.5 m telescope which began commissioning in December, 2019. MagAO-X is based around a 2040 actuator deformable mirror, controlled by a pyramid wavefront sensor operating at up to 3.6 kHz. When fully optimized, MagAO-X will deliver high Strehls (< 70%), high resolution (19 mas), and high contrast (< 1 × 10−4) at Hα (656 nm). We present a brief review of the instrument design and operations, and then report on the results of the first-light run.

Authors 19

1. Jared R. Males

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

2. Laird M. Close

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

3. Olivier Guyon

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   Subaru Telescope, NAOJ (United States)

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

   Wyant College of Optical Sciences (United States)

4. Alexander D. Hedglen

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

   Wyant College of Optical Sciences (United States)

5. Kyle Van Gorkom

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

   Wyant College of Optical Sciences (United States)

6. Joseph D. Long

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

7. Maggie Kautz

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

   Wyant College of Optical Sciences (United States)

8. Jennifer Lumbres

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

   Wyant College of Optical Sciences (United States)

9. Lauren Schatz

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

   Wyant College of Optical Sciences (United States)

10. Alexander T. Rodack

    University of Arizona

    Affiliation as printed

    The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

11. Kelsey Miller Aachen Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

12. David S. Doelman Aachen Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

13. Frans Snik Aachen Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

14. Justin Knight

    University of Arizona

    Affiliation as printed

    The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

    Wyant College of Optical Sciences (United States)

15. Katie M. Morzinski

    University of Arizona

    Affiliation as printed

    The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

16. Victor Gasho

    University of Arizona

    Affiliation as printed

    The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

17. Christoph U. Keller Aachen Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

18. Sebastiaan Y. Haffert

    University of Arizona

    Affiliation as printed

    The Univ. of Arizona (United States)

19. Logan Pearce

    University of Arizona

    Affiliation as printed

    The Univ. of Arizona (United States)