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The 4 meter New Robotic Telescope project: an updated report

C. M. Gutiérrez, M. Torres, A. Oria, J. J. Fernández-Valdivia, D. Arnold, D. Copley, C. Copperwheat, J. de Cos Juez, A. Franco, Y. Fan, A. García Piñero, E. Harvey, H. Jermak, X. Jiang, J. H. Knapen, A. McGrath, A. Ranjbar, R. Rebolo, R. Smith, I. A. Steele, Z. Wang, X. Wu, D. Xu, S. Xue, W. Yuan, Y. Zheng

Abstract

The New Robotic Telescope (NRT) is an international collaboration to build and operate a 4 m diameter fully robotic telescope. The telescope will take advantage of the superb atmospheric conditions at the Observatory of the Roque de los Muchachos (ORM). In conjunction with a large aperture, entirely robotic operation, quick response, and a set of versatile instrumentation in the optical and near-infrared this guarantees a high scientific impact focused mainly in the area of time domain astronomy. This paper presents the scientific motivation and the status of the project, discussing possible technical solutions under evaluation for the optics, mechanics and control system.

The 4 meter New Robotic Telescope project: an updated report

Abstract

The New Robotic Telescope (NRT) is an international collaboration to build and operate a 4 m diameter fully robotic telescope. The telescope will take advantage of the superb atmospheric conditions at the Observatory of the Roque de los Muchachos (ORM). In conjunction with a large aperture, entirely robotic operation, quick response, and a set of versatile instrumentation in the optical and near-infrared this guarantees a high scientific impact focused mainly in the area of time domain astronomy. This paper presents the scientific motivation and the status of the project, discussing possible technical solutions under evaluation for the optics, mechanics and control system.
Paper Structure (10 sections, 5 figures)

This paper contains 10 sections, 5 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Scientific motivation
  3. Optical Design
  4. Segmented primary mirror
  5. Optomechanics
  6. Mirror Support System
  7. Active Optics
  8. Telescope Structure
  9. Control System
  10. Conclusions

Figures (5)

  • Figure 1: NRT optical design for a f/7.5 Ritchey-Chrétien configuration.
  • Figure 2: NRT primary mirror segmented topologies, for 6 and 18 hexagonal and circular segments. The shaded region in the center of each configuration corresponds to the area obscured by the secondary mirror.
  • Figure 3: Section view of the M2 substrate, showing the double-arch lightweighting solution.
  • Figure 4: Blind pointing time vs peak acceleration for a 70 degrees slew, comparing the trapezoidal (green) and the S-curve (blue) profiles.
  • Figure 5: GCS device component model 2012Rodriguez.