Abstract

The Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics (CAAO) at the University of Arizona is developing a diffraction-limited adaptive optics (AO) system at infrared wavelengths utilizing a sodium laser guide star. This system (Lloyd-Hart et al., this conference), based on an adaptive secondary mirror with 300 actuators, will be placed in operation following the installation of the 6.5 m mirror upgrade at the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) mount. As an interim step, we have built an adaptive optics system which provides tip-tilt correction for each of the 6 individual beams of the current MMT. This instrument, called FASTTRAC II, will produce a combined image at the diffraction limit of the 1.8 m primary mirrors (≲0.3″ at 2.2 μm) yielding moderately high resolution images in the near infrared. The current system incorporates the design philosophy of the 6.5 m system and provides a testbed for development of the system components in addition to serving as a significant scientific instrument in its own right.

© 1996 Optical Society of America