The 1.6 m New Solar Telescope (NST) in Big Bear
Abstract
The 1.6 m clear aperture, off-axis New Solar Telescope (NST) is in regular operation in Big Bear Solar Observatory. The NST is the first facility-class solar telescope built in the U.S. in a generation. The NST provides high resolution and high sensitivity observations of the solar photosphere and chromosphere in the visible and near infrared (NIR). A high order adaptive optics system delivers corrected light to an ensemble of state-of-the-art scientific instruments in the coude laboratory including the Broad-band Filter Imagers (BFIs), NIR Imaging Spectro-polarimeter (NIRIS), Visible Imaging Spectro-polarimeter (VIS) and Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS). Some early scientific results from the NST will be presented, followed by a progress report on NST instrument development projects, as well as upgrades to existing instruments.
- Publication:
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IAU Special Session
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012IAUSS...6E.202C