{"id":284202,"date":"2021-04-15T17:20:02","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T15:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=284202"},"modified":"2021-04-15T17:20:02","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T15:20:02","slug":"seeing-the-sun-more-clearly-with-the-help-of-an-adaptive-mirror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/seeing-the-sun-more-clearly-with-the-help-of-an-adaptive-mirror\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing the sun more clearly with the help of an adaptive mirror"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When astronomers use telescopes to monitor and take images of space objects, the earth\u2019s atmosphere can distort the image \u2013 much like the weather can cloud the lens on a camera. Telescopes that orbit in space, such as the Hubble Telescope, do not have this issue since they avoid the atmosphere altogether. However, the most powerful telescopes are also the largest and, for now, these are built on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To correct for the optical distortions caused by the atmosphere, Adaptive Secondary Mirrors (ASMs) can be built in to earth-bound telescopes which allow for a clearer image of space. A bid by TNO<\/a> has been selected for the preliminary design one such ASM for the European Solar Telescope<\/a> (EST), so it can be used to better monitor the sun’s activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balanced actuators<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ASMs are mirrors that change shape in order to correct for the issues our atmosphere creates. To achieve this, the adaptive mirrors are mounted on actuators \u2013 devices that push and pull the mirrors in a way that change their shape (or optical prescription). Much of the innovation that TNO submitted, and ultimately won the bid for, is built around these actuators as they are more reliable and efficient than the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe key to our technology is that we have reinvented the deformable mirror actuator,\u201d says Matthew Maniscalco, one of TNO’s team members involved in the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other actuator designs rely on floating electro-magnets to move the mirrors, meaning that the force can change depending on the distance from the magnet. TNO\u2019s actuator design is physically attached to the mirror and is engineered with a spring, electromagnetic coils, and fixed magnets that keep the forces balanced and linear. This means it can be more energy efficient and precise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Impression of the EST-A<\/em>SM, courtesy of TNO
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Studying the sun and space<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The success of this design will allow the EST to monitor the sun and even predict for disturbances like solar flares. The radiation that comes from solar flares can be very harmful to satellites \u2013 but by simply turning the sensitive satellites systems off, one can protect against much of the damage. Thus, being able to predict for solar flares can be very useful for satellite longevity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larger telescopes are being built all over the world to understand phenomena like this but Maniscalco hopes that the technology can be used to keep existing telescopes relevant. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe our technology can be used to retrofit really great, older telescopes to help them compete with upcoming new giant telescopes,\u201d says Maniscalco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read about how citizens can help look for black holes with the LOFAR telescope.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When astronomers use telescopes to monitor and take images of space objects, the earth\u2019s atmosphere can distort the image \u2013 much like the weather can cloud the lens on a camera. Telescopes that orbit in space, such as the Hubble Telescope, do not have this issue since they avoid the atmosphere altogether. However, the most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1932,"featured_media":523891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8553],"tags":[60366,60368,60370,60373,7017],"location":[6763],"article_type":[36684],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-284202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","tag-adaptive-secondary-mirror","tag-european-solar-telescope","tag-matthew-maliscalco","tag-solar-flare","tag-tno-en","location-netherlands","article_type-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"A design for an adaptive mirror by TNO that can aid telescopes better photograph space has been approved for the European Solar Telescope. ","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Alex Davidson","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/alex-davidson\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/image-300x169.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Digital<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Digital<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["adaptive secondary mirror<\/a>","european solar telescope<\/a>","matthew maliscalco<\/a>","solar flare<\/a>","TNO<\/a>"],"unlinked":["adaptive secondary mirror<\/span>","european solar telescope<\/span>","matthew maliscalco<\/span>","solar flare<\/span>","TNO<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 5 years ago","modified":"Updated 5 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 15, 2021","modified":"Updated on April 15, 2021"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 15, 2021 5:20 pm","modified":"Updated on April 15, 2021 5:20 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1932"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284202"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=284202"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=284202"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=284202"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=284202"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=284202"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=284202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}