2008/07/12 by Mark Chun, Doug Toomey, Zahed Wahhaj +12 · 2 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing #Calibration and Measurement Techniques #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1117/12.787683
Proc. SPIE, Vol. 7015, 70151V (2008)
openalex publication_date 2008/07/12 · arxiv created 2008/09/17 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
We present the coronagraphic and adaptive optics performance of the Gemini-South Near-Infrared Coronagraphic Imager (NICI). NICI includes a dual-channel imager for simultaneous spectral difference imaging, a dedicated 85-element curvature adaptive optics system, and a built-in Lyot coronagraph. It is specifically designed to survey for and image large extra-solar gaseous planets on the Gemini Observatory 8-meter telescope in Chile. We present the on-sky performance of the individual subsystems along with the end-to-end contrast curve. These are compared to our model predictions for the adaptive optics system, the coronagraph, and the spectral difference imaging.