Open AccessInitial pointing model of the 40m Thai National Radio Telescope with an 8-inch optical telescope
Author(s) -
A. Phakam,
Phrudth Jaroenjittichai,
N. Prasert,
K. Asanok,
D. Singwong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1380/1/012032
Subject(s) - telescope , radio telescope , physics , remote sensing , sky , field of view , optics , astronomy , offset (computer science) , aperture (computer memory) , optical telescope , radio astronomy , antenna (radio) , planet , computer science , telecommunications , geology , acoustics , programming language
As a part of the mega-project, known as “Radio Astronomy Network and Geodesy for Development (RANGD)” by National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT), the fully steerable 40m Thai National Radio Telescope (TNRT) is under construction in the eastern region of Chiang Mai. From December, 2019, commissioning stage of TNRT includes the determination of pointing and aperture efficiencies, which are expected at no wind condition as 2 arcsec (rms) and 60 percent at K-band, respectively. Perfect alignment between the antenna pointing system with on-sky coordinates system, e.g. equatorial, is very crucial in obtaining such high pointing accuracy. In the initial step without the K-band receiver, this can be partially achieved with the installation of an optical telescope with an imaging system on the antenna structure and the initial pointing offset can be determined by tracking planets or other celestial sources in the optical. Here, we present the complete design of the system consisted of an 8-inch reflective telescope, a focuser and 20 MP camera, which results in the field of view of 22.67 by 15.15 sq. arcmin and the resolution of 0.25 arcsec. The complete measurement procedure for such approach and discussion on the advantages and limitations are also included.