Award Abstract #0215793
Development of a Precision Stellar Coronagraph for Imaging Exoplanets, Brown Dwarfs and Disks

NSF Org:	AST Division of Astronomical Sciences
Initial Amendment Date:	August 8, 2002
Latest Amendment Date:	August 8, 2002
Award Number:	0215793
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Andrew Clegg AST Division of Astronomical Sciences MPS Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Start Date:	September 1, 2002
Expires:	August 31, 2006 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$524120
Investigator(s):	Ben Oppenheimer bro@amnh.org (Principal Investigator) Michael Shara (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	American Museum Natural History Central Park West at 79th St New York, NY 10024 212/769-5975
NSF Program(s):	MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION
Field Application(s):
Program Reference Code(s):	OTHR, 0000
Program Element Code(s):	1189

ABSTRACT

AST-0215793

Oppenheimer, Ben R.

This project will produce a new coronagraph system to extend the well-understood and tested techniques of the classical coronagraph at the 3.67 meter Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) telescope of the United States Air Force observatory at Haleakela, Maui, Hawaii. AEOS is equipped with a very high order (960 elements) adaptive optics unit to correct for atmospheric turbulence. The AEOS adaptive optics unit dramatically surpreses the seeing halo between radii of 0.2 and 1.5 arcseconds at a wavelength of 1.6 micrometers. It is within this region of the spatial information domain that enables compelling scientific analysis for the nearby vicinities of brown dwarfs, super-Jupiter planets, extra-solar system zodiacal dust disks. This instrumentation development establishes a new instrumentation program to provide graduate students in New York City to peruse instrumentation-based research programs. Undergraduates from an all-women college in New York will participate.

***

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.