Binospec: A Wide-field Imaging Spectrograph for the MMT [article]

Daniel Fabricant, Robert Fata, Harland Epps, Thomas Gauron, Mark Mueller, Joseph Zajac, Stephen Amato, Jack Barberis, Henry Bergner, Patricia Brennan, Warren Brown, Igor Chilingarian (+4 others)
2019 arXiv   pre-print
Binospec is a high throughput, 370 to 1000 nm, imaging spectrograph that addresses two adjacent 8' by 15' fields of view. Binospec was commissioned in late 2017 at the f/5 focus of the 6.5m MMT and is now available to all MMT observers. Aperture masks cut from stainless steel with a laser cutter are used to define the entrance apertures that range from 15' long slits to hundreds of 2" slitlets. System throughputs, including the MMT's mirrors and the f/5 wide-field corrector peak at 30 the two
more » ... ams, provide resolutions (λ/Δλ) between 1300 and >5000 with a 1" wide slit. Two through-the-mask guiders are used for target acquisition, mask alignment, guiding, and precision offsets. A full-time Shack-Hartmann wave front sensor allows continuous adjustment of primary mirror support forces, telescope collimation and focus. Active flexure control maintains spectrograph alignment and focus under varying gravity and thermal conditions.
arXiv:1905.03320v1 fatcat:h45g7it4lbeyfg5u3wsxw5yjvm