Fibre-feed tests at Izana in 2017 May

Abstract

A new fibre-based spectrometer was commissioned from 2017 May 8 to May 26. The system was initially commissioned using the light feed from the secondary cœlostat on the lower-level platform in the main observing room of the solar pyramid building. Limited operational time was achieved in this phase due to bad weather. At the end of the site visit the whole system was moved into the apex of the pyramid sharing light from the primary cœlostat with the Mark-I spectrometer, and remains running in this configuration. Data from the spectrometer suffers from poor low- and high-frequency noise that are thought to be caused by the size of the solar image formed on the end of the fibre.

The guiding performance of the Skywatcher mount was tested when operating via a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, and results are consistent with earlier tests at Mount Wilson. No issues are expected with the use of the low-power system.