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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 595 records · Page 33
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NASA NTRS1990

Analysis of spatial pseudodepolarizers in imaging systems

The objective of a number of optical instruments is to measure the intensity accurately without bias as to the incident polarization state. One method to overcome polarization bias in optical systems is the insertion of a spatial pseudodepolarizer. Both the degree of depolarization and image degradation (from the polarization aberrations of the pseudodepolarizer) are analyzed for two depolarizer designs: (1) the Cornu pseudodepolarizer, effective for linearly polarized light, and (2) the dual Babinet compensator pseudodepolarizer, effective for all incident polarization states. The image analysis uses a matrix formalism to describe the polarization dependence of the diffraction patterns and optical transfer function.

Mcguire, James P., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Current developments in optical engineering and commercial optics; Proceedings of the Meeting, San Diego, CA, Aug. 7-11, 1989

Various papers on current developments in optical engineering and commercial optics are presented. Individual topics addressed include: large optics fabrication technology drivers and new manufacturing techniques, new technology for beryllium mirror production, design examples of hybrid refractive-diffractive lenses, optical sensor designs for detecting cracks in optical materials, retroreflector field-of-view properties for open and solid cube corners, correction of misalignment-dependent aberrations of the HST via phase retrieval, basic radiometry review for seeker test set, radiation effects on visible optical elements, and nonlinear simulation of efficiency for large-orbit nonwiggler FELs.

Fischer, Robert E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Hubble Space Telescope overview

A general overview of the performance and current status of the Hubble Space Telescope is presented. Most key spacecraft subsystems are operating well, equaling or exceeding specifications. Spacecraft thermal properties, power, and communications, are superb. The only spacecraft subsystem to have failed, a gyro, is briefly discussed. All science instruments are functioning extremely well and are returning valuable scientific data. The two significant problems effecting the Hubble Space Telescope science return, the pointing jitter produced by thermally induced bending of the solar array wings and the optical telescope assembly spherical aberration, are discussed and plans to repair both problems are mentioned. The possible restoration of full optical performance of the axial scientific instruments through the use of the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement, currently under study for the 1993 servicing mission, is discussed. In addition, an overview of the scientific performance of the Hubble Space Telescope is presented.

Polidan, Ronald S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometer for testing spherical surfaces and lenses and for measuring refractive indices of liquids or solid transparent materials

The present paper describes an application of a phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometer using barium titanate as a self-pumping mirror for testing optical components like concave and convex spherical mirrors and lenses. The aberrations introduced by the beam splitter while testing concave or convex spherical mirrors of large aperture are automatically eliminated due to self-focussing property of the phase conjugate mirror. There is no necessity for a good spherical surface as a reference surface unlike in classical Twyman-Green interferometer or Williams interferometer. The phase conjugate Twyman Green interferometer with a divergent illumination can be used as a test plate for checking spherical surfaces. A nondestructive technique for measuring the refractive indices of a Fabry Perot etalon by using a phase conjugate interferometer is also suggested. The interferometer is found to be useful for measuring the refractive indices of liquids and solid transparent materials with an accuracy of the order of + or - 0.0004.

Shukla, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The imaging performance of the Hubble Space Telescope

Problems with the HST instantaneous imaging performance and pointing performance are discussed. Optical tests have clearly demonstrated that the HST suffers from spherical aberration. The top level specification was that 70 percent of the energy be focused in a 0.1 in. radius, but the present, and close to optimum, focus setting gives only about 16 percent. The pointing control system also is having problems with the results that the spacecraft achieves a stability of about 0.007 rms in quiescent periods, falling short of specification which requires that such performance be maintained for 24 hr. The finite guidance sensors are not guiding well on faint stars. There is a loss of sky coverage at high Galactic latitude, especially for the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera. The consequences of these defects for the scientific program are examined.

Burrows, Christopher J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Stellar photometry with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide-field/Planetary camera - A progress report

The prospects for the use of the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC) for stellar photometry are described. The large halos of the point-spread function (PSF) resulting from spherical aberration and from spatial, temporal, and color variations of the PSF are the main limitations to accurate photometry. Degradations caused by crowding are exacerbated by the halos of the PSF. An attempt is made to quantify these effects and determine the current accuracy of stellar photometry with the WFPC. In realistic cases, the brighter stars in crowded fields have 0.09 mag errors; fainter stars have larger errors depending on the degree of crowding. It is shown that measuring Cepheids in Virgo Cluster galaxies is not currently possible without inordinate increases in exposure times.

Holtzman, Jon A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The postcollapse core of M15 imaged with the HST planetary camera

It is shown here that, despite the severe spherical aberration present in the HST, the Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC) images still present useful high-resolution information on M15, the classic candidate for a cluster with a collapsed core. The stars in M15 have been resolved down to the main-sequence turnoff and have been subtracted from the images. The remaining faint, unresolved stars form a diffuse background with a surprisingly large core with r(c) = 0.13 pc. The existence of a large core interior to the power-law cusp may imply that M15 has evolved well past maximum core collapse and may rule out the presence of a massive central black hole as well.

Lauer, Tod R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Astrometry using the Hubble Space Telescope fine guidance sensors

Plans for the use of the three fine guidance sensors (FGSs) of the NASA Hubble Space Telescope for direct astrometric observations are reviewed. Topics addressed include the optical elements and detectors of the FGSs, the basic and astrometric operating modes of the FGSs, spacecraft pointing control during astrometric observations, and the astrometric data-reduction software provided to HST users. Particular attention is given to the calibration procedures for optical-field angle distortion, the plate scale, filter-wedge errors, lateral color effects, secular changes, velocity aberration, and transfer function. Also discussed are the steps being taken to verify the HST orbit. It is pointed out that the performance of the interferometric FGSs should not be affected by the focusing problems of the main HST instrument.

Duncombe, Raynor L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

First results from the Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph - A demonstration of spectral resolution and experiments with deconvolution

High-quality spectra of the sharp-lined star Chi Lupi were obtained with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS). Spectra for the various resolving powers achievable with the echelle and G160M gratings are displayed. The effect of spherical aberration upon the spectral resolution is found to be negligible when using the small science aperture. The resolution of the large science aperture spectra is degraded by less than a factor of two. Efforts with spectral deconvolution using several techniques show that it is possible to regain much of the spectral resolution lost in the large science aperture if high signal-to-noise spectra are obtained.

Wahlgren, Glenn M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Design and analysis of aspherical multilayer imaging X-ray microscope

Spherical Schwarzschild microscopes for soft X-ray applications in microscopy and projection lithography employ two concentric spherical mirrors that are configured such that the third-order spherical aberration and coma are zero. Based on incoherent, sine-wave MTF calculations, the object-plane resolution of a magnification-factor-20 microscope is presently analyzed as a function of object height and numerical aperture of the primary for several spherical Schwarzschild, conic, and aspherical two-mirror microscope configurations.

Shealy, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The current ability of HST to reveal morphological structure in medium-redshift galaxies

The capabilities of the Faint Object Camera (FOC) and the Wide Field Camera (WFC) are assessed on the basis of a brief program of single-orbit images of medium-faint galaxies. The FOC yielded a good resolved image of a compact galaxy at a blue magnitude J of 20.5 in a single-orbit exposure. WFC images have a survey capability that can include many galaxies per field, with sufficient resolving power to distinguish clearly between galaxies and stars down to the level of 0.2 arcsec, depending on the signal-to-noise ratio, and a reasonable capacity for morphology. Although some morphological detail can be discerned in even the aberrated images, deconvolutions are found to greatly enhance the ability to see structural detail. Even at the low S/N that is provided by single-orbit exposures, the more sophisticated restoration methods offer some advantage over simple Fourier or Lucy techniques.

King, Ivan R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

POINTS - A global reference frame opportunity

POINTS is a space-based optical astrometric interferometer capable of measuring the angular separation of two stars about 90 degrees apart with 5-microarcsec nominal accuracy . During the intended ten-year mission, a repeated survey of a few hundred targets over the whole sky, including a few bright quasars, establish a 'rigid' reference grid with 0.5 microarcsec position uncertainties. At that level, the grid is free of regional biases and tied to the extra-Galactic frame that is the present best candidate for an inertial frame. POINTS will also determine parallaxes and annual proper motions at about the same level. Further, the planetary ephemeris frame is tied through stellar aberration to the grid at about 300 microarcsec. Additional targets of interest, to a limiting magnitude of greater than 20, are observed relative to the grid, yielding determinations with uncertainties depending on the observing schedule. Measurement at the microarcsec/year level of the apparent relative velocities of quasars that are widely separated on the sky severely test the assumption of cosmological quasar distances and may also constrain models of the early universe.

Chandler, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometer for testing conicoidal surfaces

An application of a phase conjugate Twyman-Green interferometer for testing a parabolic mirror is demonstrated. The interferometer is free from aberrations due to the self-focusing property of the phase conjugate mirror in one arm of the interferometer. It does not require a precision spherical mirror in the reference arm.

Shukla, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Accuracies Of Optical Processors For Adaptive Optics

Paper presents analysis of accuracies and requirements concerning accuracies of optical linear-algebra processors (OLAP's) in adaptive-optics imaging systems. Much faster than digital electronic processor and eliminate some residual distortion. Question whether errors introduced by analog processing of OLAP overcome advantage of greater speed. Paper addresses issue by presenting estimate of accuracy required in general OLAP that yields smaller average residual aberration of wave front than digital electronic processor computing at given speed.

Downie, John D.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Iterative deconvolution of x ray and optical SNR images

Blind Iterative Deconvolution (BID) is a technique which was originally developed to correct the degrading effects of atmospheric turbulence on astronomical images from single short exposure, high signal-to-noise-ratio frames. At the Center for Astro physics, we have implemented a version of BID following the general approach of Ayers and Dainty (1988), but extending the technique to use Wiener filtering, and developed it for application to high energy images from Einstein and ROSAT. In the optical, the point spread function (PSF) that degrades the images is due to a combination of telescope and atmospheric aberrations. At high energies, the degrading function is the instrument response function, which is known to be time and energy level unstable. In both cases, the PSF is poorly known, so BID can be used to extract the PSF from the image and then deconvolve the blurred image to produce a sharpened image. Other aspects of this technique are discussed.

Nisenson, Peter↗
NASA NTRS1992

Arm deploy mechanisms to help correct the Hubble Space Telescope's vision

As has been well publicized, the primary mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope was manufactured with an incorrect curvature which results in an aberrated output image. Ball Aerospace, under contract to GSFC, is designing the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) to provide correcting optics for the existing axial science instruments in the telescope. Integral to COSTAR are the arm deploy mechanisms which position and hold the corrective optic mirrors.

Copeland, F. Kent↗
NASA NTRS1992

Diffractive optics technology and the NASA Geostationary Earth Observatory (GEO)

Diffractive (or binary) optics offers unique capabilities for the development of large-aperture, high-performance, light-weight optical systems. The Geostationary Earth Observatory (GEO) will consist of a variety of instruments to monitor the environmental conditions of the earth and its atmosphere. The aim of this investigation is to analyze the design of the GEO instrument that is being proposed and to identify the areas in which diffractive (or binary) optics technology can make a significant impact in GEO sensor design. Several potential applications where diffractive optics may indeed serve as a key technology for improving the performance and reducing the weight and cost of the GEO sensors have been identified. Applications include the use of diffractive/refractive hybrid lenses for aft-optic imagers, diffractive telescopes for narrowband imaging, subwavelength structured surfaces for anti-reflection and polarization control, and aberration compensation for reflective imaging systems and grating spectrometers.

Morris, G. Michael↗
NASA NTRS1991

Ultraviolet imaging of globular clusters and galaxies

The techniques of UV imaging and its scientific potential are reviewed for studies of advanced stellar evolution, the star formation history and interstellar medium of galaxies, active nuclei, and the evolutionary state of systems observed at high redshift. Early Hubble Space Telescope imaging is expected to emphasize such programs since its image quality is excellent by earlier standards for the UV, despite the presence of spherical aberration.

O'Connell, Robert W.↗