All Outputs (26)

Data Downloaded via Parachute from a NASA Super-Pressure Balloon (2023)
Journal Article

In April 2023, the superBIT telescope was lifted to the Earth’s stratosphere by a helium-filled super-pressure balloon to acquire astronomical imaging from above (99.5% of) the Earth’s atmosphere. It was launched from New Zealand and then, for 40 day... Read More about Data Downloaded via Parachute from a NASA Super-Pressure Balloon.

Inter-calibration of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes with UAV-based airborne calibration system (2022)
Journal Article

The recent advances in the flight capability of remotely piloted aerial vehicles (here after referred to as UAVs) have afforded the astronomical community the possibility of a new telescope calibration technique: UAV-based calibration. Building upon... Read More about Inter-calibration of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes with UAV-based airborne calibration system.

Robust diffraction-limited near-infrared-to-near-ultraviolet wide-field imaging from stratospheric balloon-borne platforms—Super-pressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope performance (2020)
Journal Article

At a fraction of the total cost of an equivalent orbital mission, scientific balloon-borne platforms, operating above 99.7% of the Earth’s atmosphere, offer attractive, competitive, and effective observational capabilities—namely, space-like seeing,... Read More about Robust diffraction-limited near-infrared-to-near-ultraviolet wide-field imaging from stratospheric balloon-borne platforms—Super-pressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope performance.

An open source toolkit for the tracking, termination and recovery of high altitude balloon flights and payloads (2019)
Journal Article

We present an open source toolkit of flight-proven electronic devices which can be used to track, terminate and recover high altitude balloon flights and payloads. Comprising a beacon, pyrotechnic and non-pyrotechnic cut-down devices plus associated... Read More about An open source toolkit for the tracking, termination and recovery of high altitude balloon flights and payloads.

Auto-tuned thermal control on stratospheric balloon experiments (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Balloon-borne experiments present unique thermal design challenges, which are a combination of those present for both space and ground experiments. Radiation and conduction are the predominant heat transfer mechanisms with convection effects being mi... Read More about Auto-tuned thermal control on stratospheric balloon experiments.

Overview, design, and flight results from SuperBIT: a high-resolution, wide-field, visible-to-near-UV balloon-borne astronomical telescope (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Balloon-borne astronomy is a unique tool that allows for a level of image stability and significantly reduced atmospheric interference without the often prohibitive cost and long development time-scale that are characteristic of space-borne facility-... Read More about Overview, design, and flight results from SuperBIT: a high-resolution, wide-field, visible-to-near-UV balloon-borne astronomical telescope.

Characterisation and testing of CHEC-M—A camera prototype for the small-sized telescopes of the Cherenkov telescope array (2018)
Journal Article

The Compact High Energy Camera (CHEC) is a camera design for the Small-Sized Telescopes (SSTs; 4 m diameter mirror) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The SSTs are focused on very-high-energy -ray detection via atmospheric Cherenkov light detect... Read More about Characterisation and testing of CHEC-M—A camera prototype for the small-sized telescopes of the Cherenkov telescope array.

Thermal, Structural, and Optical Analysis of a Balloon-Based Imaging System (2017)
Journal Article

The Subarcsecond Telescope And BaLloon Experiment, STABLE, is the fine stage of a guidance system for a high-altitude ballooning platform designed to demonstrate subarcsecond pointing stability over one minute using relatively dim guide stars in the... Read More about Thermal, Structural, and Optical Analysis of a Balloon-Based Imaging System.

Feasibility study of airborne calibration of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (2016)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Experience with wavefront sensor and deformable mirror interfaces for wide-field adaptive optics systems (2016)
Journal Article

Recent advances in adaptive optics (AO) have led to the implementation of wide field-of-view AO systems. A number of wide-field AO systems are also planned for the forthcoming Extremely Large Telescopes. Such systems have multiple wavefront sensors o... Read More about Experience with wavefront sensor and deformable mirror interfaces for wide-field adaptive optics systems.

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA): Design, technical overview, and performance (2015)
Journal Article

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) is the 4-m wide-field survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, equipped with the world’s largest near-infrared imaging camera (VISTA IR Camera, VIRCAM), with 1.65 degree diameter f... Read More about The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA): Design, technical overview, and performance.

Characterization of a Commercial, Front-Illuminated Interline Transfer CCD Camera for use as a Guide Camera on a Balloon-Borne Telescope (2014)
Journal Article

We report results obtained during the characterization of a commercial front-illuminated progressive scan interline transfer CCD camera. We demonstrate that the unmodified camera operates successfully in temperature and pressure conditions (-40°C, 4... Read More about Characterization of a Commercial, Front-Illuminated Interline Transfer CCD Camera for use as a Guide Camera on a Balloon-Borne Telescope.

Space-quality data from balloon-borne telescopes: The High Altitude Lensing Observatory (HALO) (2012)
Journal Article

Optical ground support equipment for the alignment of JWST-NIRSpec (2008)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The alignment of the JWST NIRSpec spectrograph will use a customised set of optical light sources, imagers and wavefront sensors, which form part of the Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSE). This has been developed by the Mullard Space Science Lab... Read More about Optical ground support equipment for the alignment of JWST-NIRSpec.

KMOS: A multi-object deployable-IFU spectrometer for the ESO VLT (2006)
Journal Article

Results from the adaptive optics coronagraph at the William Herschel Telescope (2005)
Journal Article

Described here is the design and commissioning of a coronagraph facility for the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) and its Nasmyth Adaptive Optics for Multi-purpose Instrumentation (NAOMI). The use of the NAOMI system gives an improved image res... Read More about Results from the adaptive optics coronagraph at the William Herschel Telescope.

A ground-layer AO system demonstrator for the William Herschel Telescope (2004)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The real-time control system of NAOMI (2004)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Wavefront sensing within the VISTA infrared camera (2004)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Rayleigh guide star AO demonstrator for the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope (2003)
Presentation / Conference Contribution