MRI: track 2 development of astrophysics enabled by high order advanced keck adaptive optics (haka)

Ended Project Grant Awarded Last action

Award ID
2320038
Recipient
Awarding agency
Obligated
$1,649,787

Award facts

Assistance listing
47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Completion date
Place of performance
Waimea, HI 96743, USA

Award details come from USAspending.gov.

Description

Abstract
An object seen at the bottom of a swimming pool appears blurry. A similar blurring occurs as astronomers look through the earth's atmosphere. A solution is the use of adaptive optics (AO), which uses a mirror that changes its shape to remove the blurring. One of the limitations to how well the blurring can be removed is determined by the number of actuators behind the deformable mirror. Keck observatory has an adaptive optics system in use. This project will replace the existing keck deformable mirror with one that has eight times more actuators. The resultant system will allow an improvement in most instruments currently used on the telescope. This will improve observations of old and cold exoplanets and improve ability to image the surfaces of the moons of jupiter and saturn. This project and the research team will indirectly support programs that provide training in astronomical instrumentation, such as the akamai internship program and astrotech summer school. The w. M. Keck observatory is equipped with AO technology and a set of AO-FED science instruments. However, the AO system?s hardware linchpin ? The deformable mirror (DM) ? Is now over twenty-five years old and its small number of actuators limits the overall AO performance. The high order advanced keck adaptive optics (haka) project will replace the existing 349-actuator DM with a state-of-the-art 2800-actuator DM on the keck II AO system. The haka-enabled science program will be carried out with a suite of existing and upcoming AO science instruments. Haka will enable the direct imaging and spectroscopic characterization of dozens of exoplanets that will be too close to their host STARS to be accessible to jwst and too cold to be accessible to today?s ground-based high contrast imaging instruments. Haka will also enable keck II?s AO system to operate in the z-band. This provides improved capability for solar system science. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.

Transactions

Action Obligated Date
Amendment $0
Original award $1,649,787

Quick answers

Who received award 2320038?

2320038 was awarded to California Association For Research In Astronomy by Division of Astronomical Sciences (National Science Foundation) on October 1, 2023.

How much is award 2320038 worth?

$1,649,787 has been obligated on 2320038.

Which agency awarded 2320038?

Division of Astronomical Sciences (National Science Foundation) awarded 2320038, with funding from National Science Foundation.

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