Preliminary results of the 2001-2002 Gemini sodium monitoring campaign at Cerro Tololo, Chile

• In the near future several astronomical observatories in Chile areplanning to use sodium laser guide stars to increase the sky coverageprovided by their adaptive optics facilities. Knowledge of themesospheric sodium layer behavior is crucial to predict the performanceof future laser guide star adaptive optics systems. Whereas the sodiumlayer has been observed quite extensively at several locations, many ofthem in the Northern Hemisphere, very little measurements have been madein Chile. The Gemini Observatory therefore initiated a year-long sodiummonitoring campaign at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatorylocated only a few kilometers away from the Gemini South telescope wherea conventional laser guide star facility will be offered to thecommunity in 2005, soon to be upgraded to a multi-conjugate adaptiveoptics system with five laser guide stars. This paper reports on thelaser-based sodium monitoring experimental set up and data reductiontechniques, and presents some preliminary results on the sodium columndensity and layer altitude variations observed from February 2001 toFebruary 2002. Implications for the Gemini South Adaptive Optics systemexpected performance are presented as well.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

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