Remote control and telescope auto-alignment system for multiangle lidar under development at CEILAP, Argentina

Abstract

At CEILAP (CITEDEF-CONICET), a multiangle Raman lidar is under development to monitor aerosol extinction in the frame of the CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array) Project. This is an initiative to build the next generation of ground-based instruments to collect very high energy gamma-ray radiation. It will serve as an open observatory for a wide astrophysics community and will explore the Universe in depth in Very High Energy (> 10 GeV) gamma-rays. The atmospheric conditions are is a major interest for CTA, and this instrument plays a major role measuring the atmospheric optical depth. The reception system is made by six 40 cm in diameter Newtonian telescopes, totally exposed to the hard environmental condition during the shifts. These working conditions could produce misalignments between laser and telescopes, losing the required overlap. To avoid that, a telescope controlled by a self-alignment system is under development to solve this problem. This is performed by PC software running from the acquisition module which is connected via ethernet to a microcontroller. This paper, describes the self-alignment method and hardware work in progress.

At CEILAP (CITEDEF-CONICET), a multiangle Raman lidar is under development to monitor aerosol extinction in the frame of the CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array) Project. This is an initiative to build the next generation of ground-based instruments to collect very high energy gamma-ray radiation. It will serve as an open observatory for a wide astrophysics community and will explore the Universe in depth in Very High Energy (> 10 GeV) gamma-rays. The atmospheric conditions are is a major interest for CTA, and this instrument plays a major role measuring the atmospheric optical depth. The reception system is made by six 40 cm in diameter Newtonian telescopes, totally exposed to the hard environmental condition during the shifts. These working conditions could produce misalignments between laser and telescopes, losing the required overlap. To avoid that, a telescope controlled by a self-alignment system is under development to solve this problem. This is performed by PC software running from the acquisition module which is connected via ethernet to a microcontroller. This paper, describes the self-alignment method and hardware work in progress.