FIber Echelle Spectrograph

   (71k)

Latest:

May 2006

June 2004

Some new pictures have been placed on the web by Arto Jarvinen. New software for running the spectrograph is emerging. The spectrograph can now be operated using 'sequencer' commands from the command line on another computer. A corresponding BIAS set of 'sequencer' comands for running the CCD camera is being tested. Eric Stempels is writing quick look and pipeline software.

November 2003

FIES is now operational on the NOT. The installation of the new CCD camera and Cryotiger cooler has brought FIES back alive. During three nights several spectra were obtained of a variety of targets. The operation went exceedingly smooth and we should soon be able to offer the use of FIES to the Nordic Astronomers. The resolution is nominal, the efficiency is lower than expected, but the reasons have been identified and will be dealt with. Stability has yet to be analysed.

The control software and the reduction osftware is being developed, but observers can in principle use the spectrograph at this point.

More information will soon be published.

July 2003

A status report has been written for the Instrument User Group (IUG) for High-Resolution Optical Spectroscopy and made public.

June 2003

The new CCD camera is under construction in Copenhagen. The complete camera is scheduled to be ready for shipment in September 2003, Work is being carried out on the ADC, which should soon go into production. We want soon to select the new fibers. Please, have a look on the transmission curves presented in the technical description and forward your opinion to the FIES group.

January 2003

During a meeting at the NOT several issues were discussed. The most important result of the was the conclusion that it is possible to get a fiber from the dome to a new building at the base of the dome coupling the telescope to FIES. The length of the fiber was estimated to be in the range 35-45m.

Many ideas were presented and discussed during the three days. A summary is presented as a textfile with some indications of who we expect to take actions.

A new workplan for the completion has been prepared and is presented on a separeate page.

November 2002

The Danish Research Council has accepted to pay hardware costs for completing FIES. The NOT council has accepted a plan, where FIES is completed and then relocated to a new building at the base of the telescope building to enhance the thermal stability and to clear the dome of the large box. Work will start at the beginning of 2003 and the whole project is planned to be finished in two years. This is also an upgrade in the sense that a cooling machine is added as well as a corrector for atmospheric dispersion.

November 2001

The spectrograph is essentially completed, but unfortunately no CCD detector is available at the moment. Two applications for funding have been turned down, the last early Nov. 2001.
The CCD detector (a Marconi 42-80 grade 5 chip), acquired for the first commisioning and test period, was lost during installation in Copenhagen in Nov. 2000. When it was first tested in May 2000, it worked quite well. What happened has not been identified, but after installation in the camera head it did not work anymore.

The spectrograph is at the moment sitting on a support on one side of the NOT. It has been connected via an optical fiber to the telescope and first light took place on Feb. 19. , 2000

During a second trip in Feb. 2001 fiber viewing optics was installed enabling accurate guiding on the fiber entrance to be done and location of the target on the fiber to take place in a very efficient and fast way. Also an outer thermal enclosure was mounted.

The installation in February 2000

In the following images one can see some of the persons working in the dome, as the whole table was turned 180 degree to improve the weight distribution. The men on the first photo are Jacob Clasen, Bo Lindberg, Hugo Schwarz and Peter Brandt (Pedro). The top of the enclosure for FIES has been lifted off. This image and the following were taken by Uno Waan, Stockholm, with a digital camera.

The next photo shows John Andersen and Søren Frandsen thinking deeply on what's next.

(203k) (231k)

After some days of hard work by everybody, the instrument was assembled and coupled to the telescope. The images that follow show different parts of FIES. First both ends of the fiber is shown. The fiber is mounted on the side of the telescope, where the wave front sensor usually sits. At the other end it is combined with the fiber coming from the calibration unit and is mounted together with the shutter and the diode photometer in a V-block.

(95k) (49k)

The light exits from the fiber passing a focal extender and a slit, which is glued to the fiber, and goes to the collimator. It is then brought to the Echelle grating and reflected back to the first collimator mirror. These elements are seen in the next images.

(50k) (115k)

After being refocussed at the white pupil position by a small mirror the beam is once more collimated by the second parabolic mirror and passes the cross-disperser prism. Finally the spectrum is imaged on the detector by the camera in the black tube.

(56k) (109k)

The total instrument is seen in the following two images, which show the instrument without and with covers installed.

(56k) (105k)