A complex multi-notch astronomical filter to suppress the bright infrared sky

J. Bland-Hawthorn; S. C. Ellis; S. G. Leon-Saval; R. Haynes; M. M. Roth; H. G. Löhmannsröben; A. J. Horton; J. G. Cuby; T. A. Birks; J. S. Lawrence; P. Gillingham; S. D. Ryder; C. Trinh

doi:10.1038/ncomms1584

A complex multi-notch astronomical filter to suppress the bright infrared sky

J. Bland-Hawthorn^*, S. C. Ellis, S. G. Leon-Saval, R. Haynes, M. M. Roth, H. G. Löhmannsröben, A. J. Horton, J. G. Cuby, T. A. Birks, J. S. Lawrence, P. Gillingham, S. D. Ryder, C. Trinh

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

139 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A long-standing and profound problem in astronomy is the difficulty in obtaining deep near-infrared observations due to the extreme brightness and variability of the night sky at these wavelengths. A solution to this problem is crucial if we are to obtain the deepest possible observations of the early Universe, as redshifted starlight from distant galaxies appears at these wavelengths. The atmospheric emission between 1,000 and 1,800 nm arises almost entirely from a forest of extremely bright, very narrow hydroxyl emission lines that varies on timescales of minutes. The astronomical community has long envisaged the prospect of selectively removing these lines, while retaining high throughput between them. Here we demonstrate such a filter for the first time, presenting results from the first on-sky tests. Its use on current 8 m telescopes and future 30 m telescopes will open up many new research avenues in the years to come.

Original language	English
Article number	581
Pages (from-to)	1-7
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1584
Publication status	Published - 6 Dec 2011

Access to Document

10.1038/ncomms1584

Cite this

@article{00aae199187e48c7b9bdaefcd6c5baf7,

title = "A complex multi-notch astronomical filter to suppress the bright infrared sky",

abstract = "A long-standing and profound problem in astronomy is the difficulty in obtaining deep near-infrared observations due to the extreme brightness and variability of the night sky at these wavelengths. A solution to this problem is crucial if we are to obtain the deepest possible observations of the early Universe, as redshifted starlight from distant galaxies appears at these wavelengths. The atmospheric emission between 1,000 and 1,800 nm arises almost entirely from a forest of extremely bright, very narrow hydroxyl emission lines that varies on timescales of minutes. The astronomical community has long envisaged the prospect of selectively removing these lines, while retaining high throughput between them. Here we demonstrate such a filter for the first time, presenting results from the first on-sky tests. Its use on current 8 m telescopes and future 30 m telescopes will open up many new research avenues in the years to come.",

author = "J. Bland-Hawthorn and Ellis, {S. C.} and Leon-Saval, {S. G.} and R. Haynes and Roth, {M. M.} and L{\"o}hmannsr{\"o}ben, {H. G.} and Horton, {A. J.} and Cuby, {J. G.} and Birks, {T. A.} and Lawrence, {J. S.} and P. Gillingham and Ryder, {S. D.} and C. Trinh",

year = "2011",

month = dec,

day = "6",

doi = "10.1038/ncomms1584",

language = "English",

volume = "2",

pages = "1--7",

journal = "Nature Communications",

issn = "2041-1723",

publisher = "Springer, Springer Nature",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - A complex multi-notch astronomical filter to suppress the bright infrared sky

AU - Bland-Hawthorn, J.

AU - Ellis, S. C.

AU - Leon-Saval, S. G.

AU - Haynes, R.

AU - Roth, M. M.

AU - Löhmannsröben, H. G.

AU - Horton, A. J.

AU - Cuby, J. G.

AU - Birks, T. A.

AU - Lawrence, J. S.

AU - Gillingham, P.

AU - Ryder, S. D.

AU - Trinh, C.

PY - 2011/12/6

Y1 - 2011/12/6

N2 - A long-standing and profound problem in astronomy is the difficulty in obtaining deep near-infrared observations due to the extreme brightness and variability of the night sky at these wavelengths. A solution to this problem is crucial if we are to obtain the deepest possible observations of the early Universe, as redshifted starlight from distant galaxies appears at these wavelengths. The atmospheric emission between 1,000 and 1,800 nm arises almost entirely from a forest of extremely bright, very narrow hydroxyl emission lines that varies on timescales of minutes. The astronomical community has long envisaged the prospect of selectively removing these lines, while retaining high throughput between them. Here we demonstrate such a filter for the first time, presenting results from the first on-sky tests. Its use on current 8 m telescopes and future 30 m telescopes will open up many new research avenues in the years to come.

AB - A long-standing and profound problem in astronomy is the difficulty in obtaining deep near-infrared observations due to the extreme brightness and variability of the night sky at these wavelengths. A solution to this problem is crucial if we are to obtain the deepest possible observations of the early Universe, as redshifted starlight from distant galaxies appears at these wavelengths. The atmospheric emission between 1,000 and 1,800 nm arises almost entirely from a forest of extremely bright, very narrow hydroxyl emission lines that varies on timescales of minutes. The astronomical community has long envisaged the prospect of selectively removing these lines, while retaining high throughput between them. Here we demonstrate such a filter for the first time, presenting results from the first on-sky tests. Its use on current 8 m telescopes and future 30 m telescopes will open up many new research avenues in the years to come.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84455174777&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/ncomms1584

DO - 10.1038/ncomms1584

M3 - Article

C2 - 22146400

AN - SCOPUS:84455174777

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 2

SP - 1

EP - 7

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 581

ER -

A complex multi-notch astronomical filter to suppress the bright infrared sky

Abstract

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this