Beata Konacka, Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences; Maciej Konacki, Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences
Keywords: optical sensors, wide field of view, 1-meter class telescopes, sCMOS cameras
Abstract:
We have deployed a new 1-meter optical space surveillance sensor at the South African Astronomical Observatory. The telescope offers a large for this aperture 2.7×2.7 deg field of view with 1.59 arcseconds per pixel plate scale. The telescope is a prime focus optical system and is equipped with a large format sCMOS camera Kepler KL6060 that allows for up to 19 frames per second. The optical system is filterless and its photometric zero point is 24.5 mag (Gaia G-band). With a 10-sec exposure time its limiting magnitude is 22.0 mag. Solaris-5 limiting magnitude compares well with that of another recently deployed 1.3-meter NASA MCAT telescope 22.3 mag (r’ filter, 10 sec exposure, 1-sigma) while offering a 15 times larger field of view. The goal of this sensor is to take advantage of the most recent developments in telescope design and manufacturing, and sCMOS camera technologies to detect and characterize space debris by using a larger then typical aperture while preserving a large field of view and employing a large sCMOS camera. Such a combination of parameters enables one to carry out deep and fast optical surveys with efficiency that is rare in the international optical space surveillance community. We present the first commissioning results from Solaris-5 and discuss plans for its application to space safety.
Date of Conference: September 16-19, 2025
Track: SDA Systems & Instrumentation