SSO Update

Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue26 1–31 March 2022

A very special (and expensive) paint job

In last year’s November edition of Lunations, Ashley Anderson wrote about a new dome flat field illumination system at the AAT. A series of LEDs and lamps illuminate two flat field panels, one above the windscreen aperture (the narrow square hole that the telescope points through) and one below. At the time of writing that article, only the lower panel was in use, as it was the only one to have a coat of a very special paint that allows the panel to be used as a flat field.

The paint, which costs a few thousand dollars per litre ensures that light scatters equally in all directions. This property allows the surface to be used as a flat field. Without the paint, there would be some parts of the flat field that would be brighter than others. In other words, it would not be flat.

We’ve just completed painting the upper flat field panel in-situ. In the photo, you can see Glen and Zac painting the panel, which is located about 30 metres above the floor of the dome.

Welcome and Farewell

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Nadime (Ned) El-Saleh to the Observatory and the School. Ned has joined us as an electronics technician and has a considerable amount of experience in electronics. We all look forward to working with Ned over the next few years.

After many years of dedicated service, Kristin Fiegert and John Goodyear will be leaving us in the middle of the year. Be sure to watch out for announcements of their farewell parties. We will have more to say about the contributions that Kristin and John have made to the Observatory in later editions of Lunations.

Chris Lidman on behalf of SSO

_{Picture: A view from the 4th floor of the upper and lower flat field panels.}