The Lowell Observatory Solar Telescope: a fiber feed into the Extreme Precision Spectrometer

Joe Llama; Lily L. Zhao; John M. Brewer; Andrew Szymkowiak; Debra A. Fischer; Michael Collins; Jake Tiegs; Frank Cornelius

doi:10.1117/12.3020494

11 September 2024 The Lowell Observatory Solar Telescope: a fiber feed into the Extreme Precision Spectrometer

Joe Llama, Lily L. Zhao, John M. Brewer, Andrew Szymkowiak, Debra A. Fischer, Michael Collins, Jake Tiegs, Frank Cornelius

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13094, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes X; 130942O (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020494
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

The signal induced by a temperate, terrestrial planet orbiting a Sun-like star is an order of magnitude smaller than the host stars’ intrinsic variability. Understanding stellar activity is, therefore, a fundamental obstacle in confirming the smallest exoplanets. We present the Lowell Observatory Solar Telescope (LOST), a solar feed for the EXtreme PREcision Spectrometer (EXPRES) at the 4.3-m Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT). EXPRES is one of the newest high-resolution spectrographs that accurately measure extreme radial velocity. With LOST/EXPRES, we observe disk-integrated sunlight autonomously throughout the day. In clear conditions, we achieve a R ∼ 137, 500 optical spectrum of the Sun with a signal-to-noise of 500 in ∼ 150s. Data is reduced using the standard EXPRES pipeline with minimal modification to ensure the data are comparable to the observations of other stars with the LDT. During the first three years of operation, we find a daily RMS of 71cm/s. Additionally, having two EPRV spectrometers located in Arizona gives us an unprecedented opportunity to benchmark the performance of these planet-finders. We find a RMS of just 55cm/s when comparing data taken simultaneously with EXPRES and NEID.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Joe Llama, Lily L. Zhao, John M. Brewer, Andrew Szymkowiak, Debra A. Fischer, Michael Collins, Jake Tiegs, and Frank Cornelius "The Lowell Observatory Solar Telescope: a fiber feed into the Extreme Precision Spectrometer", Proc. SPIE 13094, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes X, 130942O (11 September 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020494

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