vstadcsoftware.docVIP

The Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Software for the VST M. Brescia, P. Schipani, G. Spirito, F. Cortecchia, G. Marra, F. Perrotta INAF – Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory Via Moiariello 16, I-80131 Napoli, Italy http://www.na.astro.it Abstract The effects of atmospheric differential refraction on astrophysical measurements are well known. In particular, as a ray of light passes through the atmosphere, its direction is altered by the effects of atmospheric refraction. The amount of this effect depends basically on the variation of the refractive index along the path of the ray. The real accuracy needed in the atmosphere model and in the calculation of the correction to be applied is of course, considerably worse, especially at large zenith angles. On the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) the use of an Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector (ADC) is foreseen at a wide zenith distance range. This paper describes the software design and implementation aspects regarding the analytical correction law discovered to correct the refraction effect during observations with VST. adapter/rotator, Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector, control software, telescope Introduction The VST (VLT Survey Telescope) is a 2.61 m alt-az f/5.5 modified Ritchey-Chretien telescope. It is provided by one focus station in Cassegrain optical configuration, where there will be installed the 16Kx16K OmegaCAM imaging camera, committed to an international consortium in collaboration with ESO (European Southern Observatory). High image quality performance is guaranteed by an active control of the optics, acting on both primary and secondary mirror. Due to its mounting configuration and active optical control requirements, a careful attention has been paid to the Adapter/Rotator (AD/ROT) combined system. It includes facilities for the fine telescope positioning (autoguiding system), for the optical quality optimization (sensing and ADC). In the next sections a description of the ADC software control design i