GTC adaptive optics integration in telescope and first commissioning results

Abstract

The Adaptive Optics (AO) of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) is a single conjugate postfocal system, integrated in one of the Nasmyth platforms of the telescope. GTC is located in the Observatory of Roque de Los Muchachos (ORM) in the island of La Palma, Spain. GTCAO is based on a single deformable mirror (DM) with 373 actuators, conjugated to the GTC pupil, and a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (WFS) with 312 useful subapertures on an OCAM2 camera. The performance required for GTCAO is 65% Strehl Ratio in K-band under average atmospheric conditions and bright NGS.After finishing its laboratory testing and calibration in 2022, the laboratory acceptance and transport readiness review took place in April 2023. GTCAO integration in the telescope was carried out along June 2023. The GTCAO control software was integrated with the GTC observing software along July, to implement the optical derotation, the WFS positioning in the field and guiding, the WFS atmospheric dispersion compensation, and the tip-tilt correction loop implemented with the GTC secondary mirror.At the end of Summer 2023 started the on-sky commissioning. Since then, the AO loop has been closed on sky in different turbulence and guide star conditions. This paper presents the GTCAO integration results and first on sky commissioning results.