Bibcode
García-Lorenzo, B.; Fuensalida, J. J.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 410, Issue 2, pp. 934-945.
Advertised on:
1
2011
Citations
15
Refereed citations
13
Description
The characterization of the optical turbulence structure at an
astronomical site requires a proper data base of the refractive-index
structure constant, ?. Our team has been obtaining generalized
SCIntillation Detection and Ranging (SCIDAR) observations to monitor ?
from 2002 November-2009 January at Teide Observatory (Tenerife, Canary
Islands, Spain). The Teide ? data base includes useful data from 153
nights of generalized SCIDAR measurements obtained at the 1.5-m Calos
Sánchez Telescope. The overestimation of the turbulence strength
as a consequence of generalized SCIDAR data processing has been analysed
for all double stars and analysis-plane combinations used in our
observations. If this overestimation of the turbulence is not taken into
account, the median total seeing and isoplanatic angle derived from the
turbulence profiles in the data base are 0.70 and 2.47 arcsec,
respectively. We have recalibrated all the derived ?, correcting for
this overestimation. The statistical optical turbulence structure above
Teide Observatory is derived by combining the 93 662 individual ? that
constitute the data base at this site. More than 85 per cent of the
total optical turbulence is concentrated in low-altitude layers (<5
km above sea level). The optical turbulence structure presents an
evolution of the layers in both strength and altitude. Only the
turbulence concentration at the observatory level shows a similar
turbulence strength over a standard year. The median values of total
seeing and isoplanatic angle of ɛ0= 0.64 arcsec and
θ0= 2.83 arcsec demonstrate the excellent quality of
the Teide Observatory astronomical site for the implementation of
adaptive optics systems.