Alpy600+LISA IR Stiched Spectra

[James Foster]

Here are three (actually 6=3 ir + 3 vis) spectra of objects GK Per, SU Lyn, & Z CMa taken recently:




The LISA IR spectra portion were taken on the 25&26Nov18 and the Alpy600 visual portion taken on 28Nov18 respectively
{bad weather prevented back to back imaging. Z CMa shows nice CaII features in the Infrared portion and GK Per looks like
it maybe on the upswing of activity; it spectrum in visual is usually much blander. SU Lyn seems average/normal. Please note
all spectral lines besides the balmer and CaII are speculative.

James

[James Foster]

Here are some more Alpy600 (R=500) and LISA Ir(R=900) stiched visual & near IR spectra. These were taken on back-to-back nights (Visual on 07Apr19 and
IR on 08Apr19):

Z CMa:


V0694 Mon:


BX Mon:


RV Vir:


Despite its low altitude, ZCMa continues to show strong strong CaII lines in the IR.

James

[Olivier GARDE]

Hi james,

Very good near IR spectrum.

Did you have any problem setting the LISA in near IR mode ?

[James Foster]

To: Olivier,

RE:"Did you have any problem setting the LISA in near IR mode ?"

Not exactly. Everything in the LISA manual enabled me to re-configure to IR mode. However, its not for the faint-of-heart, the visual grating must be replaced with the
IR grating and this involves the almost complete disassembly of the LISA. Tuning the continuum onto the center of the CCD FOV is about the same as visual mode.
One thing missing that would have been helpful, there is no Ne/Ar line identification in this spectral range in the LISA manual. Shelyak was kind enough to send me
a graphic file for this; although the line appearance from this file varied from mine, I was able to figure the proper lines.

Here is what my Ne-Ar line calibration looks like in the IR mode (image contrast enhanced to show faint lines, typical exposure 8 sec 2x2 bin) :



Here is the text for my "filemode" when processing LISA spectra in IR mode:

2
3.602
6965.431
7067.218
7272.936
7383.98
7723.761
7948.176
8266.077

I understand that LISA is higher resolution than the Alpy600 (1000 vs 600) , but I'm hesitant to reconfigure the LISA back to visual mode for the meticulous adjustments
necessary and the Alpy600 still has slightly better resolution towards the UV end. As Christian pointed out earlier to me, it would be nice to have 2 LISA's one for
visual and one for IR.

This region, 7400-9600A, is ideal to see the majority of spectral energy for any stars cooler than K class. T Tau and FU Ori type stars have lots of interesting emissions
in this realm and planetary bodies have interesting CH4 and other lines in this region as well, so its worth the effort to reconfigure.

Nice meeting you at the Spectral workshop in New Mexico a few weeks ago!

James

[James Foster]

Here is a quick update on Visual/IR spectra taken from my high altitude (2500m), dark sky site during the July 2019 new moon.
Visual (Alpy600) spectra taken 1-4 July 2019 and IR (LISA) taken 5-7 July 2019 from Mt. Pinos, CA with the exception of 2 with
IR spectrum taken from home with the CDK17 on 11 & 12 July 2019:











V1972 Cygnus had a very complex spectrum in the IR, too many lines to identify; NOTE: all lines except the H-Balmer(s) are speculative!

James

[Hamish Barker]

I guess it would be possible to use a dichroic beamsplitter to send the IR to lisa and UV to Alpy (if you had two cameras!) for simultaneously imaging both channels (but probably a pain to get both lined up exactly on the same optical axis.)

[James Foster]

To: Hamish,

RE:" .....it would be possible to use a dichroic beamsplitter to send the IR to lisa and UV to Alpy"

Thanks for the response!
This would probably work with the LISA in IR, but I think any refractive element would degrade (thru astigmatism) the UV end of the data the Alpy600 receives.
I found that the spectrum changes very slowly (unless in eruption) so a few days btw observations are valid. Maybe the UVEX in UV and IR modes
can offer a way to take (near) simultaneous UV/Vis/IR data.

I do not reconfigure the LISA IR for visual while I have the Alpy600 because this is manually difficult and there is always a chance to touch (destroy) the grating.

James

[James Foster]

Here are two more Visual&IR stitched spectra from my last visit at Mt. Pinos, CA (2500m elev):

Mira(31Oct19 & 03Nov19):


Nova Sct 2019 or V0659 Sct (01&03Nov19):


Of course as noted before all non-balmer/non-telluric lines are speculative.

James

[James Foster]

Here are some more recent Stitched Visual & IR Spectra:





I purchased a Atik414ex in lieu or starting the UVEX project. I replaced the standard CCD glass cover with a glass that has >85% transmission
to 3300A, so I can get as far down with the Alpy600 as 3600A without too much noise; limiting factor is the Grism of the Alpy600. I usually
crop down to 3650A when using the Alpy600 with the modified Atik414ex.

James

[James Ley]

Looks great James. Is the S/N higher with the Alpy than the LISA-IR?

I liked your spectrum of Mira. If my understanding is correct, photons emitted at the wavelength of H-epsilon,close to the Ca II H line, pump the emission in the calcium triplet. Your spectrum shows both the the absorption and the emission.