MODS2 structure on Mt Graham!

After its acceptance in the lab at Ohio State University in August, MODS2, the second in the pair of Multi-Object Double-beam Spectrographs designed and built by OSU, was disassembled and prepared for shipment to Mt Graham.

The structure of the instrument is the first (and biggest!) piece of the instrument to make its journey to the observatory. 

 

 Oct 1 - Loading the structure on the truck at OSU

 On the truck, with a happy MODS team!

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Oct 7 - Arrival at the base camp

 

 Unloading

Ready to go up to Mt Graham

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 Oct 10 - In the high bay at the observatory

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The crating of all the contents of MODS began immediately after the structure left. The truck will come on Oct 16 to collect the crates and carry them to Arizona.

 

LUCI2 meets LUCI1 on the telescope

LUCI2 spent its first days on the telescope close to LUCI1 for a week of tests.

After its arrival on the mountain in mid-July, LUCI2 was reassembled and went through a long series of tests over the summer to confirm that it was still functioning well after its long journey from Heidelberg (Germany).

For its first week on the telescope (Sep 22-29), LUCI2 was kept warm.

The cable wrap was fully equipped with all lines/pipes. All connections to LUCI2 have been established and all instrument/detector functions were tested at the telescope. 

The two MOS Auxiliary Cryostats were aligned to the LUCI2 cryostat. Mask cabinets were successfully transferred between both auxiliary cryostats and LUCI-2 in the warm.

 

Both LUCIs on the telescope

In case you wonder where the LUCIs are...

LUCI2 is currently back in the lab. It has been cooled down and will go through a few additional tests before going back on the telescope on October 20 for more day-time tests, with the instrument cold this time. Its first on-sky commissioning run is scheduled to start on November 9.