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| Paper: |
An ETC and Image Simulation Suite for Any Ground Based Camera & Telescope |
| Volume: |
351, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XV |
| Page: |
581 |
| Authors: |
Sheehan, B.; Lane, C.; Butler, R. |
| Abstract: |
We present methods which comprise a highly realistic exposure time calculator (ETC) for planning observations, and a simulator for the creation of realistic astronomical images - both of which are designed for any combination of location, telescope, filter and detector. The unique principle is that we begin with the physical properties of the stellar sources, as output by N-body simulations and evolutionary codes. Their fluxes (energy spectra) are computed, scaled for distance, and fed through a series of propagation stages applying the effects of the interstellar medium, the Earth's atmosphere, and the passband throughputs of the telescope optics, filters and the camera/detector, including all expected noise sources. We maintain flux propagation as a function of wavelength - not as an approximate integration over typical passbands. The simulator uses the fluxes output by the ETC to construct the actual images. Either single images or a time-series data set can be simulated; the PSF seeing model and airmass change realistically, and the magnitude of selected star(s) can be changed by some defined amount from image to image, to model variability. The main packages used are IRAF, DAOPHOT, and Perl. |
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