First light of SOVAG, a spectrograph for visible and near-infrared observation of asteroids
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First light of SOVAG, a spectrograph for visible and near-infrared observation of asteroids M. Birlan1,2 · F. Colas1 · F. Cochard3 · D. Darson4 · B. Carry5 · P. Vernazza6 · A. Nedelcu1,2 · J. Dubois7 · S. Fornasier8 · D. Perna8 · P. Morfin4 Received: 9 April 2020 / Accepted: 28 September 2020 / © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared has been the main tool for characterising the surface properties of asteroids for decades. For a given target, the two wavelength regimes are usually acquired by different telescopes/instruments, separated by years. They are seldom obtained simultaneously. However, it is not straightforward to combine datasets from different sources because of the spectral reddening linked with phase angle. We present the first-light result of SOVAG (Spectrographe pour l’Observations dans le Visible et infrarouge proche d’Ast´ero¨ıdes G´eocroiseurs), a new concept of spectrograph for observing both wavelength ranges at the same time. It is compact in design and portable. We developed a prototype of this instrument between 2016 and 2018. In July 2018, we mounted SOVAG on the 1 m-telescope in Pic du Midi observatory (for which it was designed) and conducted its on-sky first light experiment. We present a spectrum of (4) Vesta which demonstrates the reliability of observations and the accuracy of the calibration. Ongoing development will allow us to push observation-limits toward fainter objects. M. Birlan
[email protected] 1
IMCCE, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS UMRO 8028, PSL Research University, 77 av Denfert Rochereau, 75014, Paris Cedex, France
2
Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy, Str. Cut¸itul de Argint 5, 040557, Bucharest, Romania
3
Shelyak Instruments, 73 rue de Chartreuse, 38420, Le Versoud, France
4
´ Laboratoire de Physique de l’ENS, Ecole Normale Sup´erieure de Paris, PSL Research University, Universit´e Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cit´e, Sorbonne Universit´e, Paris, France
5
Observatoire de la Cˆote d’Azur, Laboratoire Lagrange, Boulevard de l’Observatoire, Universit´e de la Cˆote d’Azur, 06300, Nice, France
6
Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, 38 rue Frederic Joliot Curie, 13013, Marseille, France
7
Laboratoire ImVIA, EA7535, 9 avenue Alain Savary 21000, Dijon, France
8
LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92192, Meudon, France
Experimental Astronomy
Keywords telescope · spectrograph · spectroscopy · asteroids
1 Introduction The small bodies of the Solar System (the asteroids and comets, hereafter Solar System Objects, or SSOs) are the relics of the bricks that formed the planets and their satellites 4.6 Gy ago [1]. The study of their surface composition and their distribution throughout the Solar System provides constraints on the models of planet formation and migration [2]. Since the first conclusive compositional link between asteroids and meteorites [3, 4], low-resolution spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared have been the root of compositional studie
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