It’s a MAPS/MIRAC run! The semester is still 2023B but the year is 2024 and we are back commissioning again, this time the 10 micron Geosnap-enabled instrument MIRAC. Tonight we spent a lot of time on alignment, as we have changed pretty much everything post-telescope, from the dichroic to the detector placement! Pointing and centering with non-linear tri-axial mounts on a cold night in the dome made us really appreciate the bright wintry touches:
![](https://xwcl.science/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-19-17.11.23-768x1024.jpg)
![](https://xwcl.science/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-19-17.41.47-1024x768.jpg)
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Here are some neat alignment tricks: And don’t forget the pupil imager lens!
![](https://xwcl.science/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-20-01.04.17-1024x768.jpg)
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After alignment, we got some closed loop calibrations and have also been training new AO operators!
Blog Rules for the Jan. 2024 (2023B) Run:
- There must be a post per night.
- There must be an animal of the day/night.
Today’s animal of the day is a coatimundi or coati https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coati
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/A_White-nosed_Coati.jpg)
5 of us saw this one as we caravanned up the MMT access road around 4pm near the basecamp:
![](https://xwcl.science/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-19-15.58.27-1024x768.jpg)