MCAO Field Coverage
Estimate MCAO corrected area and science-field coverage.
Description
MCAO field coverage compares circular corrected and science-field diameters.
MCAO field coverage compares circular corrected and science-field diameters. The percentage is capped at full coverage.1
Estimate MCAO corrected area and science-field coverage.
When to use MCAO Field Coverage
Use this tool to estimate MCAO corrected area and science-field coverage.
Prepare the optical measurements, geometry, fitted coefficients or caller-selected thresholds requested. Confirm wavelength, radius/diameter, pulse-width, angle and unit conventions before running the calculation.
How to use MCAO Field Coverage and understand its results
- Prepare the optical measurements, geometry, fitted coefficients or caller-selected thresholds requested. Confirm wavelength, radius/diameter, pulse-width, angle and unit conventions before running the calculation.
- Enter correctedFieldDiameterArcminutes, scienceFieldDiameterArcminutes using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
- Read correctedAreaSquareArcminutes, scienceAreaCoveragePercent, diameterMarginArcminutes. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
- If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.
| Input field | Meaning | Value type; see rules below | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| correctedFieldDiameterArcminutes | Corrected field diameter (arcmin) | number; minimum: 0 | Required |
| scienceFieldDiameterArcminutes | Science field diameter (arcmin) | number; minimum: 0 | Required |
Enter nonnegative corrected and positive science diameter in arcminutes. Return corrected area, capped percentage and signed diameter margin.
correctedArea=π(dCorrected/2)²; coverage%=100min(1,(dCorrected/dScience)²) Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.
| Output field | Meaning | Value type |
|---|---|---|
| correctedAreaSquareArcminutes | Corrected field area (arcmin²) | number; minimum: 0 |
| scienceAreaCoveragePercent | Science-field area covered (%) | number; minimum: 0; maximum: 100 |
| diameterMarginArcminutes | Diameter margin (arcmin) | number |
{
"input": {
"correctedFieldDiameterArcminutes": 2,
"scienceFieldDiameterArcminutes": 4
},
"output": {
"correctedAreaSquareArcminutes": 3.141592653589793,
"scienceAreaCoveragePercent": 25,
"diameterMarginArcminutes": -2
}
}Limitations and assumptions
Assumes concentric circular fields. No correction quality, guide-star geometry or irregular footprints are modeled.
Numeric inputs must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use Isoplanatic Field Margin: Compare a requested correction field with the measured isoplanatic angle. For a complementary task, use Guide-Star Photon Return: Estimate sodium guide-star photon return with a caller-supplied effective cross section.
References
-
MCAO Field Coverage — tool.io
Similar or alternative tools
- Isoplanatic Field Margin
Compare a requested correction field with the measured isoplanatic angle.
- Guide-Star Photon Return
Estimate sodium guide-star photon return with a caller-supplied effective cross section.