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Wide-field spectroscopy with 6dF
6dF is a common-user multi-object spectroscopy system
operated by the AAO on the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope.
It uses an off-telescope robotic fibre positioner to configure
up to 150 fibres on interchangeable field-plate units, which replace the
original photographic plateholders of the telescope. The system was built
in-house by AAO and commissioned during the first half of 2001.
6dF is fully scheduled during dark/grey time for 6dF Galaxy
Survey observations and common-user non-survey observations. It is also
being used in unscheduled bright time for the RAVE pilot survey.
Current
6dF schedule
The 6dF Galaxy Survey
6dF's principal task during the period 2001-2005
is to carry out an all-southern-sky galaxy redshift and peculiar-velocity
survey. Up to 75% of scheduled (dark/grey) telescope time is devoted to
this non-proprietorial survey, though that figure is subject to review
by the time allocation committees. The project is a joint initiative of
the Anglo-Australian Observatory, the Research School of Astronomy and
Astrophysics of the Australian National University (RSAA),
and the Wide-field Astronomy Unit of the University of Edinburgh (WFAU).
The survey PI is Matthew Colless of RSAA.
The input catalogue contains some 175,000 individual objects - principally
K-band
(K<13) selected galaxies from the 2MASS Extended Source Catalogue, although
a variety of other sources are included. The Additional Targets programme
has allowed several auxiliary projects to be incorporated into the main
survey. Eventual data-products will be redshifts for some 120,000 galaxies
and peculiar velocities for a volume-limited subset of about 20,000 galaxies.
The 6dF Early Data Release
is now available on-line from WFAU.
Latest
survey progress chart
AAO
6dF Galaxy Survey page
RSAA
6dF Galaxy Survey page
6dF Non-Survey Spectroscopy
For objects with number densities of 5-50 per sq.deg and magnitudes B <
19, 6dF is highly competitive for multi-object spectroscopy at low to medium
dispersion. It is available for common-user non-survey spectroscopy,
although only 15-20% of scheduled telescope time (18-24 nights per semester)
is currently devoted to this activity. Observing time on the UK Schmidt
Telescope is allocated by ATAC in Australia and PATT in the UK, and the
same protocols, deadlines etc. apply as for AAT time. Observers are expected
to be present at the telescope for their observations.
6dF
instrument
Performance
and signal-to-noise calculator
User
facilities
Applying
for time
The RAVE pilot survey with 6dF
6dF is also being used on seven unscheduled nights
per lunation to obtain data for the externally-funded RAVE programme.
RAVE (RAdial Velocity Experiment) is a programme to conduct an all-sky
survey of the radial velocities, metallicities and abundance ratios of
some 50 million stars, complete to V = 16. It will use the UK Schmidt Telescope,
together with a northern counterpart, and is being conducted in two phases.
Phase I (UKST only) is being carried out during the period 2002-2005, and
will measure ~105 stars with V<13 using the existing 150-fibre
6dF system in unscheduled bright time. Phase II will use the proposed UKidna
2250-fibre system and will occupy all survey time on the UKST (bright,
grey and dark) from 2006 to 2010. The northern hemisphere equivalent will
also be conducted during this period using instrumentation yet to be determined.
RAVE is an international project involving participants from 10 nations.
The PI is Matthias Steinmetz of Astrophysikalisches
Institut Potsdam.
Latest RAVE
progress chart
AAO RAVE
page
RAVE
survey page at AIP
Page maintained by: Fred Watson,
AAO
Latest revision: 7 Nov 2003
