The SPTpol cryostat installed in the telescope receiver cabin. On the right the white cylindrical volume contains optics that redirect the light from the primary mirror before coupling it onto the detectors in the black box on the left.
SPTpol
SPTpol was the second receiver installed on the South Pole Telescope. SPTpol represented a significant technological evolution from the previous receiver thorugh the addition of polarization sensitivity, taking initial steps towards measuring the B mode polarization. The focal plane contained ~1600 transition-edge sensor detectors sensitive at 95 and 150 GHz.
Telescope and Instrument
A closer view of the SPTpol receiver, with the black portion on the right hosting the detectors. The entire cryostat is operated under a vacuum with mechanical coolers providing a base temperature of approximately 0.25 K for the detectors.
This large reflective platform is part of the polarization calibration setup that was used to measure the polarization angles of the detectors. A blackbody source with a rotating wire grid was placed in the hole that my head is poking out of.
Sometimes you get lucky and see a penguin when in Antartica.
Results
LOREM
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