Wind Buffeting of Large Telescopes

Unsteady wind loads due to turbulence within the telescope enclosure are one of the largest dynamic disturbances for ground-based optical telescopes. The desire to minimize the response to the wind influences the design of the telescope enclosure, structure, and control systems. There is now significant experience in detailed integrated modeling to predict the image jitter due to the wind. Based on this experience, a relatively simple model is proposed that is verified (from a more detailed model) to capture the relevant physics. In addition to illustrating the important elements of the telescope design that influence the wind response, this model is used to understand the sensitivity of telescope im-age jitter to a wide range of design parameters. c © 2009 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 110.6770,120.7280 1