Towards First Light for MICADO: Validation of the PSF-R service with real data

RESUMO

MICADO, one of the ELT first-light instruments, will rely on point-spread-function reconstruction (PSF-R) to meet scientific requirements, especially for SCAO observations of targets that lack bright reference stars nearby. PSF-R will be performed in post-processing using only AO telemetry, recorded simultaneously with the science data. For SCAO observations, both on- and off-axis PSFs will be delivered. We present the current status and results from an ESO TTR campaign begun in 2023, targeting a sparse three-star asterism under varying conditions with the ERIS instrument at VLT. Reconstructed PSFs reach ~10% accuracy in Strehl ratio and FWHM at separations up to half the size of the isoplanatic patch. The current results suggest the telemetry-driven approach can reproduce not only the core PSF structure but also the extended wings, which are essential for reliable photometry and morphological analysis of bright extended sources. The obtained results also corroborate the key role of wind as a limiting factor of the method, reducing the amount of recovered information on specific directions.