European Extremely Large Telescope Site Characterization. II. High Angular Resolution Parameters

ABSTRACT.This is the second article of a series devoted to European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) site characterization. In this article we present the main properties of the parameters involved in high angular resolution observations from the data collected in the site testing campaign of the E-ELT during the design study (DS) phase. Observations were made in 2008 and 2009, in the four sites selected to shelter the future E-ELT (characterized under the ELT-DS contract): Aklim mountain in Morocco, Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) in Spain, Macon range in Argentina, and Cerro Ventarrones in Chile. The same techniques, instruments, and acquisition procedures were taken on each site. A multiple aperture scintillation sensor (MASS) and a differential image motion monitor (DIMM) were installed at each site. Global statistics of the integrated seeing, the free atmosphere seeing, the boundary layer seeing, and the isoplanatic angle were studied for each site, and the results are presented here. ...