✨ MAVIS 2026 — TipTop Hands-On
Welcome to the TipTop Hands-On Session of the MAVIS 2026 conference.
In this one-hour session, we will use TipTop directly to simulate and explore adaptive-optics PSFs, using MAVIS as our main use case.
Although we focus on MAVIS today, the workflow introduced here is not instrument-specific: the same approach can be reused to explore PSFs for other AO instruments supported by TipTop such as MICADO, HARMONI, MORFEO...
🎯 Predict → Explore → Select
We will start from a validated MAVIS configuration, predict the AO PSF and explore how it changes when the observing configuration is modified. If time allows, we will also introduce NGS asterism selection.
Why use TipTop directly?
TipTop can be used in different ways: as a standalone simulation tool, as part of larger scientific or operational workflows, or as a modelling component integrated into other software.
Running TipTop directly gives you access to the underlying simulation workflow: you can inspect and modify the AO configuration, explore different observing conditions, compare the resulting PSFs and performance metrics, or integrate TipTop predictions into your own simulation and analysis tools.
🔎 Understand
Inspect a TipTop configuration and connect its main parameters to the AO simulation and its outputs.
🔬 Explore
Change observing conditions or AO parameters and compare how the predicted PSF responds.
🧩 Integrate
Use AO PSF predictions programmatically inside your own simulation, analysis, or observation-preparation tools.
1 — 🔭 Predict
Given a MAVIS configuration, what PSF does TipTop predict?
We will start from a validated MAVIS configuration and run a first simulation.
We will visualize the science and guide-star geometry, inspect the predicted PSFs across the MCAO field, and introduce the main AO performance metrics returned by TipTop: Strehl Ratio (SR), FWHM, and Encircled Energy (EE).
These quantities describe different aspects of the PSF, so we will compare scalar metrics with the PSF morphology itself.
2 — 🔬 Explore
What happens if I change the observing conditions?
Once we have a baseline MAVIS prediction, we will use TipTop to explore how the predicted PSF responds to changes in the observing configuration.
Instead of running a single fixed configuration, we will vary parameters and compare the resulting PSFs and AO performance metrics.
3 — ⭐ Select (optional)
What if several guide-star configurations are possible?
If time allows, we will introduce TipTop's asterismSelection capability.
Starting from a set of candidate Natural Guide Stars, TipTop can generate possible asterisms, evaluate their predicted AO performance, and rank the resulting configurations.
The accompanying notebook also shows how the selection results are saved and can be reloaded without recomputing all asterisms.
💻 Hands-on material
The hands-on is organized in two parts. Please download the corresponding notebooks and MAVIS configuration files before the session.
Part A — Predict & Explore
This is the main part of the hands-on. We will run a MAVIS simulation, inspect the predicted PSFs and performance metrics, and explore changes in the observing configuration.
Part B — Select (optional)
If time allows, we will use TipTop to evaluate and compare possible NGS asterisms. This notebook can also be completed independently after the session.
Colab
If you prefer not to use a local installation, both notebooks are also available as Colab-ready versions.
Predict & Explore✅ Before you start
Please simply make sure that TipTop is installed and that the minimal Quickstart runs successfully.
Technical requirements
- Python 3.11+
- TipTop v1.5.1 or later
- GPU is not required
🛟 Troubleshooting & support
If you encounter installation problems before the session, please contact:
Lisa-Marie Mazzolo
📬 lisa-marie.mazzolo@lam.fr
📚 Going further
More detailed examples and reference material are available in the TipTop documentation.