Mapper of Narrow Galaxy Lines (MaNGaL): new tunable filter imager for Caucasian telescopes

Abstract: We described the design and operation principles of a new tunable-filter photometer developed for the 1-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the 2.5-m telescope of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of the Moscow State University. The instrument is mounted on the scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer operating in the tunable-filter mode in the spectral range of 460-800 nm with a typical spectral resolution of about 1.3 nm. It allows one to create images of galactic and extragalactic nebulae in the emission lines having different excitation conditions and to carry out diagnostics of the gas ionization state. The main steps of observations, data calibration, and reduction are illustrated by examples of different emission-line objects: galactic HII regions, planetary nebulae, active galaxies with extended filaments, starburst galaxies, and Perseus galaxy cluster.