Heat protection and homogenizing system for a luminaire

An automated luminaire, comprising:

• a light source configured to produce a first light beam, the light source comprising an ellipsoidal reflector and a short arc discharge lamp fixedly mounted with the arc positioned near a first focus of the ellipsoidal reflector, the light source having an optical axis and being configured to move along the optical axis;
• a compensation module optically coupled to the light source, the compensation module comprising a diffuser, the compensation module being configured to receive the first light beam and to produce a second light beam;
• an optical device optically coupled to the compensation module and configured to receive the second light beam and to produce one of a modified light beam and an unmodified light beam;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• determine whether the optical device is producing the modified light beam or the unmodified light beam;
• and
• in response to determining that the optical device is producing the modified light beam, (i) automatically move the light source to a first selected position along the optical axis or (ii) automatically alternately position first and second portions of the diffuser in the first light beam;
• and
• in response to determining that the optical device is producing the unmodified light beam:
• determine whether the light source is in the first selected position and, in response to so determining, automatically move the light source to a second selected position along the optical axis;
• and
• determine whether the diffuser is positioned in the first light beam and, in response to so determining, automatically remove the diffuser from the first light beam.