Forcast: the Faint Object Infared Camera for the SOFIA telescope

Luke D. Keller; Terry L. Herter; Gordon J. Stacey; George E. Gull; Justin Schoenwald; Bruce Pirger; Tomas Nikola

doi:10.1117/12.458634

3 March 2003 FORCAST: the faint object infared camera for the SOFIA telescope

Luke D. Keller, Terry L. Herter, Gordon J. Stacey, George E. Gull, Justin Schoenwald, Bruce Pirger, Tomas Nikola

Proceedings Volume 4857, Airborne Telescope Systems II; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.458634
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

We report final design details and development progress for the Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST). FORCAST is a two-channel camera with selectable filters for continuum and line imaging in the 5-40 micron wavelength region. Simultaneous imaging will be possible in the two-channels--5-25 microns using a Si:As 256×256 blocked impurity band (BIB) detector array, and 25-40 microns using a Si:Sb BIB. FORCAST will sample 0.75 arcseconds per pixel allowing a 3.2'×3.2' instantaneous field-of-view in both channels simultaneously. Imaging will be diffraction limited for lambda > 15 microns. Since FORCAST operates in the wavelength range where the seeing is best from SOFIA, it will provide the highest spatial resolution possible from the airborne observatory. In addition to imaging, the FORCAST optical design provides for a simple upgrade to include spectroscopic observations using grisms mounted in the filter wheels. We report improvements to the optical system and progress in construction of this SOFIA facility instrument and its subsystems. FORCAST will be available for facility testing and astronomical observations at SOFIA first (f)light.

Citation Download Citation

Luke D. Keller, Terry L. Herter, Gordon J. Stacey, George E. Gull, Justin Schoenwald, Bruce Pirger, and Tomas Nikola "FORCAST: the faint object infared camera for the SOFIA telescope", Proc. SPIE 4857, Airborne Telescope Systems II, (3 March 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.458634

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