FIRE: a near-infrared cross-dispersed echellette spectrometer for the Magellan telescopes

Robert A. Simcoe; Adam J. Burgasser; Rebecca A. Bernstein; Bruce C. Bigelow; Jason Fishner; William J. Forrest; Craig McMurtry; Judith L. Pipher; Paul L. Schechter; Matthew Smith

doi:10.1117/12.790414

9 July 2008 FIRE: a near-infrared cross-dispersed echellette spectrometer for the Magellan telescopes

Robert A. Simcoe, Adam J. Burgasser, Rebecca A. Bernstein, Bruce C. Bigelow, Jason Fishner, William J. Forrest, Craig McMurtry, Judith L. Pipher, Paul L. Schechter, Matthew Smith

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II; 70140U (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.790414
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

FIRE (the Folded-port InfraRed Echellette) is a prism cross-dispersed infrared spectrometer, designed to deliver singleobject R=6000 spectra over the 0.8-2.5 micron range, simultaneously. It will be installed at one of the auxiliary Nasmyth foci of the Magellan 6.5-meter telescopes. FIRE employs a network of ZnSe and Infrasil prisms, coupled with an R1 reflection grating, to image 21 diffraction orders onto a 2048 × 2048, HAWAII-2RG focal plane array. Optionally, a user-controlled turret may be rotated to replace the reflection grating with a mirror, resulting in a singleorder, longslit spectrum with R ~ 1000. A separate, cold infrared sensor will be used for object acquisition and guiding. Both detectors will be controlled by cryogenically mounted SIDECAR ASICs. The availability of low-noise detectors motivates our choice of spectral resolution, which was expressly optimized for Magellan by balancing the scientific demand for increased R with practical limits on exposure times (taking into account statistics on seeing conditions). This contribution describes that analysis, as well as FIRE's optical and opto-mechanical design, and the design and implementation of cryogenic mechanisms. Finally, we will discuss our data-flow model, and outline strategies we are putting in place to facilitate data reduction and analysis.

Citation Download Citation

Robert A. Simcoe, Adam J. Burgasser, Rebecca A. Bernstein, Bruce C. Bigelow, Jason Fishner, William J. Forrest, Craig McMurtry, Judith L. Pipher, Paul L. Schechter, and Matthew Smith "FIRE: a near-infrared cross-dispersed echellette spectrometer for the Magellan telescopes", Proc. SPIE 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II, 70140U (9 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.790414

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