Ground-based commissioning of FLITECAM

Erin C. Smith; Ian S. McLean

doi:10.1117/12.788693

9 July 2008 Ground-based commissioning of FLITECAM

Erin C. Smith, Ian S. McLean

Proceedings Volume 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II; 701411 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.788693
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

FLITECAM is a 1-5 micron spectrometer and camera developed at UCLA for NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). On SOFIA, FLITECAM will take advantage of lower backgrounds from 3-5 microns and will provide access to spectral regions completely or partially absorbed by water vapor at even the best ground-based sites. FLITECAM employs large cryogenic optics and an ALADDIN III 1024 × 1024 InSb detector to inscribe an 8 arcminute field of view with 0.48 arcsec/pixel spatial resolution. The optical components are cooled with liquid nitrogen and a liquid helium reservoir is used to establish an operational temperature of 30 K for the InSb array. FLITECAM has two primary observing modes, imaging and spectroscopy. A pupil-viewing mode, for examination of the primary mirror surface, and a high-speed snapshot mode for occultation observations are also provided. Ground-based commissioning of the instrument using the Shane 3-meter telescope at UCO/Lick Observatory has been completed successfully. In addition to broad-band filters, the imaging mode accommodates several narrow-band filters. A data reduction pipeline processes dithered image sets in real-time during the flight. The grism spectroscopy mode employs three direct-ruled KRS-5 grisms and fixed slits of either 1" × 60" or 2 × 60" to yield resolving powers (FWHM) of R~1700 and 900 respectively. Observations are scripted using AORs (Astronomical Observation Requests) in both modes. A pilot survey of 3.3 micron emission in planetary nebulae performed with FLITECAM at UCO/Lick Observatory demonstrates the potential of the grism mode.

Citation Download Citation

Erin C. Smith and Ian S. McLean "Ground-based commissioning of FLITECAM", Proc. SPIE 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II, 701411 (9 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.788693

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available