Science opportunities with the near-IR camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Charles A. Beichman; Marcia Rieke; Daniel Eisenstein; Thomas P. Greene; John Krist; Don McCarthy; Michael Meyer; John Stansberry

doi:10.1117/12.925447

21 September 2012 Science opportunities with the near-IR camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Charles A. Beichman, Marcia Rieke, Daniel Eisenstein, Thomas P. Greene, John Krist, Don McCarthy, Michael Meyer, John Stansberry

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8442, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 84422N (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925447
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

The Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) offers revolutionary gains in sensitivity throughout the 1-5 μm region. NIRCam will enable great advances in all areas of astrophysics, from the composition of objects in our own Kuiper Belt and the physical properties of planets orbiting nearby stars to the formation of stars and the detection of the youngest galaxies in the Universe. NIRCam also plays an important role in initial alignment of JWST and the long term maintenance of its image quality. NIRCam is presently undergoing instrument Integration and Test in preparation for delivery to the JWST project. Key near-term milestones include the completion of cryogenic testing of the entire instrument; demonstration of scientific and wavefront sensing performance requirements; testing of replacement H2RG detectors arrays; and an analysis of coronagraphic performance in light of measured telescope wavefront characteristics. This paper summarizes the performance of NIRCam, the scientific and education/outreach goals of the science team, and some results of the on-going testing program.

Citation Download Citation

Charles A. Beichman, Marcia Rieke, Daniel Eisenstein, Thomas P. Greene, John Krist, Don McCarthy, Michael Meyer, and John Stansberry "Science opportunities with the near-IR camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)", Proc. SPIE 8442, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 84422N (21 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925447

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