An Infrared Camera for Leuschner Observatory and the Berkeley Undergraduate Astronomy Lab

Graham, James R.; Treffers, R. R.

doi:10.1086/320284

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…An off-the-shelf set of primary and secondary mirrors were not available from commercial vendors. However, Graham & Treffers (2001) 7 found that one could use a convex lens with a gold coating on one side as the secondary in order to function as a cost-effective convex mirror. We were able to utilize an Offner relay constructed in this way, that had been designed for a previous infrared instrument at the University of Michigan.…”

Section: Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Michigan infrared test thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) cryostat

Bowens

Viges

Meyer

et al. 2020

Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII

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We introduce the Michigan Infrared Test Thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) Cryostat, a new facility for testing infrared detectors with a focus on mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths (8-13 microns). New generations of large format, deep well, fast readout MIR detectors are now becoming available to the astronomical community. As one example, Teledyne Imaging Sensors (TIS) has introduced a long-wave Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) array, GeoSnap, with high quantum efficiency (> 65 %) and improved noise properties compared to previous generation Si:As blocked impurity band (BIB) detectors. GeoSnap promises improved sensitivities, and efficiencies, for future background-limited MIR instruments, in particular with future extremely large telescopes (ELTs). We describe our new test facility suitable for measuring characteristics of these detectors, such as read noise, dark current, linearity, gain, pixel operability, quantum efficiency, and point source imaging performance relative to a background scene, as well as multiple point sources of differing contrast. MITTEN has an internal light source, and soon an accompanying filter wheel and aperture plate, reimaged onto the detector using an Offner relay. The baseline temperature of the cryostat interior is maintained < 40 K and the optical bench maintains a temperature of 16 K using a two-stage pulse-tube cryocooler package from Cryomech. No measurable background radiation from the cryostat interior has yet been detected.

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Section: Opticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Michigan infrared test thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) cryostat

Bowens

Viges

Meyer

et al. 2020

Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the last few years, a number of cameras have utilized Offner re-imaging systems for these and other reasons. 4,5 In ASTROCAM, the only transmissive elements are the cryostat window and the filters.…”

Section: Design Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

ASTROCAM: offner re-imaging 1024 X 1024 InSb camera for near-infrared astrometry on the USNO 1.55-m telescope

et al. 2003

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In order to extend the US Naval Observatory (USNO) small-angle astrometric capabilities to near infrared wavelengths we have designed and manufactured a 1024 x 1024 InSb re-imaging infrared camera equipped with an array selected from the InSb ALADDIN (Advanced Large Area Detector Development in InSb) development program and broadband and narrowband 0.8 -3.8 µm filters. Since the USNO 1.55-m telescope is optimized for observations at visible wavelengths with an oversized secondary mirror and sky baffles, the straylight rejection capabilities of the ASTROCAM Lyot stop and baffles are of critical importance for its sensitivity and flatfielding capabilities. An Offner relay was chosen for the heart of the system and was manufactured from the same melt of aluminum alloy to ensure homologous contraction from room temperature to 77 K. A blackened cone was installed behind the undersized hole (the Lyot stop) in the Offner secondary. With low distortion, a well-sampled point spread function, and a large field of view, the system is well suited for astrometry. It is telecentric, so any defocus will not result in a change of image scale. The DSP-based electronics allow readout of the entire array with double-correlated sampling in 0.19 seconds, but shorter readout is possible with single sampling or by reading out only small numbers of subarrays. In this paper we report on the optical, mechanical, and electronic design of the system and present images and results on the sensitivity and astrometric stability obtained with the system, now operating routinely at the 1.55-m telescope with a science-grade ALADDIN array.

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“…Cassini has been sited about 65,000 km rather than 1200 km from Titan, giving it a small enough orbital velocity that its transmissions will not after all be Doppler shifted out of the bandwidth of the receiver. And it was a happy surprise to find that The Students' Obser-vatory of UC Berkeley, where old friends like Lawrence Aller and Daniel Popper plotted their first comet orbits and variable light curves, still exists and is used (Graham & Treffers 2001).…”

Section: Oh Isn't That Nice?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Astrophysics in 2001

Trimble¹,

Aschwanden²

2002

PUBL ASTRON SOC PAC

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ABSTRACT. During the year, astronomers provided explanations for solar topics ranging from the multiple personality disorder of neutrinos to cannibalism of CMEs (coronal mass ejections) and extrasolar topics including quivering stars, out-of-phase gaseous media, black holes of all sizes (too large, too small, and too medium), and the existence of the universe. Some of these explanations are probably probably true, though the authors are not betting large sums on any one. The data ought to remain true forever, though this requires a careful definition of "data" (think of the Martian canals).

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An Infrared Camera for Leuschner Observatory and the Berkeley Undergraduate Astronomy Lab

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

The Michigan infrared test thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) cryostat

The Michigan infrared test thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) cryostat

ASTROCAM: offner re-imaging 1024 X 1024 InSb camera for near-infrared astrometry on the USNO 1.55-m telescope

Astrophysics in 2001

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