Comparison of stray light mechanisms and performance in the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) and Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) telescopes

1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Lange ◽  
Robert P. Breault ◽  
Alan W. Greynolds
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Astronomy ◽  
Stray Light ◽  
Infrared Telescope ◽  
Telescope Facility ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Infrared Telescope Facility

scholarly journals The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

1990 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 193-203
Author(s):  
Giovanni G. Fazio ◽  
Peter Eisenhardt
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectrum ◽  
Focal Plane ◽  
Infrared Astronomy ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Paper Briefly ◽  
Infrared Telescope ◽  
Telescope Facility ◽  
Imaging And Spectroscopy ◽  
Infrared Telescope Facility

AbstractThe Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is a one-meter class observatory for infrared astronomy that will be launched into high earth orbit by NASA in the late 1990’s. SIRTF’s three focal plane instruments will permit imaging and spectroscopy over most of the infrared spectrum with sensitivities of 100 to 10,000 times their predecessors. This paper briefly reviews SIRTF’s capabilities, science objectives, and current status.

Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) Science Instruments

1988 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Ramos ◽  
S. M. Hing ◽  
C. A. Leidich ◽  
G. Fazio ◽  
J R. Houck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Telescope ◽  
Telescope Facility ◽  
Infrared Telescope Facility

Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility Pointing And Control System

1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth R. Lorell ◽  
William F. Barrows ◽  
Yutaka T. Matsumoto
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Infrared Telescope ◽  
Telescope Facility ◽  
And Control ◽  
Infrared Telescope Facility

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

2020 ◽  
pp. 221-241
Author(s):  
David A. Weintraub
Keyword(s):  
Martian Atmosphere ◽  
Popular Press ◽  
Astronomical Society ◽  
Infrared Telescope ◽  
American Astronomical Society ◽  
Telescope Facility ◽  
Infrared Telescope Facility

This chapter talks about Mike Mumma and his team, which chronologically is the first group to publicly stake a claim to having discovered methane in the atmosphere of Mars in 2003. It explores the May 2003 abstract that served as a placeholder for a presentation Mumma would give at an American Astronomical Society Division of Planetary Sciences meeting. It also cites Mumma's report on his team's attempt to detect methane on Mars using three different telescopes: NASA's 3-meter Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF), the 8-meter Gemini South telescope in Chile, and the 10-meter Keck-2 telescope. The chapter provides the details of Mumma's measurements that show that the level of methane in the Martian atmosphere was about 10 parts per billion, averaged across the full atmosphere of Mars. It points out how all the early 2004 announcements about methane on Mars received immediate attention in the popular press.

scholarly journals 12-μM Observations at the 1991 Eclipse

1994 ◽  
Vol 154 ◽  
pp. 151-160
Author(s):  
D. E. Jennings ◽  
D. Deming ◽  
G. Mccabe ◽  
R. Noyes ◽  
G. Wiedemann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Line Emission ◽  
Emission Feature ◽  
Hydrostatic Equilibrium ◽  
Infrared Telescope ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Telescope Facility ◽  
Density Inhomogeneities ◽  
Infrared Telescope Facility ◽  
The Continuum

The 11 July 1991 total solar eclipse over Mauna Kea was a unique opportunity to study the limb profile of the 12.32 μm MgI emission line. Our observations used the NASA 3-meter Infrared Telescope Facility,1 and a new Goddard large cryogenic grating spectrometer. Spectra of the line were taken in the slitless mode at second contact. The results show that the emission peaks within ~ 300 km of the 12-μm continuum limb. This agrees with recent theoretical predictions for this line as a NLTE upper photospheric emission feature. However, the increase in optical depth for this extreme limb-viewing situation means that most of the observed emission arises from above Tmin, and we find that this emission is extended to altitudes well in excess of the model predictions. The line emission can be traced to altitudes as high as 2000 km above the 12-μm continuum limb, whereas theory predicts it to remain observable no higher than 500 km above the continuum limb. The substantial limb-extension observed in this line is qualitatively consistent with limb-extensions seen by other observers in the far-IR continuum, and may be indicative of departures from gravitational hydrostatic equilibrium in the upper solar atmosphere, and/or may result from temperature and density inhomogeneities. The extended altitude of formation of this line enhances its value as a Zeeman probe of magnetic fields.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document