FORCAST: a first light facility instrument for SOFIA

15 July 2010 FORCAST: a first light facility instrument for SOFIA

Joseph D. Adams, Terry L. Herter, George E. Gull, Justin Schoenwald, Charles P. Henderson, Luke D. Keller, James M. De Buizer, Gordon J. Stacey, Thomas Nikola

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III; 77351U (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857049
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

FORCAST is the "first light" U. S. science instrument to fly aboard SOFIA. FORCAST offers dual channel imaging in discrete filters at 5 - 25 microns and 30 - 40 microns, with diffraction-limited imaging at wavelengths > 15 microns. FORCAST has a plate scale of 0.75 arcsec per pixel, giving it a 3.2 arcmin x 3.2 arcmin FOV on SOFIA. We give a status update on FORCAST development, including the performance of new far-IR filters; design and performance of the calibration box; laboratory operations and performance; and results from ground-based and first flight operations.

Citation Download Citation

Joseph D. Adams, Terry L. Herter, George E. Gull, Justin Schoenwald, Charles P. Henderson, Luke D. Keller, James M. De Buizer, Gordon J. Stacey, and Thomas Nikola "FORCAST: a first light facility instrument for SOFIA", Proc. SPIE 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III, 77351U (15 July 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857049

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