Ground-Based Infrared Astronomy

Ultimately, studies from ground-based observatories are limited by absorption in the Earth s atmosphere. For example, no studies above THz are possible even from mountain-top observatories. Two major instruments, SOFIA and FIRST, are poised to change this situation dramatically. SOFIA (for Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy [26]) will carry a 2.7 m telescope in a 747SP aircraft to altitudes of 41... 

Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology. Astronomy is an observational science. Observations are made by a variety of instruments, including optical telescopes, radio telescopes, infrared and ultraviolet telescopes, and gamma-ray and X-ray telescopes. However, instead of simply taking photographs to study, modern astronomers measure spectra, intensities, and many other properties to understand the olgects of their study. Some of the instruments they use are located at ground-based observatories with lai e telescopes, and others are located in orbit around Earth in space-based observatories, the most famous of which is the Hubble Space Telescope. 

Infrared astronomy has received a substantial boost with the advent of several new 8-m diameter or larger ground-based telescopes at high dry sites. These telescopes have... 

The instrumentation used for UV space astronomy is, in most respects, similar to that used in ground-based astronomy. The differences have to do, primarily, with the following (1) UV radiation is not transmitted as efficiently by, or by as wide a variety of, transparent materials (used for windows, lenses, and other refractive optical elements) as are visible and near-infrared radiation and (2) reflective coatings for mirrors and reflection gratings are not as... 

ROBERT SAMUELSON was a research scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center for 39 years and is presently a research associate with the Astronomy Department at the University of Maryland. His specialities include radiative transfer in scattering atmospheres and the interpretation of radiometric and spectroscopic data from ground-based and space-borne infrared instruments. He is a co-investigator for the Cassini Orbiter infrared spectrometer and the Huygens Probe aerosol collec-tor/pyrolizer experiment. 

Love et al. (2000) Infrared Detectors for Ground-Based and Space-Based Astronomy Applications , by P. Love, K. Ando, J. Garnett, N. Lum, J. Rosbeck, M. Smith, and K. Sparkman, Proc. SPIE 4008, 1254-1267. 

Key words InSb arrays- Infrared arrays - Ground-based astronomy - SIRTF... 

Spectroscopic observation at mid-infraTed(Mnt) region is one of the most important subjects in infrared astronomy. For the ground-based observation at MIR region, it is important to reduce the thermal background. So a cooled Fabry-Perot spectrometer with high spectral resolution is a powerful instrument to observe a specific MIR line. In this proceeding we briefly describe the characteristics of our Si P material, preliminary results of the array and the design of spectrometer. 

---