Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Aug 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998spie.3354..729k&link_type=abstract
Proc. SPIE Vol. 3354, p. 729-740, Infrared Astronomical Instrumentation, Albert M. Fowler; Ed.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Spectroscopic studies of degree-scale IR line emission from telescopes on the Earth's surface are very challenging. Not only does the emission from atmospheric OH molecules fluctuate in time and vary spatially, but also the extent of interstellar clouds makes it impossible to establish a zero point for flux measurements close to the emission regions. Beam-switching can solve both problems, but traditional telescopes cannot switch between fields that are several degrees apart before the OH emission changes significantly. We present here the design for a telescope we have constructed in order to obtain quantitative measures of the extended, UV-excited, near-IR line flux from the Galactic Center and from nearby star-forming clouds. It uses a coelostat to beam-switch across angels as large as 10 degrees in less than 1 second. Its 20 arc-minute beamsize, combined with its 150 mm aperture, gives it a surface brightness sensitivity comparable to much larger telescopes, while maintaining portability. This telescope, integrated with a Fabry-Perot spectrometer, has been used successfully at both McDonald Observatory and the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory and has mapped near-IR molecular hydrogen emission over the inner 10 degrees of the Galaxy for the first time.
Jaffe Daniel T.
Klumpe Eric William
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