the universe in the infrared what is the spitzer space telescope, and how does it work? funded by...
TRANSCRIPT
The Universe in the Infrared
What is the Spitzer Space Telescope, and how does it work?
Funded by NASA’s Spitzer Science Center
Images courtesy NASA/JPL - Caltech
Pilachowski / August 2005
The Universe in the Infrared
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Outline
NASA’s Great ObservatoriesIntroducing SpitzerSpitzer’s LaunchOrbitNaming SpitzerThe TelescopeInstrumentsFuture IR Telescopes
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NASA’s Great Observatories
Spitzer is the final spacecraft in NASA's Great Observatories program
HST 1990
Compton GRO 1991
Chandra 1999
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Introducing Spitzer
The Spitzer Space Telescope is a cryogenically cooled, infrared observatory in space.
Spitzer can study objects ranging from our Solar System to the distant reaches of the Universe.
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Launch
• Launched from KSC on25 August 2003
• Lifetime:2.5 years (minimum); 5+ years (goal)
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Heliocentric Orbit
• Most space telescopes orbit the Earth
• Spitzer orbits the Sun - trailing the Earth as it moves around the Sun
• Spitzer is receding from Earth at 9.3 million miles (15 million kilometers) per year
• Spitzer now trails the Earth in its orbit by about 20 million miles (~ 32 million kilometers)
• By 2008, Spitzer will be about 56 million miles or 90 million kilometers away
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Named for Lyman Spitzer
Lyman Spitzer was the driving force behind HST
Founded the study of the interstellar medium
Studied interstellar dust and star formation
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Introducing the Telescope
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Spitzer Specs
Mirror:85 cm (33.5”) diameterlightweight beryllium f/12 curvature
Weight: Telescope: 851.5 kgHe cryogen: 50.4 kgN propellent: 15.6 kg
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Keeping Spitzer Cold
• Telescope operates at 5.5 K
• Why? - Spitzer is itself a black body radiator, and must be colder than the astronomical sources it detects
• How?– Heliocentric orbit– Solar shield/solar cells– Outer shell insulates
and cools the telescope
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Keeping Spitzer’s Instruments Even Colder
A tank of liquid helium is used to keep Spitzer’s instruments and detectors at 1.5 K
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Spitzer’s Instruments
• IRAC – InfraRed Array Camera– images at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 m
• IRS – InfraRed Spectrograph– mid-IR spectroscopy
• MIPS – Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer– images at 24, 70, and 160 m
IRS
MIPS IRAC
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InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC)
• Built at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
• Simultaneous images in four IR passbands
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InfraRed Spectrometer
• Built at Cornell University• Spectroscopy in the mid-IR
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Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS)
• Three detector arrays– 128x128 pixel Si:As for 24 mm– 32x32 pixel Ge:Ga for 70 mm– 2x20 pixel Ge:Ga for 160 mm
Built at the University of Arizona
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Spitzer Focal Plane
Spitzer instruments are arranged in fixed locations on the Spitzer focal planeThe telescope is rotated to move a particular science target to the right position for the instrument to be usedOther instruments record data for “serendipitous” fields
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Spitzer Operations
www.spitzer.caltech.edu/about/now.shtml
What Is Spitzer Doing Now?
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Future Infrared Satellites
2007: Herschel Space Observatory - a European Space Agency infrared-submillimeter mission planned for 2007 to study galaxy formation, interstellar matter, star formation and the atmospheres of comets and planets.
2007: Planck Surveyor - European Space Agency far infrared-submillimeter mission planned for 2007 to study Cosmic Background Radiation.
2010: The James Webb Space Telescope, planned for launch in about 2011, is a visible/infrared space mission to study the early universe and the formation of galaxies, stars and planets.