PIONS: a CubeSat imager to observe variable UV sources

S. Ambily; Joice Mathew; Mayuresh Sarpotdar; Jayant Murthy; V. K. Aggarval; S. Nagabhushanam; Divya A. Rao; Sachin Jeeragal; Kaipachery Nirmal; A. G. Sreejith; Binukumar Gopalakrishnan; Margarita Safonova

doi:10.1117/12.2311670

6 July 2018 PIONS: a CubeSat imager to observe variable UV sources

S. Ambily, Joice Mathew, Mayuresh Sarpotdar, Jayant Murthy, V. K. Aggarval, S. Nagabhushanam, Divya A. Rao, Sachin Jeeragal, Kaipachery Nirmal, A. G. Sreejith, Binukumar Gopalakrishnan, Margarita Safonova

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10699, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 106993E (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2311670
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

The Pesit/IIA Observatory for the Night Sky(PIONS) is a near UV imaging telescope to be flown on a small satellite. The instrument is a 150mm RC telescope that covers a wavelength range of 180-280 nm. We are using an intensified CMOS detector with a solar blind photocathode, to be operated in photon counting mode. The telescope has a wide field of view of 3 degrees and an angular resolution of 13”. We plan to point the telescope to scan the sky continuously along the sun pointing axis to look for variable UV sources such as flare stars, AGNs, and other transient events. We can detect objects as faint as 21 magnitude and perform their photometric analysis. Since the aperture and the effective area of the telescope are comparatively small, it can be pointed to relatively brighter parts of the UV sky which were not accessible to larger mission due to detector limitations.

Citation Download Citation

S. Ambily, Joice Mathew, Mayuresh Sarpotdar, Jayant Murthy, V. K. Aggarval, S. Nagabhushanam, Divya A. Rao, Sachin Jeeragal, Kaipachery Nirmal, A. G. Sreejith, Binukumar Gopalakrishnan, and Margarita Safonova "PIONS: a CubeSat imager to observe variable UV sources", Proc. SPIE 10699, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 106993E (6 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2311670

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