Photometric calibration in the ultraviolet of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS)

David R. Ardila; Evgenya Shkolnik; Paul Scowen; Tahina Ramiaramanantsoa; Travis Barman; Judd Bowman; Christophe Basset; Jonathan Gamaunt; Dawn Gregory; Daniel Jacobs; Logan Jensen; April Jewell; Matthew Kolopanis; Mary Knapp; Gillian Kyne; Cristy Ladwig; Joe Llama; Victoria Meadows; Shouleh Nikzad; Sarah Peacock; Nathaniel Struebel; Mark Swain

doi:10.1117/12.3019065

21 August 2024 Photometric calibration in the ultraviolet of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS)

David R. Ardila, Evgenya Shkolnik, Paul Scowen, Tahina Ramiaramanantsoa, Travis Barman, Judd Bowman, Christophe Basset, Jonathan Gamaunt, Dawn Gregory, Daniel Jacobs, Logan Jensen, April Jewell, Matthew Kolopanis, Mary Knapp, Gillian Kyne, Cristy Ladwig, Joe Llama, Victoria Meadows, Shouleh Nikzad, Sarah Peacock, Nathaniel Struebel, Mark Swain

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13093, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 1309338 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019065
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

The Start-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) is a NASA-funded mission led by Arizona State University, devoted to characterizing the UV emission of low-mass stars. During its nominal one-year mission, SPARCS will observe close to 20 low-mass stars, with the goal of understanding their short and long-term UV variability. SPARCS will be ready for launch in 2025. SPARCS’ payload is a 9-cm telescope paired with two delta-doped charge-coupled devices (CCDs). The data calibration converts the raw instrument counts into an average flux within the two ultraviolet bands (153 - 171 nm, 258 - 308 nm). While the system is only weakly sensitive in the infrared, the target stars are very bright at long wavelengths. This requires careful correction of the data for out-of-band emission. The system is being fully characterized on the ground to provide supporting calibration data. The calibration uses observations of very stable white dwarfs to achieve the 10% photometric accuracy requirement in both bands.

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David R. Ardila, Evgenya Shkolnik, Paul Scowen, Tahina Ramiaramanantsoa, Travis Barman, Judd Bowman, Christophe Basset, Jonathan Gamaunt, Dawn Gregory, Daniel Jacobs, Logan Jensen, April Jewell, Matthew Kolopanis, Mary Knapp, Gillian Kyne, Cristy Ladwig, Joe Llama, Victoria Meadows, Shouleh Nikzad, Sarah Peacock, Nathaniel Struebel, and Mark Swain "Photometric calibration in the ultraviolet of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS)", Proc. SPIE 13093, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 1309338 (21 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019065

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