Design of the diffuse infrared background experiment (DIRBE) on COBE

Robert F. Silverberg; Michael G. Hauser; Nancy W. Boggess; Thomas J. Kelsall; Samuel Harvey Moseley; Thomas L. Murdock

doi:10.1117/12.157825

1 October 1993 Design of the diffuse infrared background experiment (DIRBE) on COBE

Robert F. Silverberg, Michael G. Hauser, Nancy W. Boggess, Thomas J. Kelsall, Samuel Harvey Moseley, Thomas L. Murdock

Proceedings Volume 2019, Infrared Spaceborne Remote Sensing; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.157825
Event: SPIE's 1993 International Symposium on Optics, Imaging, and Instrumentation, 1993, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The Diffuse InfraRed Background Experiment (DIRBE) onboard the cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) was designed to conduct a search for a cosmic infrared background (CIB), which is expected to be the fossil radiation from the first luminous objects in the universe. The instrument, a ten-band cryogenic absolute photometer and three-band polarimeter with a 0.7 degree(s) beam and a wavelength range from 1 - 240 micrometers , scans the sky redundantly and samples half the sky each day. During the ten month lifetime of the cryogen, the instrument achieved a nominal sensitivity on the sky of 10^-9 W/m²/sr at most wavelengths, or approximately 1% of the natural background at wavelengths where the sky is very luminous. The short wavelength bands from 1 - 5 micrometers continue to operate after exhaustion of the cryogen, although at reduced sensitivity. In this paper, we review the design, testing, and in-flight performance of the DIRBE.

Citation Download Citation

Robert F. Silverberg, Michael G. Hauser, Nancy W. Boggess, Thomas J. Kelsall, Samuel Harvey Moseley, and Thomas L. Murdock "Design of the diffuse infrared background experiment (DIRBE) on COBE", Proc. SPIE 2019, Infrared Spaceborne Remote Sensing, (1 October 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.157825

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