The Faint Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST) is a dual-channel mid-infrared camera and spectrograph sensitive from 5-40 µm. The Short Wave Camera (SWC) uses a Si:As blocked-impurity band (BIB) array optimized for λ < 25 µm, while the Long Wave Camera's (LWC) Si:Sb BIB array is optimized for λ < 25 µm. Observations can be made through either of the two channels individually or, by use of a dichroic mirror, with both channels simultaneously across most of the range. Spectroscopy is also possible using a suite of four grisms, which provide coverage from 5-40 µm with a low spectral resolution of R = λ =Δλ ~ 200. Since it’s commissioning FORCAST has made a number of exciting observations, including the discovery of dust that survived the reverse shock in the supernova remnant Sgr A East, the identification of an asteroid belt analog surrounding ε Eridani, and some of the highest resolution mid-IR observations of the transient Galactic circumnuclear ring to date. Here I present a selection of recent SOFIA FORCAST observations and discuss their relevance to a variety of today’s most pressing astronomical topics.
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is the world’s largest airborne observatory, featuring a
2.5 meter effective aperture telescope housed in the aft section of a Boeing 747SP aircraft. SOFIA’s current instrument
suite includes: FORCAST (Faint Object InfraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope), a 5-40 μm dual band
imager/grism spectrometer developed at Cornell University; HIPO (High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations), a
0.3-1.1μm imager built by Lowell Observatory; GREAT (German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies), a
multichannel heterodyne spectrometer from 60-240 μm, developed by a consortium led by the Max Planck Institute for
Radio Astronomy; FLITECAM (First Light Infrared Test Experiment CAMera), a 1-5 μm wide-field imager/grism
spectrometer developed at UCLA; FIFI-LS (Far-Infrared Field-Imaging Line Spectrometer), a 42-200 μm IFU grating
spectrograph completed by University Stuttgart; and EXES (Echelon-Cross-Echelle Spectrograph), a 5-28 μm highresolution
spectrometer designed at the University of Texas and being completed by UC Davis and NASA Ames
Research Center. HAWC+ (High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera) is a 50-240 μm imager that was originally
developed at the University of Chicago as a first-generation instrument (HAWC), and is being upgraded at JPL to add
polarimetry and new detectors developed at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). SOFIA will continually update its
instrument suite with new instrumentation, technology demonstration experiments and upgrades to the existing
instrument suite. This paper details the current instrument capabilities and status, as well as the plans for future
instrumentation.
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is an airborne observatory, carrying a 2.5 m telescope onboard a heavily modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. SOFIA is optimized for operation at infrared wavelengths, much of which is obscured for ground-based observatories by atmospheric water vapor. The SOFIA science instrument complement consists of seven instruments: FORCAST (Faint Object InfraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope), GREAT (German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies), HIPO (High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations), FLITECAM (First Light Infrared Test Experiment CAMera), FIFI-LS (Far-Infrared Field-Imaging Line Spectrometer), EXES (Echelon-Cross-Echelle Spectrograph), and HAWC (High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera). FORCAST is a 5–40 μm imager with grism spectroscopy, developed at Cornell University. GREAT is a heterodyne spectrometer providing high-resolution spectroscopy in several bands from 60–240 μm, developed at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy. HIPO is a 0.3–1.1 μm imager, developed at Lowell Observatory. FLITECAM is a 1–5 μm wide-field imager with grism spectroscopy, developed at UCLA. FIFI-LS is a 42–210 μm integral field imaging grating spectrometer, developed at the University of Stuttgart. EXES is a 5–28 μm high-resolution spectrograph, developed at UC Davis and NASA ARC. HAWC is a 50–240 μm imager, developed at the University of Chicago, and undergoing an upgrade at JPL to add polarimetry capability and substantially larger GSFC detectors. We describe the capabilities, performance, and status of each instrument, highlighting science results obtained using FORCAST, GREAT, and HIPO during SOFIA Early Science observations conducted in 2011.
FORCAST has completed 16 engineering and science flights as the “First Light” U. S. science instrument aboard SOFIA
and will be commissioned as a SOFIA facility instrument in 2013. FORCAST offers dual channel imaging (diffractionlimited
at wavelengths < 15 microns) using a 256 x 256 pixel Si:As blocked impurity band (BIB) detector at 5 - 28
microns and a 256 x 256 pixel Si:Sb BIB detector at 28 - 40 microns. FORCAST images a 3.4 arcmin × 3.2 arcmin fieldof-
view on SOFIA with a rectified plate scale of 0.768 arcsec/pixel. In addition to imaging capability, FORCAST offers
a facility mode for grism spectroscopy that will commence during SOFIA Cycle 1. The grism suite enables spectroscopy
over nearly the entire FORCAST wavelength range at low resolution (~140 - 300). Optional cross-dispersers boost the
spectroscopic resolution to ~1200 at 5 - 8 microns and ~800 at 9.8 – 13.7 microns. Here we describe the FORCAST
instrument including observing modes for SOFIA Cycle 1. We also summarize in-flight results, including detector and
optical performance, sensitivity performance, and calibration.
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