Diffraction-limited 10 microns imaging with 3 meter telescopesAn IR imaging system that achieves diffraction-limited spatial resolution (about 0.8 arcsec) at 10 microns on 3-meter ground-based telescopes. The system uses a linear array of sensitive HgCdTe photodiodes, scanned in the direction perpendicular to the array axis, to form two-dimensional images. Scans are completed rapidly enough to freeze atmospheric fluctuations. Individual detectors are small compared to the diameter of the Airy disk, and images are oversampled heavily in the scan direction. This method has a number of advantages for studying small fields with very high spatial resolution, and has been applied successfully to the problem of directly imaging faint circumstellar dust shells.
Document ID
19870049159
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bloemhof, E. E. (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Townes, C. H. (California, University Los Angeles, United States)
Vanderwyck, A. H. B. (Rockwell International Science Center Thousand Oaks, CA, United States)