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WFC3: In-Flight Performance HighlightsWide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a powerful new imager for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), was successfully installed in the telescope in May 2009 during the first dramatic spacewalk of space shuttle flight STS-125, also known as HST Servicing Mission 4. This new camera offers unique observing capabilities in two channels spanning a broad wavelength range from the near ultraviolet to the near infrared (200-1000nm in the UV/Visible [UVIS] channel; 850-1700nm in the IR channel). After an initial outgassing period, WFC3 was cooled to its observing configuration in June. In the following months, a highly successful Servicing Mission Observatory Verification (SMOV4) program was executed, which has confirmed the exciting scientific potential of the instrument. Detailed performance results from the SMOV 4 program are presented in a number of papers in this session. In this paper, we highlight some top-level performance assessments (throughput, limiting magnitudes, survey speeds) for WFC3, which is now actively engaged in the execution of forefront astronomical observing programs.
Document ID
20100002958
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Kimble, Randy A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 3, 2010
Subject Category
Astronomy
Meeting Information
Meeting: 215th American Astronomical Society Conference
Location: Washington, DC
Country: United States
Start Date: January 3, 2010
End Date: January 7, 2010
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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