SOFIA — The Observatory open cavity (door not shown) TELESCOPE pressure bulkhead scientific instrument (1 of 7) Scientist work stations, telescope and.

SOFIA — The ObservatorySOFIA — The Observatory open cavity

(door not shown)

TELESCOPE

pressure bulkhead

scientific instrument (1 of 7)

Scientist work stations, telescope and instrument control, etc.

Educator work stations

Primary MirrorVisible Light Camera

Light Tube

Spherical Hydraulic Bearing

Secondary Mirror

Infrared Light Mirror

Visible Light Mirror

Infrared Instrument

SOFIA Light PathIncoming Infrared Light

Representing the resolution of a 90-cm (36-

inch) telescope

DIFFRACTION: larger telescope produces sharper images

… versus a 250 cm

(100-inch) telescope

SOFIA’s newly-aluminized primary mirror

Putting it together:Putting it together:L-3 Communications Integrated Systems,L-3 Communications Integrated Systems,

Waco, TexasWaco, Texas

Telescope Cavity, with Door Telescope Cavity, with Door openopen

““Line Ops” (ground tests)Line Ops” (ground tests)

First 100%-Open Door Test First 100%-Open Door Test FlightFlight

December 2009December 2009

The telescope:The telescope:Floating on spherical bearing;Floating on spherical bearing;Orientation/position sensed by Orientation/position sensed by

gyroscopes/GPS;gyroscopes/GPS;Optical TV cameras view field around Optical TV cameras view field around

targettarget

The SOFIA TelescopeThe SOFIA Telescope

Exposed to the Sky

Inside the Cabin

Aero-acoustics (1)Aero-acoustics (1)

Acoustic Power Spectrum Density (PSD) versus frequency

Telescope Pointing Telescope Pointing StabilityStability

Image Quality (PSF Image Quality (PSF size)size)

Point source image size in focal plane versus wavelength

SOFIA’s AdvantagesSOFIA’s AdvantagesWh at d oe s SO FI A d o th at t he H ubb le S pa ce T el esc op e ca n’ t?Wh at d oe s SO FI A d o th at t he H ubb le S pa ce T el esc op e ca n’ t?

SO FI A ca n ea si ly st ud y:SO FI A ca n ea si ly st ud y:

>> IR : o bj ec ts m uch c oo le r th an no rm al s ta rs l ike t he S unIR : o bj ec ts m uch c oo le r th an no rm al s ta rs l ike t he S un

fo r ex am pl e: s tar s an d pl an et s i n th e pr oc es s o f fo rm in g;fo r ex am pl e: s tar s an d pl an et s i n th e pr oc es s o f fo rm in g;

>> IR : o bj ec ts e mbe dd ed i n, o r beh in d, o pa qu e ISM d us t cl ou ds ;IR : o bj ec ts e mbe dd ed i n, o r beh in d, o pa qu e ISM d us t cl ou ds ;

SO FI A’ s in st ru men ts c an s ee i nto a nd t hr ou gh th os e cl ou dsSO FI A’ s in st ru men ts c an s ee i nto a nd t hr ou gh th os e cl ou ds

>> IR : o rg an ic m ole cu le s in s pa ce, w hi ch h av e man y of t he ir s pec tr al l in es a nd ba nd s at i nf rar ed w av el en gt hs;IR : o rg an ic m ole cu le s in s pa ce, w hi ch h av e man y of t he ir s pec tr al l in es a nd ba nd s at i nf rar ed w av el en gt hs;

>> Mo bi li ty : F or egr ou nd s ol ar s yst em o bj ec ts a s t he y oc cu lt b ack gr ou nd s ta rs .Mo bi li ty : F or egr ou nd s ol ar s yst em o bj ec ts a s t he y oc cu lt b ack gr ou nd s ta rs .

SOFIA’s advantages, cont’SOFIA’s advantages, cont’

What are SOFIA’s capabilities relative to the Spitzer What are SOFIA’s capabilities relative to the Spitzer infrared space telescope?infrared space telescope?

SOFIA’s telescope mirror is 3x larger than Spitzer’s, soSOFIA’s telescope mirror is 3x larger than Spitzer’s, so

> SOFIA can see details 3x smaller> SOFIA can see details 3x smaller

> SOFIA can resolve objects in 9x more crowded regions> SOFIA can resolve objects in 9x more crowded regions

SOFIA has more instruments than Spitzer (7 versus 3), SOFIA has more instruments than Spitzer (7 versus 3), so:so:

> SOFIA has more ways to analyze a wider range of > SOFIA has more ways to analyze a wider range of wavelengthswavelengths

>> SOFIA will have 2SOFIA will have 2ndnd-, 3-, 3rdrd- and 4- and 4thth-generation -generation instrumentsinstruments

SOFIA has a design lifetime of 20 years, versus SOFIA has a design lifetime of 20 years, versus Spitzer’s 5 years (limited by cryogen supply)Spitzer’s 5 years (limited by cryogen supply)

The 7 first-generation instruments cover the full IR range with

imagers and low-to-high resolution spectrographs

(http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Science/instruments/)

SOFIA’s First-generationSOFIA’s First-generationScientific InstrumentsScientific Instruments

First four instruments …First four instruments …

HIPOoptical

high-speedphotometer(Lowell

Observatory)

FLITECAMnear-IRcamera(UCLA)

FORCASTmid-IRcamera

(Cornell)

GREAT far-IR

heterodyne spectrometer (MPIfR)

GREAT far-IR GREAT far-IR spectrometer =>spectrometer =>

FORCAST mid-IR<= camera

SOFIA’s Scientific SOFIA’s Scientific InstrumentsInstruments

FORCAST (camera; Cornell)FORCAST (camera; Cornell) 20102010 GREAT (spectrometer; Germany)GREAT (spectrometer; Germany) 20112011 HIPO (photometer; Lowell Obs.)HIPO (photometer; Lowell Obs.) 20112011 FLITECAM (camera; UCLA)FLITECAM (camera; UCLA) 20112011 FIFI LS (spectrometer; DSI)FIFI LS (spectrometer; DSI) 20142014 HAWC (camera; U. Chicago)HAWC (camera; U. Chicago) 20142014 EXES (spectrometer; Ames/UC-Davis)EXES (spectrometer; Ames/UC-Davis) 20142014

Cycle 1 (Nov.’12 – Dec.13) Instrument Cycle 1 (Nov.’12 – Dec.13) Instrument CapabilitiesCapabilities

• FORCASTFORCAST– Facility Class Infrared CameraFacility Class Infrared Camera– Imaging modes fully supported in Facility Instrument Mode Imaging modes fully supported in Facility Instrument Mode

5-40 5-40 mm– GRISM spectroscopy will be offered with resolutions of GRISM spectroscopy will be offered with resolutions of

typically a few hundred (see SOFIA web site) on a shared typically a few hundred (see SOFIA web site) on a shared risk basisrisk basis

• GREATGREAT– Principal Investigator Class SpectrometerPrincipal Investigator Class Spectrometer– L1a/b and L2 modes offered ( Likely L1 and L2 )L1a/b and L2 modes offered ( Likely L1 and L2 )– GO and GREAT team collaborate after selectionGO and GREAT team collaborate after selection

• FLITECAMFLITECAM– Facility Class InstrumentFacility Class Instrument– Imaging modes will be fully supported after commissioningImaging modes will be fully supported after commissioning– GRISM spectroscopy ( R~2000) offered as shared riskGRISM spectroscopy ( R~2000) offered as shared risk

• HIPO/ FLIPOHIPO/ FLIPO– Special purpose instrumentSpecial purpose instrument– Requires collaboration with instrument PIRequires collaboration with instrument PI