TIMMI2 ESO's thermal infrared multimode instrument: Technical description and some scientific results
- Author(s)
- Hans Ulrich Käufl, Michael F. Sterzik, Ralf Siebenmorgen, Ueli Weilenmann, Helena Relke, Josef Hron
- Abstract
TIMMI2 ESO's 2nd generation Thermal Infrared Multimode Instrument had astronomical first light in October 2000 at the 3.6m telescope on La Silla, Chile. Since February 2001 it is in regular use, both by visiting astronomers and in service mode, typically one third of the total telescope time. Using a Raytheon 240 × 320 pixel As:Si-BIB detector allows imaging and grism spectroscopy between 5 and 24 œm. TIMMI2 has also a linear polarimetry mode. We will give a description of the instrument from technical to operational aspects. Because of the substantial gain in sensitivity as compared to previous generation instruments a new set of infrared calibration standards has been constructed. The instrument and telescope are subject of an ongoing sensitivity monitoring program enabling to improve the sensitivity while allowing to spot the development of problems immediately. For stellar objects the sensitivity, 10s in 1 hour of telescope time is in the range of 15-30 mJy. TIMMI2 at the telescope shows negligible flexure (= 0.2") while having basically diffraction limited performance for ? = 8 œm.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- External organisation(s)
- European Southern Observatory (Germany), Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
- Pages
- 117-128
- No. of pages
- 12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1117/12.460335
- Publication date
- 2002
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/1e120768-9bb0-4d0e-8af7-48c362805d82