We describe the design, fabrication, and operation of an infrared camera which is in use at the 30-inch telescope of the Leuschner Observatory. The camera is based on a Rockwell PICNIC 256 x 256 pixel HgCdTe array, which is sensitive from 0.9-2.5 micron. The primary purpose of this telescope is for undergraduate instruction. The cost of the camera has been minimized by using commercial parts whereever practical. The camera optics are based on a modified Offner relay which forms a cold pupil where stray thermal radiation from the telescope is baffled. A cold, six-position filter wheel is driven by a cryogenic stepper motor, thus avoiding any mechanical feed throughs. The array control and readout electronics are based on standard PC cards; the only custom component is a simple interface card which buffers the clocks and amplifies the analog signals from the array.
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0102219,
title = {An Infrared Camera for Leuschner Observatory and the Berkeley Undergraduate Astronomy Lab},
author = {James R. Graham and Richard R. Treffers},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0102219},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
13 pages, 17 figures. Submitted to Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific: 2001 Jan 10, Accepted 2001 Jan 19