The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) aboard the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) provides the observatory with a huge advance in mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy covering the wavelength range of 5 to 28 microns. This paper describes the performance and characteristics of the MIRI imager as understood during observatory commissioning activities, and through its first year of science operations. We discuss the measurements and results of the imager's point spread function, flux calibration, background, distortion and flat fields as well as results pertaining to best observing practices for MIRI imaging, and discuss known imaging artefacts that may be seen during or after data processing. Overall, we show that the MIRI imager has met or exceeded all its pre-flight requirements, and we expect it to make a significant contribution to mid-infrared science for the astronomy community for years to come.
@article{arxiv.2403.16686,
title = {JWST MIRI Flight Performance: Imaging},
author = {Dan Dicken and Macarena García Marín and Irene Shivaei and Pierre Guillard and Mattia Libralato and Alistair Glasse and Karl D. Gordon and Christophe Cossou and Patrick Kavanagh and Tea Temim and Nicolas Flagey and Pamela Klaassen and George H. Rieke and Gillian Wright and Stacey Alberts and Ruyman Azzollini and Javier Álvarez-Márquez and Patrice Bouchet and Stacey Bright and Misty Cracraft and Alain Coulais and Ors Hunor Detre and Mike Engesser and Ori D. Fox and Andras Gaspar and René Gastaud and Adrian M. Glauser and Dean C. Hines and Sarah Kendrew and Alvaro Labiano and Pierre-Oliver Lagage and David Lee and David R. Law and Jane E. Morrison and Alberto Noriega-Crespo and Olivia Jones and Polychronis Patapis and Silvia Scheithauer and Greg C. Sloan and Laszlo Tamaz},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.16686},
year = {2024}
}