Related papers: Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
SPICA is a mid to far infra-red space mission to explore the processes that form galaxies, stars and planets. SPICA/SAFARI is the far infrared spectrometer that provides near-background limited observations between 34 and 230 micrometers.…
The ultraviolet (UV) astronomy is a very demanded branch of space astronomy. Many dozens of short-term UV-experiments in space, as well as long-term observatories, have brought a very important knowledge on the physics and chemistry of the…
We report on initial results from the largest infrared AO direct imaging survey searching for wide orbit (>100 AU) massive exoplanets and brown dwarfs as companions around young nearby stars using Robo-AO at the 2.1-m telescope on Kitt…
Adaptive Optics (AO) is an innovative technique that substantially improves the optical performance of ground-based telescopes. The SOAR Adaptive Module (SAM) is a laser-assisted AO instrument, designed to compensate ground-layer…
The Wide-Field InfraRed Space Telescope (WFIRST) will be capable of delivering precise astrometry for faint sources over the enormous field of view of its main camera, the Wide-Field Imager (WFI). This unprecedented combination will be…
We present overall specifications and science goals for a new optical and near-infrared (350 - 1650 nm) instrument designed to greatly enlarge the current Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) phase space. The Pulsed All-sky…
We describe plans for the development of the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO), a next-generation instrument with sensitivity to the very-high-energy (VHE) band to be constructed in the Southern Hemisphere. SWGO will provide…
The far-infrared (far-IR) spectral window plays host to a wide range of spectroscopic diagnostics with which to study planetary disk systems and exoplanets at wavelengths completely blocked by the Earth atmosphere. These include the thermal…
The Earth possesses many environmental extremes that mimic conditions on extraterrestrial worlds. The stratosphere at 30-40 km altitude closely resembles the surface of Mars in terms of pressure, temperature, and radiation levels (UV,…
One of the most promising space missions of ESA is the astrometric satellite Gaia, which will provide very precise astrometry and multicolour photometry, for all 1.3 billion objects to V~20, and radial velocities with accuracies of a few…
The sky subtraction performances of multi-fiber spectrographs are discussed, analysing in detail the case of the OPTOPUS system at the 3.6 meter ESO telescope at La Silla. A standard technique, based on flat-fields obtained with a uniformly…
ATUS, the Astronomical Telescope of the University of Stuttgart, is a fully remote-controlled 0.6 m f/8.17 Ritchey-Chr\'etien telescope optimized for high-cadence, high-fidelity photometry of transient sources. Observations are…
LOFAR is a new form of radio telescope which can detect radio emission from air showers induced by very high-energy cosmic rays. It can also look for radio emission from particle cascades on the Moon induced by ultra high-energy cosmic rays…
Space interferometry is the inevitable endpoint of high angular resolution astrophysics, and a key technology that can be leveraged to analyse exoplanet formation and atmospheres with exceptional detail. However, the anticipated cost of…
The quest for other habitable worlds and the search for life among them are major goals of modern astronomy. One way to make progress towards these goals is to obtain high-quality spectra of a large number of exoplanets over a broad range…
The development of detectors with a high time resolution has been pivotal to our comprehension of neutron stars and the accurate measurement of their properties. While high-time resolution astronomy has become a standard in the radio and…
Gravitational-wave detectors with sensitivities sufficient to measure the radiation from astrophysical sources are rapidly coming into existence. By the end of this decade, there will exist several ground-based instruments in North America,…
We propose a novel instrument design to greatly expand the current optical and near-infrared SETI search parameter space by monitoring the entire observable sky during all observable time. This instrument is aimed to search for…
We have investigated mid-infrared spectra of Earth obtained by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on-board the AQUA spacecraft to explore the characteristics that may someday be observed in extrasolar terrestrial planets. We…
We recommend a conceptual design study for a spectroscopic facility in the southern hemisphere comprising a large diameter telescope, fiber system, and spectrographs collectively optimized for massively-multiplexed spectroscopy. As a…