NIFTE: The Near Infrared Faint-Object Telescope Experiment

• Published in: Experimental astronomy 1994-01, Vol.3 (1-4), p.119-120
• Main Authors: Bock, James J., Lange, Andrew E., Matsumoto, T., Eisenhardt, Peter B., Hacking, Perry B., Schember, Helene R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy
• ISSN: 0922-6435; 1572-9508
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00430128

The high sensitivity of large format InSb arrays can be used to obtain deep images of the sky at 3-5 micrometers. In this spectral range cool or highly redshifted objects (e.g. brown dwarfs and protogalaxies) which are not visible at shorter wavelengths may be observed. Sensitivity at these wavelengths in ground-based observations is severly limited by the thermal flux from the telescope and from the earth's atmosphere. The Near Infrared Faint-Object Telescope Experiment (NIFTE), a 50 cm cooled rocket-borne telescope combined with large format, high performance InSb arrays, can reach a limiting flux less than 1 micro-Jy(1-sigma) over a large field-of-view in a single flight. In comparison, the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) will require days of observation to reach a sensitivity more than one order of magnitude worse over a similar area of the sky. The deep 3-5 micrometer images obtained by the rocket-borne telescope will assist in determining the nature of faint red objects detected by ground-based telescopes at 2 micrometers, and by ISO at wavelengths longer than 5 micrometers.