Thermal infrared astronomy for the introductory laboratory

We show that infrared telescopes can be constructed at low cost using consumer-grade thermal infrared imagers and commercially available germanium lenses. Using these telescopes in the laboratory, introductory astronomy students can image nearby celestial objects to observe properties that are not s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physics 2023-02, Vol.91 (2), p.122-131
Main Authors: Padgett, Clifford W., Baird, William H., Coile, J. Spencer, Johnson, Wayne M., Groneck, Erin N., Rose, Robert A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Germanium
Infrared imaging systems
Telescopes
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Summary:We show that infrared telescopes can be constructed at low cost using consumer-grade thermal infrared imagers and commercially available germanium lenses. Using these telescopes in the laboratory, introductory astronomy students can image nearby celestial objects to observe properties that are not seen in the visible region, in particular, variations in temperature across the surface.
ISSN:0002-9505
1943-2909
DOI:10.1119/5.0081072