The SPEAR Instrument and On-Orbit Performance
Abstract
The SPEAR (or ``FIMS'') instrumentation has been used to conduct the first large-scale spectral mapping of diffuse cosmic far-ultraviolet (FUV; 900-1750 Å) emission, including important diagnostics of interstellar hot (104-106 K) and photoionized plasmas, H2, and dust-scattered starlight. The instrumentation's performance has allowed for the unprecedented detection of astrophysical diffuse FUV emission lines. A spectral resolution of λ/Δλ~550 and an imaging resolution of 5' is achieved on-orbit in the Short (900-1150 Å) and Long (1350-1750 Å) bandpass channels within their respective 4.0d×4.6 arcmin and 7.4d×4.3 arcmin fields of view. We describe the SPEAR imaging spectrographs, their performance, and the nature and handling of their data.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- June 2006
- DOI:
- 10.1086/505205
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/0601588
- Bibcode:
- 2006ApJ...644L.159E
- Keywords:
-
- Instrumentation: Spectrographs;
- Ultraviolet: ISM;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Astrophys.J. 644 (2006) L159-L162