Using Dark Images to Characterize the Stability of Pixels in the WFC3/UVIS Detector
Abstract
The Ultraviolet-Visible (UVIS) detector on board the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument has been acquiring 'dark' images on a daily basis since its installation in 2009. These dark images are 900 second exposures with the shutter closed as to measure the inherent dark current of the detector. Using these dark exposures, we have constructed ‘pixel history' images in which a specific column of the detector is extracted from each dark and placed into a new time-ordered array. We discuss how the pixel history images are used to characterize the stability of each pixel over time, as well as current trends in the WFC3/UVIS dark current.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #230
- Pub Date:
- June 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AAS...23011711B