Near Infrared Camera (NIC)
This instrument is a compact, liquid nitrogen cooled, NICMOS3-based astronomical camera that uses modular optical benches to accommodate a variety of f numbers and plate scales. A novel thermal switch links the detector and optics to cryogen vessel and provides for rapid and easy disassembly when the instrument is warm. All optics presently in use are refractive, with spherical surfaces, and are operated at 140 K. Two optical configurations currently exist: a system designed for the 3-meter Shane reflector of Lick Observatory with high magnification, and an assembly constructed for the Wyoming Infrared Observatory (WIRO) which provides a broad field of view. The former, with a projected pixel size of 0.064 arcsec, has a Strehl ratio of > 0.99 for all wavelengths at all positions in the field. It is used for high-resolution, speckle, and coronagraphic observations.
Wyoming Infrared Observatory |
A contour map illustrating the brightness distribution of the comet Hale-Bopp. The image is roughly 2 arcmin on a side. In the nuclear regions, five separate regions where the comet is losing mass can be discerned. |
A 2.2-micron image of Jupiter 16 days after the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy. On the previous pass by Jupiter, the original single body was broken into many fragments by the tug of Jupiter's powerful gravity. These fragments followed a common trajectory but were strung out in space. They impacted Jupiter over a period of a few days while Jupiter rotated underneath. This spread the impacts around the planet but on a common latitude. At first, the debris from a single impact was localized with well defined boundaries. But later, when these observations were taken, the fast winds of Jupiter's upper atmosphere had stirred the impact debris into the turbulent band that rings the southern part of the planet. The data were acquired at Lick observatory. |
A 2.2-micron image of the planetary nebula NGC 7027. The image is only 12 arcsec across and displays structure at the diffraction limit of the telescope. The image was acquired under conditions of good astronomical weather and was processed by Dr. Richard Puetter of the University of California, San Diego to enhance the very fine structure. The star that excites the nebula (and the original source of the nebular gas) was not detected until the mid-1970s, but is very clear in this image. NGC 7027 shares the common fate of the sun—in the last stages of its life it sloughs off its outer layers, and shines brilliantly and briefly, before fading into obscurity. The data were acquired at Lick observatory. |
A series of speckle images of the binary system Gl 105 A and C. Speckle images are "snapshots" that freeze the atmospheric seeing. The bizarre images are caused by the interference of the light of the star as it passes through turbulent regions of air—if the images were acquired from space, all of the light would be concentrated in a region comparable in size to the smallest spots seen in the speckle images. |
