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42-812: NICMOS was conceived and designed by the NICMOS Instrument Definition Team centered at Steward Observatory , University of Arizona , USA. NICMOS is an imager and multi-object spectrometer built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. that allows the HST to observe infrared light , with wavelengths between 0.8 and 2.4 micrometers, providing imaging and slitless spectrophotometric capabilities. NICMOS contains three near-infrared detectors in three optical channels providing high (~ 0.1 arcsecond) resolution, coronagraphic and polarimetric imaging, and slitless spectroscopy in 11-, 19-, and 52-arcsecond square fields of view. Each optical channel contains

84-518: A cryocooler , cryogenic circulator, and external radiator was installed on the Hubble that now cools NICMOS through a cryogenic neon loop. The NICMOS Cooling System (NCS) was developed on a very accelerated schedule (14 months vs. 5–10 years for other Hubble instrument hardware). NICMOS was returned to service soon after SM 3B. A new software upload in September 2008 necessitated a brief shutdown of

126-673: A rotating furnace , and stressed-lap polishing. The Mirror Laboratory completed the second mirror for the Large Binocular Telescope in September, 2005. The Mirror Lab also cast the 8.4 meter diameter primary/tertiary mirror for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope , and has cast the central mirror and five of the seven off-axis primary mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope . The Infrared Detector Laboratory built

168-447: A 256×256 pixel photodiode array of mercury cadmium telluride infrared detectors bonded to a sapphire substrate, read out in four independent 128×128 quadrants. NICMOS last worked in 2008, and has been largely replaced by the infrared channel of Wide Field Camera 3 after its installation in 2009. The infrared performance of the Hubble has limitations since it was not designed with infrared performance as an objective. For example,

210-517: A NICMOS image taken in 1998, using advanced data processing. The exoplanets were originally discovered with the Keck telescopes and the Gemini North telescope between 2007 and 2010. The image allows the orbits of the exoplanets to be analyzed more closely, since they take many decades, even hundreds of Earth years, to orbit their host star. NICMOS observed the exoplanet XO-2b at star XO-2 , and

252-462: A block of solid nitrogen ice. When NICMOS was installed in 1997, the dewar flask contained a 230-pound (104 kg) block of nitrogen ice. Due to a thermal short that arose on March 4, 1997, during the instrument commissioning, the dewar ran out of nitrogen coolant sooner than expected in January 1999. During Hubble Service Mission 3B in 2002 ( STS-109 ), a replacement cooling system comprising

294-524: A consumable cryogen to cool the instrument. The camera makes use of returned space hardware as the structure is built from the original Wide Field and Planetary Camera as well as the filter assembly. These were switched for the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 by the servicing mission STS-61 in December 1993. WFC3 was originally conceived as an optical channel only; the near infrared channel

336-475: A field of view of 164 by 164 arcsec (2.7 by 2.7 arcminute, about 8.5% of the diameter of the full moon as seen from Earth) with 0.04 arcsec pixels. This view is comparable to the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 and is slightly smaller than that of the Advanced Camera for Surveys . The near infrared channel has a field of view of 135 by 127 arcsec (2.3 by 2.1 arcminutes) with 0.13 arcsec pixels, and has

378-637: A large scale. It is knowledge obtained before it is needed. Knowledge is power, but we cannot tell which fact in the domain of knowledge is the one which is going to give the power, and we therefore develop the idea of knowledge for its own sake, confident that some one fact or training will pay for all the effort. This I believe is the essence of education wherever such education is not strictly vocational. The student learns many facts and has much training. He can only dimly see which fact and which training will be of eminent use to him, but some special part of his education will take root in him and grow and pay for all of

420-402: A lock-up of Hubble's data handling system caused the telescope to shut down. The circulation flow rate to NICMOS was greatly reduced during this operating period confirming blockage in the circulation loop. Continued operation at reduced flow rates would limit NICMOS science so plans for purging and refilling the circulation system with clean neon gas were developed by NASA. The circulation loop

462-430: A much larger field of view than Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer , which it was designed to largely replace. The near infrared channel is a pathfinder for the future James Webb Space Telescope . Both channels have a variety of broad and narrow-band filters, as well as prisms and grisms , which enable wide-field, very-low-resolution spectroscopy that is useful for surveys. The optical channel covers

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504-590: A part (sub-unit) of Steward Observatory, operates the SMT 10m diameter millimeter-wavelength radio telescope on Mount Graham and UArizona 12m diameter millimeter-wavelength radio telescope on Kitt Peak. Steward Observatory participates in many partnered projects. It is a full member in the twin Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory in northern Chile. It is also a member in organizations that originated two projects planned for same region:

546-399: A replacement for the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 during the first spacewalk of Space Shuttle mission STS-125 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4) on May 14, 2009. As of April 2023 , WFC3 was still operating. The instrument is designed to be a versatile camera capable of imaging astronomical targets over a very wide wavelength range and with a large field of view. It

588-461: A spectroscopy result was obtained for this exoplanet in 2012. This uses the spectroscopic abilities of the instrument, and in astronomy spectroscopy during a planetary transit (an exoplanet passes in front of star from the perspective of Earth) is a way to study that exoplanet's possible atmosphere. In 2014, researchers recovered planetary discs in old NICMOS data using new image processing techniques. Steward Observatory Steward Observatory

630-561: Is a fourth-generation instrument for Hubble. The instrument has two independent light paths: a UV and optical channel that uses a pair of charge-coupled devices (CCD) to record images from 200 to 1000  nm ; and a near infrared detector array that covers the wavelength range from 800 to 1700 nm. The UV/optical channel has two CCDs, each 2048×4096 pixels , while the IR detector is 1024×1024. The focal planes of both channels were designed specifically for this camera. The optical channel has

672-710: Is a partner in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey -III, which is located in New Mexico at Apache Point Observatory . Steward used to maintain a student observatory on Tumamoc Hill approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) west of the campus, but that is no longer in operation. The original observatory dome in Tucson now houses the Ray White Jr. 21-inch telescope and is used for public outreach and undergraduate education. The Arizona Radio Observatory ,

714-494: Is equipped with an extra neon tank and remotely operated solenoid valves for on-orbit purge-fill operations. As of 2013, these purge-fill operations have not yet been performed. WFC3 , installed 2009, was designed to partly replace NICMOS. On June 18, 2010, it was announced NICMOS would not be available for science during the latest proposal Cycle 18. As of 2013, a decision as to whether the purge-fill operations will be performed and whether NICMOS will be available for science in

756-565: Is telling us facts, forever wonderful, about the size of our universe; perhaps tomorrow it will give us practical help in showing us how to predict climatic conditions in the future. Steward Observatory manages three different observing locations in southern Arizona: Mount Graham International Observatory (MGIO), Mount Lemmon Station , and Catalina Station on Mount Bigelow. It also operates telescopes at two additional important observatories: Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) and Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins . Steward

798-916: Is the research arm of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona (UArizona). Its offices are located on the UArizona campus in Tucson , Arizona (US). Established in 1916, the first telescope and building were formally dedicated on April 23, 1923. It operates, or is a partner in telescopes at five mountain-top locations in Arizona, one in New Mexico , one in Hawaii , and one in Chile . It has provided instruments for three different space telescopes and numerous terrestrial ones. Steward has one of

840-689: The Harvard College Observatory and actively began to pursue funding to construct a large research-class telescope in Tucson. Over the next 10 years, all of Douglass’ efforts to secure funding from the University and the Arizona Territorial (and later State) Legislatures ended in failure. During this time period, Douglass served UArizona as Head of the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Interim President, and finally Dean of

882-653: The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope , now the Vera Rubin Observatory, and the Giant Magellan Telescope , a next generation extremely large telescope . The Richard F. Caris Mirror Laboratory completed the primary and tertiary mirrors for LSST and is fabricating the primary mirror segments, each 8.4m in diameter, for the GMT. The Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab , located under the east side of Arizona Stadium , has pioneered new techniques of large mirror production, including spin-casting lightweight honeycomb mirrors in

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924-986: The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) instrument for the Hubble Space Telescope and the Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) instrument for the Spitzer Space Telescope . For the James Webb Space Telescope , Steward built the Near-Infrared Camera ( NIRCam ) and helped build the Mid-IR Instrument (MIRI). Other groups include the Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics (CAAO),

966-526: The Wide Field Camera 3 , which has a much larger field of view (135 by 127 arcsec, or 2.3 by 2.1 arcminutes), and reaches almost as far into the infrared. When conducting infrared measurements, it is necessary to keep the infrared detectors cooled to avoid having infrared interference from the instrument's own thermal emissions. NICMOS contains a cryogenic dewar , that cooled its detectors to about 61 K, and optical filters to ~ 105 K, with

1008-530: The College of Letters, Arts, & Sciences. Then on October 18, 1916, University President Rufus B. von KleinSmid announced that an anonymous donor had given the University $ 60,000 “…to be used to buy a telescope of huge size.” That donor was later revealed to be Mrs. Lavinia Steward of Oracle, Arizona . Mrs. Steward was a wealthy widow who had an interest in astronomy and a desire to memorialize her late husband, Mr. Henry Steward. Douglass made plans to use

1050-749: The Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers assembled a larger and higher-resolution photograph of the Pillars of Creation , which was unveiled in January 2015 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle. The image was photographed by the Hubble Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3, installed in 2009, and produced using near-infrared and visible light exposure. The 1995 version of this picture of part of

1092-816: The Imaging Technology Laboratory (ITL), the Steward Observatory Radio Astronomy Laboratory (SORAL), the Earths in Other Solar Systems (EOS) group, and the Astrochemistry/Spectroscopy Laboratory. Wide Field Camera 3 The Wide Field Camera 3 ( WFC3 ) is the Hubble Space Telescope 's last and most technologically advanced instrument to take images in the visible spectrum. It was installed as

1134-500: The NICMOS cooling system. Several attempts to restart the cooling system were unsuccessful due to issues with the cryogenic circulator. After waiting more than six weeks for parts of the instrument to warm up, and theorized ice particles to sublimate from the neon circulating loop, the cooler once again failed to restart. An Anomaly Review Board (ARB) was then convened by NASA. The ARB concluded that ice or other solid particle migrated from

1176-489: The Steward Observatory was officially dedicated on April 23, 1923. In his dedication address, Douglass recounted the trials and tribulations of establishing the observatory, then gave the following eloquent justification for the scientific endeavor: In concluding I wish to leave with you a more general view. This installation is to be devoted to scientific research. Scientific research is business foresight on

1218-544: The Steward gift to construct a 36-inch diameter Newtonian reflecting telescope. The Warner & Swasey Company of Cleveland, Ohio was contracted to build the telescope, but the United States entry into World War I delayed the contract since Warner & Swasey had war contracts that took priority. The situation was further delayed by the fact that up until this time, the expertise in large telescope mirror making

1260-515: The United States and the United Kingdom. The instrument was scheduled by NASA to launch with STS-125 on 14 October 2008, but the mission was postponed due to additional repairs that were required. The mission launched on 11 May 2009 and the WFC3 was installed on 14 May. by astronauts John M. Grunsfeld and Andrew J. Feustel . In celebration of the 25th anniversary since the launch of

1302-455: The dewar to the circulator during the September 2008 restart attempt and that the circulator may be damaged, and determined an alternative set of startup parameters. A successful restart at 13:30 EST on 16 December 2008 led to four days of cooler operations followed by another shutdown. On 1 August 2009, the cooler was restarted again; NICMOS was expected to resume operations in mid-February 2010 and operated through October 22, 2009, at which point

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1344-430: The effort which he and his friends have put into it. So it is with the research institutions. In this Observatory I sincerely hope and expect that the boundaries of human knowledge will be advanced along astronomical lines. Astronomy was the first science developed by our primitive ancestors thousands of years ago because it measured time. Performing that same function, it has played a vast part in human history, and today it

1386-551: The exact value depending on the pointing on the sky and on the position of the Earth on its orbit. Despite this, the combination of Hubble's mirror and NICMOS offered never-before seen levels of quality in near-infrared performance at that time. Dedicated infrared telescopes like the Infrared Space Observatory were ground-breaking in their own way, but had a smaller primary mirror, and were also out of service at

1428-563: The few facilities in the world that can cast and figure the very large primary mirrors used in telescopes built in the early 21st century. Steward Observatory owes its existence to the efforts of American astronomer and dendrochronologist Andrew Ellicott Douglass . In 1906, Douglass accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Physics and Geography at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona . Almost immediately upon his arrival in Tucson, Douglass established astronomical research programs using an 8-inch refracting telescope on loan from

1470-492: The future has not been made. NICMOS is also the name of the device's 256×256-pixel imaging sensor built by Rockwell International Electro-Optical Center (now DRS Technologies). NICMOS was noted for its performance in Near-infrared space astronomy, in particular its ability to see objects through dust. It was used for about 23 months after it was installed, its life limited by set amount of cryo-coolant, and then later it

1512-430: The mirror is kept at a stable and relatively high temperature (15 °C) by heaters. HST is a warm telescope. The IR background flux collected by cooled focal plane IR instruments like NICMOS or WFC3 is dominated, at rather short wavelengths, by telescope thermal emission rather than by zodiacal scattering. NICMOS data show that the telescope background exceeds the zodiacal background at wavelengths longer than λ ≈ 1.6μm,

1554-530: The time of NICMOS installation because they ran out of coolant. NICMOS later overcame this problem by using a machine chiller like a refrigerator, which allowed it operate for years until it went offline in 2008. NICMOS was installed on Hubble during its second servicing mission in 1997 ( STS-82 ) along with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph , replacing two earlier instruments. NICMOS in turn has been largely superseded by

1596-441: The visible spectrum (380 nm to 780 nm) with high efficiency, and is also able to see into the near ultraviolet (down to 200 nm). The IR channel is designed to lack sensitivity beyond 1700 nm (as compared with the 2500 nm limit for NICMOS) to avoid being swamped by thermal background coming from the relatively warm HST structure. This allows WFC3 to be cooled using a thermoelectric cooler instead of carrying

1638-664: Was added later. WFC3 is intended to ensure that Hubble retains a powerful imaging capability through to the end of its lifetime. WFC3 had been in the planning since the Spring of 1998. It was built by a team of highly experienced Hubble engineers and scientists drawn from many organizations, with leadership at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland . WFC3 was constructed mostly at Goddard Space Flight Center and Ball Aerospace in Colorado. Various parts were built by contractors across

1680-640: Was in Europe. The war made it impossible to contract with a European company. So Douglass had to find an American glass company that was willing to develop this expertise. After a couple of failed castings, the Spencer Lens Co. of Buffalo, New York ultimately produced a 36-inch mirror for the Steward Telescope. The telescope was finally installed in the observatory building in July 1922, and

1722-481: Was used for several years when a new cryo-cooler was installed in 2002. NICMOS combined near infrared performance with a large mirror. NICMOS allowed investigation of high redshift galaxies and quasars with high spatial resolution, which was especially useful when analyzed in conjunction with other instruments such as the STIS, and it also allowed deeper investigation of stellar populations. In planetary science, NICMOS

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1764-440: Was used to discover an impact basin on the south pole of the asteroid 4 Vesta . (4 Vesta was later visited by Dawn (spacecraft) in the 2010s which investigated it more closely by orbiting it.) In 2009, an old NICMOS image was processed to show a predicted exoplanet around the star HR 8799 . The system is thought to be about 130 light-years from Earth. In 2011, around that same star, four exoplanets were rendered viewable in

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