SOFIA: First Light to First Science

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SOFIA: First Light to First Science FORCAST Team members: Terry Herter (Principal Investigator), Joe Adams (Project Scientist),

Dec 7, 2:00 4:30 PM BKL 200: Baker Lab 200 Make-up Final Tuesday, Dec 11, 7:00 9:30 PM 105 Space Sciences Building You must have a

1 SOFIA: First Light to First Science FORCAST Team members: Terry Herter (Principal Investigator), Joe Adams (Project Scientist), George Gull (Lead Engineer), Justin Schoenwald (Software Engineer), Chuck Henderson (Mechanical Eng), Luke Keller (Ithaca College, Co-I) Ryan Lau (Grad. Student); Jason Wang & Lea Hirsch (Undergrads); Gordon Stacey (Co-I), Thomas Nikola (Co-I) Final Exam Reminder Final Exam: Friday, Dec 7, 2:00 4:30 PM BKL 200: Baker Lab 200 Make-up Final Tuesday, Dec 11, 7:00 9:30 PM 105 Space Sciences Building You must have a valid reason to take the make-up You must get prior permission and sign up before the end of classes (Friday, Nov 30) Review Sessions Malott 251 Monday, Dec. 3 from 6:30 8:30 pm Tuesday, Dec. 4 from 6:30 8:30 pm First Light to First Science 1

Outline The FORCAST Instrument FORCAST Science SOFIA and FORCAST Preparation and First light truly a once in a

Light to First Science 3 FORCAST Facility Instrument Built at Cornell Turn over to NASA this fall Dual-Channel

$2' Designed for diffraction-limited imaging for > 15 µm Able to observe with the SWC and LWC simultaneously But$

2 Outline The FORCAST Instrument FORCAST Science SOFIA and FORCAST Preparation and First light truly a once in a lifetime experience First Light Observatory Characterization Science Images & Discussion Summary FORCAST First Light to First Science 3 FORCAST Facility Instrument Built at Cornell Turn over to NASA this fall Dual-Channel 256x256 Camera w/ Si BIB arrays 5-25 m with Si:As array (SWC) m with Si:Sb array (LWC) Selectable Filters in 5-40 m range Field of View 0.75''/pixel giving a 3.2'3.2' Designed for diffraction-limited imaging for > 15 µm Able to observe with the SWC and LWC simultaneously But with some penalty in sensitivity in the LWC First Light to First Science 2

FORCAST Filters FORCAST filter transmissions (black) overlaid on atmospheric transmission from SOFIA (blue) and from Mauna Kea (red) Roughly 10 m vs.

FORCAST is sensitive to emission from dust in the interstellar medium UV and optical photons heat the dust which radiates in the thermal infrared Dust composition, heating sources, geometry, and

3 FORCAST Filters FORCAST filter transmissions (black) overlaid on atmospheric transmission from SOFIA (blue) and from Mauna Kea (red) Roughly 10 m vs. 1 mm precipitable water vapor Except for very limited bands, transmission for ground based observatories is poor over the 5 40 m region FORCAST First Light to First Science 5 FORCAST Detects Dirt FORCAST is sensitive to emission from dust in the interstellar medium UV and optical photons heat the dust which radiates in the thermal infrared Dust composition, heating sources, geometry, and optical depth all affect the observed spectrum. Large particles Emitted power in equilibrium with absorbed radiation Have a well-defined temperature Small particles Temperature significantly affected by single photon Depends on heat capacity of grain e.g. PAH s (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) FORCAST First Light to First Science 6 First Light to First Science 3

Orion: A Different View Visible Light Infrared (IRAS) The IR affords a complementary view of the

emission from small grains (dust) heated by stellar radiation.

First Science 7 Mid-infrared Data Acquisition Raw Image Chop-Subtracted Nod Subtracted rms ~ 350

49 DN The thermal emission from the atmosphere and warm optics (telescope, etc.

on calibration star Alpha Cet at 37.1 micron. The integration time in a single image is 30 seconds.

4 Orion: A Different View Visible Light Infrared (IRAS) The IR affords a complementary view of the Universe relative to other wavelengths The bright extended regions in IRAS view are due to thermal emission from small grains (dust) heated by stellar radiation. Complex molecules emit in the IR and submillimeter regions of the spectrum FORCAST First Light to First Science 7 Mid-infrared Data Acquisition Raw Image Chop-Subtracted Nod Subtracted rms ~ 350 DN rms ~ 1.4 DN rms ~ 0.49 DN The thermal emission from the atmosphere and warm optics (telescope, etc.) create a background which we must look through (generating photon noise) FORCAST data from OCF#3 on calibration star Alpha Cet at 37.1 micron. The integration time in a single image is 30 seconds. The features in the chop-subtracted image likely dominated by the dewar window but involve all of the optical system on either side of the secondary mirror. FORCAST First Light to First Science 8 First Light to First Science 4

Original Team Science Objectives The Galactic Center region Nature of circumnuclear ring (CNR) Excitation of arches Star formation Census of

distribution of Young Stellar Objects Start of FORCAST funding: 1997!

NASA Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) 91-cm telescope 1975 until 1996 (shut down in prep for SOFIA) 2010 NASA/DLR Stratospheric Observatory for

5 Original Team Science Objectives The Galactic Center region Nature of circumnuclear ring (CNR) Excitation of arches Star formation Census of protostars in nearby molecular clouds Spiral arms of nearby galaxies Circumstellar disks Spatially resolve Vega phenomena Spectral energy distribution of Young Stellar Objects Start of FORCAST funding: 1997! FORCAST First Light to First Science 9 Evolution of Airborne Astronomy NASA Lear Jet Observatory 30-cm telescope Early 70 s until NASA Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) 91-cm telescope 1975 until 1996 (shut down in prep for SOFIA) 2010 NASA/DLR Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) 2.5-m telescope Started operations in 2010 Cornell has been a part of airborne astronomy since its inception (Martin Harwit & Jim Houck) FORCAST First Light to First Science 10 First Light to First Science 5

SOFIA Collaboration between NASA and DLR (Germany) Instrumentation: wide variety, rapidly

anytime Flight altitude Deployments to the Southern Hemisphere 41,000 45,000 ft and elsewhere FORCAST

Observatory pressure bulkhead scientist stations, telescope and instrument control, etc.

6 SOFIA Collaboration between NASA and DLR (Germany) Instrumentation: wide variety, rapidly interchangeable, state-of-the art SOFIA is a new observatory every few years Mobility: anywhere, anytime Flight altitude Deployments to the Southern Hemisphere 41,000 45,000 ft and elsewhere FORCAST First Light to First Science 11 Twenty year design lifetime > hour flights per year The SOFIA Observatory pressure bulkhead scientist stations, telescope and instrument control, etc. scientific instrument 2.5m telescope open cavity (door not shown) FORCAST First Light to First Science 12 First Light to First Science 6

7 Telescope and aperture assembly FORCAST First Light to First Science 13 Primary Mirror Installed Oct. 8, 2008 FORCAST First Light to First Science 14 First Light to First Science 7

First Science 15 FORCAST in DAOF lab From left: FORCAST w/ foreoptics (test equipment),

8 FORCAST in the Lab Extensive testing done in the lab Flight data acquisition simulations Run two arrays at different rates while synching to a chopping secondary FORCAST First Light to First Science 15 FORCAST in DAOF lab From left: FORCAST w/ foreoptics (test equipment), counterweight rack, and PI rack FORCAST First Light to First Science 16 First Light to First Science 8

9 Installation on the plane Installing PI rack & getting FORCAST into the plane FORCAST First Light to First Science 17 Attaching FORCAST George and Charlie positioning FORCAST George and Chuck fastening FORCAST to telescope FORCAST First Light to First Science 18 First Light to First Science 9

10 Cryogen transfers on the plane George and Luke in their LN2 transfer costumes FORCAST First Light to First Science 19 Example Flight: Galactic Center Early science flight limited to within 200 miles of NASA Dryden FORCAST First Light to First Science 20 First Light to First Science 10

important practice Observatory characterization flights 25-May-2010, 10-Nov-2010, 18-Nov-2010 Observatory operational and performance checkout High speed jitter measurements of bright stars Also

11 Flight Log. Preparation and flights consisted of the following: LineOps (Line Operations, 19 in total) Park plane on tarmac and look at stars Allowed end-to-end testing of H/W & S/W This provided extremely important practice Observatory characterization flights 25-May-2010, 10-Nov-2010, 18-Nov-2010 Observatory operational and performance checkout High speed jitter measurements of bright stars Also measured primary-secondary telescope emissivity Short Science flights 30-Nov-2010, 03-Dec-2010, 07-Dec-2010 Observed Jupiter, Comet Hartley 2, M42, W3, M82 + calibrators Basic Science flights (support of guest investigations) 10 flights: 05-May through 07-Jun-2011 FORCAST First Light to First Science 21 On the Tarmac for LineOps Left: Setting up the plane for a LineOp (line operation) Right: Door open, looking at an alignment and calibration star First Light to First Science 11

Preflight Safety Briefing I don t think Ryan believes

flight operations First photons ever collected on a

(May 25, 2010) Holgar, Randy, Andy, and Uli at work Jim

Assembly Characterization and First Light) = OCF#1

12 Preflight Safety Briefing I don t think Ryan believes him FORCAST First Light to First Science 23 TACFL: In flight operations First photons ever collected on a SOFIA flight! (May 25, 2010) Holgar, Randy, Andy, and Uli at work Jim and Joe (foreground), Alan (background) TACFL (Telescope Assembly Characterization and First Light) = OCF#1 (Observatory Characterization Flight #1) FORCAST First Light to First Science 24 First Light to First Science 12

FORCAST First Light to First Science 25 TACFL: First Science Integration

13 It s the plane that s moving Apparent motion of telescope as plane pitches, rolls, and yaws. FORCAST First Light to First Science 25 TACFL: First Science Integration M82 first chop-nod sequence: 24 m (left) and 37 m (right) FORCAST First Light to First Science 26 First Light to First Science 13

14 Example Flight Plan NASA Test Pilot quizzing me Boo Lyr Sgr A Sgr A Ceph Ceph Flights are 10 hours long but typically go by very quickly! Hans Zinnecker quizzing me FORCAST First Light to First Science 27 FORCAST Science Observations Sample Science Images Jupiter Orion and W3 star forming regions Pistol/Sickle region of Galactic Center Most luminous star in the galaxy? Circumnuclear disk around Sgr A* Feeding the monster? FORCAST First Light to First Science 28 First Light to First Science 14

Jupiter 11.1 m Raw 11.1 m Jupiter images right image has been rescaled to show Callisto and Io (and noise level) 5.4 11.1 19.7 24.2 31.5 37.

) FORCAST First Light to First Science 29 Orion Nebula Orion Nebula at the Sword of Orion is the closest region to the earth of Massive Star Formation Distance = 415 pc Both Optical stars

15 Jupiter 11.1 m Raw 11.1 m Jupiter images right image has been rescaled to show Callisto and Io (and noise level) Multi-wavelength imaging of Jupiter with FORCAST Peter Gierasch along with Barney Conrath and Jason Wang (CU undergrad) are analyzing and modeling the data (to look at H 2 ortho to para ratio, etc.) FORCAST First Light to First Science 29 Orion Nebula Orion Nebula at the Sword of Orion is the closest region to the earth of Massive Star Formation Distance = 415 pc Both Optical stars (Trapezium), embedded star formation (OMC 1/BNKL and OMC2) Observed at 6.4 (PAH), 6.6, 7.7 (PAH), 11.3 (PAH), 19.7, 31.4, and 37.1 m Science Objectives: Determine luminosity and spectral energy distribution (SED) of sources in the BNKL region (De Buizer et al. 2012, ApJL) Measure SED of Orion proplyds to look at disk termination (Shuping et al. 2012, ApJL) SED and properties of OMC2 embedded stars with disks (Adams et al. 2012,ApJL) FORCAST First Light to First Science 30 First Light to First Science 15

16 SOFIA: Orion Image Left: Visible (HST, O Dell and Wong), Middle: Near-IR (McCaughrean), Right: SOFIA 19.7 m (green) + 37 m (red) image KAO 38 um BN/KL Region Blue=19um Green=31um Red=37um SOFIA BN IRc2 IRc3 Source I (Stacey et al. 1995) IRc4 De Buizer et al. (2012) FORCAST First Light to First Science Background Image:Spitzer 32 First Light to First Science 16

W3: from previous to the present 19.7 m 20 m (Mt Wilson) 31.5 m 30 m (KAO) 37.

Middle: 20 m image from Wynn- Williams, et al. 1972 and FIR images from Werner et al. 1980.

galaxy (T eff ~ 14,000 K) Nebula is a result of mass loss from the star Ryan Lau working on paper discussing morphology

Circumnuclear ring Almost perfect r ~ 1.

17 W3: from previous to the present 19.7 m 20 m (Mt Wilson) 31.5 m 30 m (KAO) 37.1 m 50 m (KAO) Above left: Spitzer composite image at 3.6, 4.5, and 8.0 m of W3 (Ruch et al. 2007). Middle: 20 m image from Wynn- Williams, et al and FIR images from Werner et al Right: Images from SOFIA GC Science Pistol Nebula & Quintuplet Cluster Pistol star may be the most luminous star in our galaxy (T eff ~ 14,000 K) Nebula is a result of mass loss from the star Ryan Lau working on paper discussing morphology and dynamics of the nebula What is source of heating of the dust? What are the dynamics of the stellar winds in the region? Circumnuclear ring Almost perfect r ~ 1.5pc ring around the 4x10 6 M sun BH Thickness/Diameter ~ only 1/10; inclination to galaxy ~18 Clear color gradient seen across the ring: internally heated Probably by young stars interior to the ring Interesting structure on fine scales FORCAST First Light to First Science 34 First Light to First Science 17

18 The Galactic Center 120 lightyears SOFIA/FORCAST images at 19.7 (blue), 31.5 (green), 37.1 (red) m Radio image of Sgr A, pistol, sickle, filaments and arches At right are mulitcolor infrared images of two regions of the center of the Milky Way made from SOFIA. SgrA -CND 19.7 (blue), 31.5 (green), 37.1 (red) Mulitcolor image of circumnuclear disk (CND) in the Galactic Center. Scaling varies from left (scaled to central brightness) to right (scaled to emphasize ring) First Light to First Science 18

19 Experiences flying on SOFIA It has been both challenging and rewarding We are part of a making a highly complex system work But, of course, that is the point (to push new boundaries) At every stage things have worked better than (I personally) expected Observatory performance is quite good Would like continued image quality improvement Great team effort by everyone FORCAST First Light to First Science 37 Summary Science flights have been highly successful. 3 Short Science and 10 Basic Science have lots of publishable results Science breadth Wide range of programs covering planetary science, star formation, stellar evolution, the interstellar medium, and others. FORCAST niche will be Spatial resolution & wavelength coverage (Grism) spectroscopy (to be commissioned the next time FORCAST flies) FORCAST First Light to First Science 38 First Light to First Science 19

infrared (IR) Thermal IR wavelengths: ~ 2

20 What should you remember? Interstellar dust Emits primarily in the infrared (IR) Thermal IR wavelengths: ~ 2 m to ~ 200 m Atmospheric transmission Generally poor in the infrared Must get above (most of) the atmosphere to look at the sky Infrared emission Important for studying star forming regions Can see through dust to see newly born stars FORCAST First Light to First Science 39 Questions? First Light to First Science 20

CYCLE 1 SCIENCE STATUS AND HOW TO PROPOSE TIME ON SOFIA. Helen J. Hall¹, Erick T. Young¹, Hans Zinnecker²,³

CYCLE 1 SCIENCE STATUS AND HOW TO PROPOSE TIME ON SOFIA Helen J. Hall¹, Erick T. Young¹, Hans Zinnecker²,³ ¹SOFIA Science Center, Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames Research Center MS 232-12,