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FORCAST - Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope

PI: Dr. Terry Herter (Cornell University)

FORCAST has two channels, the Short Wavelength Channel (SWC) and the Long Wavelength Channel (LWC). There are nine filters available for the SWC, and two for the LWC. The list of filters is as follows (click on the name/wavelength for the transmission curve):

SWC

5.6µm
6.3µm
6.6µm
7.6µm
8.6µm
11.0µm
11.3µm
12.3µm
19.5µm

LWC

30.6µm
38.0µm

For Basic Science observations, FORCAST can be used in either single channel or dual channel mode. For the dual channel mode, a dichroic is used to split the incident light between the short and long wavelength arrays. In this mode, one of the following SWC filters: 11.0, 11.3, 12.3, 19.5µm, can be used at the same time as either of the two LWC filters. All the SWC filters can be used in single channel mode, as can the LWC 30.6µm filter. Currently, the 38.0µm filter requires the dichroic to block short wavelength light leaks and therefore has to be used in dual channel mode only.

List of filters with central wavelengths and wavelength ranges

FORCAST sensitivities for Basic Science

The exposure time for proposed observations can be calculated using the online tool, SITE.

A more detailed description of FORCAST, and the FORCAST team can be found in the instrument web page.

Page Last Updated: April 3, 2009