SAFIRE Spectral Resolution

These instrument sensitivity and resolution summaries are provided to permit estimating feasibility of scientific investigations using SOFIA's first light instruments.

SOFIA and all first light focal-plane instruments are now in development. All sensitivity and resolution data are preliminary, and based on anticipated performance of the observatory and the instruments. Actual performance of the SOFIA telescope and instrument combination will be established after flight operations begin. Telescope performance is expected to be upgraded during the first two years, and instrument performance may be upgraded, or additional modes or capabilities may be added.

PERFORMANCE ESTIMATES GIVEN HERE ARE BASED ON DATA SUPPLIED BY THE INSTRUMENT TEAMS. FURTHER DETAILS AND UPDATES MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE INSTRUMENT TEAM VIA THE CONTACT INFORMATION GIVEN ABOVE.

Back to Instrument Overview Page Download PDF of performance summary (3 pages) Performance Summary of Other SOFIA Instruments	SAFIRE Performance Summary last update: 05/303/02 SAFIRE = Submillimeter And Far-InfraRed Experiment: an imaging spectrograph using fixed and tunable Fabry-Perot filters to obtian very narrow-band images of a large field of view, in the wavelength range 150 to 650 microns. Typical spectral resolving power will be R ~ 1000, but values as hgh as 10,000 may be possible with special configurations for selected astrophysical lines.
	Table of Contents : SAFIRE Spectral Resolution SAFIRE Sensitivity SAFIRE Angular Resolution	Principal Investigator: Dr. S. Harvey Moseley, PI Infrared Astrophysics - Code 685 NASA / GSFC Greenbelt, MD 20771 dominic.benford@gsfc.nasa.gov
	These instrument sensitivity and resolution summaries are provided to permit estimating feasibility of scientific investigations using SOFIA's first light instruments. SOFIA and all first light focal-plane instruments are now in development. All sensitivity and resolution data are preliminary, and based on anticipated performance of the observatory and the instruments. Actual performance of the SOFIA telescope and instrument combination will be established after flight operations begin. Telescope performance is expected to be upgraded during the first two years, and instrument performance may be upgraded, or additional modes or capabilities may be added. PERFORMANCE ESTIMATES GIVEN HERE ARE BASED ON DATA SUPPLIED BY THE INSTRUMENT TEAMS. FURTHER DETAILS AND UPDATES MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE INSTRUMENT TEAM VIA THE CONTACT INFORMATION GIVEN ABOVE.

SAFIRE Performance Summary

last update: 05/303/02