|
Photometric
Sensitivity of SOFIA Telescope in
Comparison to other Missions

The above graph shows the photometric sensitivity
(the ability to detect faint sources) of SOFIA at wavelengths from
0.3 to 1000 µm, and also compares the sensitivity of SOFIA
with that of five other infrared missions: KAO, IRAS, ISO, SIRTF
and Herschel.
The fact that the curve for SOFIA lies under the curves
for the KAO and IRAS, and, at long wavelengths, under the curve
for ISO means that SOFIA will be more sensitive than these other
observatories, probing a substantially larger volume of the universe
for fainter objects.
See also Stratospheric
Obsevatory for Infrared Astronomy by E.F. Erickson and J.A.
Davidson; April, 1995
|