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Observing Photons in Space pp 261–281Cite as

Far-infrared imaging and spectroscopic instrumentation

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Part of the book series: ISSI Scientific Report Series ((ISSI,volume 9))

Abstract

The subject of the design and implementation of infrared space missions is briefly reviewed and the limitations imposed by the needs of requiring cryogenic instruments and telescopes introduced. We give an introduction to direct detection techniques for imaging and spectroscopy and review the current state of the art in instrumentation and detector technology. We discuss the history of space-borne infrared missions dedicated to photometric surveys, imaging and spectroscopy over the 5 μm to 700 μm waveband starting with the ground-breaking IRAS mission launched in 1983 and going up to the latest mission, Herschel, launched in May 2009. This mission also makes use of heterodyne techniques for very high spectral resolution. We review the principle of heterodyne detection and briefly describe the HIFI instrument on Herschel and how it takes the subject of high-resolution spectroscopy into a new era.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The 3.5 m Herschel telescope, launched on 14 May 2009, has reduced the gap, but still does not reach the resolution achieved by the major ground-based facilities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University College London, Gower Street, London, UK

    Bruce Swinyard

  2. Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Innovation Campus, Chilton, UK

    Bruce Swinyard

  3. European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany

    Wolfgang Wild

  4. SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Groningen, Netherlands

    Wolfgang Wild

Authors
  1. Bruce Swinyard
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  2. Wolfgang Wild
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, Switzerland

    Martin C. E. Huber , Anuschka Pauluhn  & Alex Zehnder ,  & 

  2. Mullard Space Science Lab, University College London, Dorking, Surrey, UK

    J. Len Culhane

  3. Nightsen, Inc., Tiverton, Rhode Island, USA

    J. Gethyn Timothy

  4. Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany

    Klaus Wilhelm

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Swinyard, B., Wild, W. (2013). Far-infrared imaging and spectroscopic instrumentation. In: Huber, M.C.E., Pauluhn, A., Culhane, J.L., Timothy, J.G., Wilhelm, K., Zehnder, A. (eds) Observing Photons in Space. ISSI Scientific Report Series, vol 9. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7804-1_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7804-1_14

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7803-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7804-1

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