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AMICA: the Antarctic Mid-Infrared CAmera for the IRAIT telescope
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2006
Abstract
We report a preliminary study of the main focal plane instrument for the IRAIT telescope, currently being built at INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Teramo. The basic requirements are those of a remotely-controlled camera aimed to perform 10- and 20-μm photometry from Dome-C in the standard bandpasses N and Q. Starting from the site properties and the science goals, the main components of AMICA (Antarctic Mid-Infrared CAmera) are described: a Si:As BIB array detector, sensitive in the range 2–28 μm; a fully reflective optical design; a cryostat modified in order to work at the extreme environmental conditions of the antarctic plateau; a cryocooler maintaining the operating temperature of 4.2 K without external intervention; an automatized and flexible control electronics. AMICA is designed to fully exploit the unique mid-infrared observing conditions at Dome-C.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- European Astronomical Society Publications Series , Volume 14: Dome C Astronomy and Astrophysics Meeting , 2005 , pp. 337 - 342
- Copyright
- © EAS, EDP Sciences, 2005
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