1. SOFIA — The Observatory
open cavity (door not shown)
Educator work stations
pressure bulkhead
Scientist work stations, telescope and instrument control, etc.
TELESCOPE
scientific instrument (1 of 7)

2. SOFIA Light Path Spherical Hydraulic Bearing Light Tube
Incoming Infrared Light
Secondary Mirror
Infrared Light Mirror
Visible Light Mirror
Spherical Hydraulic Bearing
Light Tube
Infrared Instrument
Visible Light Camera
Primary Mirror

3. Representing the resolution of a 90-cm (36-inch) telescope
DIFFRACTION: larger telescope produces sharper images
Representing the resolution of a 90-cm (36-inch) telescope
… versus a 250 cm
(100-inch) telescope

4. SOFIA’s newly-aluminized primary mirror

5. Putting it together: L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, Waco, Texas
The Partners Program is to support SOFIA-affiliated people (scientists, engineers, technicians, etc.) in partnerships with teachers in their own communities.

6. Telescope Cavity, with Door open

7. “Line Ops” (ground tests)
The Partners Program is to support SOFIA-affiliated people (scientists, engineers, technicians, etc.) in partnerships with teachers in their own communities.

8. First 100%-Open Door Test Flight December 2009
The Partners Program is to support SOFIA-affiliated people (scientists, engineers, technicians, etc.) in partnerships with teachers in their own communities.

9. The telescope: Floating on spherical bearing; Orientation/position sensed by gyroscopes/GPS; Optical TV cameras view field around target
The Partners Program is to support SOFIA-affiliated people (scientists, engineers, technicians, etc.) in partnerships with teachers in their own communities.

11. The SOFIA Telescope
Inside the Cabin
Exposed to the Sky

12. Acoustic Power Spectrum Density (PSD) versus frequency
Aero-acoustics (1)
Acoustic Power Spectrum Density (PSD) versus frequency

13. Telescope Pointing Stability

14. Image Quality (PSF size)
Point source image size in focal plane versus wavelength

15. SOFIA’s Advantages
What does SOFIA do that the Hubble Space Telescope can’t?
SOFIA can easily study:
> IR: objects much cooler than normal stars like the Sun
for example: stars and planets in the process of forming;
> IR: objects embedded in, or behind, opaque ISM dust clouds;
SOFIA’s instruments can see into and through those clouds
> IR: organic molecules in space, which have many of their spectral lines and bands at infrared wavelengths;
> Mobility: Foreground solar system objects as they occult background stars.

16. SOFIA’s advantages, cont’
What are SOFIA’s capabilities relative to the Spitzer infrared space telescope?
SOFIA’s telescope mirror is 3x larger than Spitzer’s, so
> SOFIA can see details 3x smaller
> SOFIA can resolve objects in 9x more crowded regions
SOFIA has more instruments than Spitzer (7 versus 3), so:
> SOFIA has more ways to analyze a wider range of wavelengths
> SOFIA will have 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-generation instruments
SOFIA has a design lifetime of 20 years, versus Spitzer’s 5 years (limited by cryogen supply)

17. SOFIA’s First-generation Scientific Instruments
The 7 first-generation instruments cover the full IR range with
imagers and low-to-high resolution spectrographs (
website contains detailed information on passbands, sensitivities, spatial & spectral resolution, and observing modes.

19. First four instruments …
FORCAST
mid-IR
camera
(Cornell)
GREAT far-IR heterodyne spectrometer (MPIfR)
HIPO
optical
high-speed
photometer
(Lowell
Observatory)
FLITECAM
near-IR
camera
(UCLA)

20. GREAT far-IR spectrometer =>
FORCAST mid-IR
<= camera

21. SOFIA’s Scientific Instruments
FORCAST (camera; Cornell)
GREAT (spectrometer; Germany) 2011
HIPO (photometer; Lowell Obs.) 2011
FLITECAM (camera; UCLA)
FIFI LS (spectrometer; DSI)
HAWC (camera; U. Chicago)
EXES (spectrometer; Ames/UC-Davis) 2014 21 21

22. Cycle 1 (Nov.’12 – Dec.13) Instrument Capabilities
FORCAST
Facility Class Infrared Camera
Imaging modes fully supported in Facility Instrument Mode mm
GRISM spectroscopy will be offered with resolutions of typically a few hundred (see SOFIA web site) on a shared risk basis
GREAT
Principal Investigator Class Spectrometer
L1a/b and L2 modes offered ( Likely L1 and L2 )
GO and GREAT team collaborate after selection
FLITECAM
Facility Class Instrument
Imaging modes will be fully supported after commissioning
GRISM spectroscopy ( R~2000) offered as shared risk
HIPO/ FLIPO
Special purpose instrument
Requires collaboration with instrument PI