Journal article
FIREBall-2: The Faint Intergalactic Medium Redshifted Emission Balloon Telescope
The Astrophysical journal, Vol.898(2), p.170
08/01/2020
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aba1e0
Abstract
The Faint Intergalactic Medium Redshifted Emission Balloon (FIREBall) is a mission designed to observe faint emission from the circumgalactic medium of moderate-redshift (z ∼ 0.7) galaxies for the first time. FIREBall observes a component of galaxies that plays a key role in how galaxies form and evolve, likely contains a significant amount of baryons, and has only recently been observed at higher redshifts in the visible. Here we report on the 2018 flight of the FIREBall-2 Balloon telescope, which occurred on 2018 September 22 from Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The flight was the culmination of a complete redesign of the spectrograph from the original FIREBall fiber-fed integral field unit to a wide-field multiobject spectrograph. The flight was terminated early owing to a hole in the balloon, and our original science objectives were not achieved. The overall sensitivity of the instrument and telescope was 90,000 LU, due primarily to increased noise from stray light. We discuss the design of the FIREBall-2 spectrograph, including modifications from the original FIREBall payload, and provide an overview of the performance of all systems. We were able to successfully flight-test a new pointing control system, a UV-optimized, delta-doped, and coated electron multiplying CCD, and an aspheric grating. The FIREBall-2 team is rebuilding the payload for another flight attempt in the fall of 2021, delayed from 2020 as a result of COVID-19.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- FIREBall-2: The Faint Intergalactic Medium Redshifted Emission Balloon Telescope
- Creators
- Erika Hamden - University of ArizonaD. Christopher Martin - California Institute of TechnologyBruno Milliard - Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de MarseilleDavid Schiminovich - Columbia UniversityShouleh Nikzad - Jet Propulsion LaboratoryJean Evrard - Centre National d'Études SpatialesGillian Kyne - Jet Propulsion LaboratoryRobert Grange - Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de MarseilleJohan Montel - Centre National d'Études SpatialesEtienne Pirot - Centre National d'Études SpatialesKeri Hoadley - California Institute of TechnologyDonal O'Sullivan - California Institute of TechnologyNicole Melso - Columbia UniversityVincent Picouet - Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de MarseilleDidier Vibert - Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de MarseillePhilippe Balard - Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de MarseillePatrick Blanchard - Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de MarseilleMarty Crabill - California Institute of TechnologySandrine Pascal - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies AlternativesFrederi Mirc - Centre National d'Études SpatialesNicolas Bray - Centre National d'Études SpatialesApril Jewell - Jet Propulsion LaboratoryJulia Blue Bird - Columbia UniversityJose Zorilla - Columbia UniversityHwei Ru Ong - Columbia UniversityMateusz Matuszewski - California Institute of TechnologyNicole Lingner - California Institute of TechnologyRamona Augustin - Space Telescope Science InstituteMichele Limon - University of PennsylvaniaAlbert Gomes - Centre National d'Études SpatialesPierre Tapie - Centre National d'Études SpatialesXavier Soors - Centre National d'Études SpatialesIsabelle Zenone - Centre National d'Études SpatialesMuriel Saccoccio - Centre National d'Études Spatiales
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Astrophysical journal, Vol.898(2), p.170
- DOI
- 10.3847/1538-4357/aba1e0
- ISSN
- 0004-637X
- eISSN
- 1538-4357
- Publisher
- The American Astronomical Society
- Number of pages
- 17
- Grant note
- NNH18ZDA001N- APRA / NASA
- Alternative title
- FIREBall-2: The Faint Intergalactic Medium Redshifted Emission Balloon Telescope
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/01/2020
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984428764902771
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