SPHEREx
(Spectro-photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer)
(all-sky spectral survey space-mission plan)
SPHEREx (for Spectro-photometer for the History of the Universe, epoch of reionization, and Ices Explorer)
is a planned NASA Medium-class Explorer Program (MIDEX) space mission for
a telescope and spectrograph
to survey the whole sky
in the near infrared.
The current plan is an April 2025 launch.
It is a NASA MIDEX (Medium-class Explorers Program)
project for a 20-cm telescope and spectrograph
with a wide field of view and an angular resolution of 6.2 arcseconds,
with spectrography covering a
wavelength-range of 0.75 to 5.0 micrometers
with spectral resolutions ranging from 41 to 130.
It would operate in a low, polar Earth orbit for two years,
completing an all-sky survey each 6 months.
The spectrography is accomplished with filters effectively
covering enough channels to produce the spectral resolution: they
are linearly variable filters, which vary in the band
they allow across one direction. The sky will be continuously
scanned so that at any instant, portions of the captured image are
capturing different wavelengths. The spacecraft design minimizes
moving parts.
It is aimed at a number of scientific goals for which such a survey
is useful, including more data regarding the history of large scale structures and
galaxy formation as well as measurement of the water in
molecular clouds that could contribute to habitable
extra-solar planets. It is expected that it will uncover some
gravitational lensing, and that cross correlation
with data from other surveys will confirm Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects and gravitational
lensing effects and use correlations to produce new information
about large scale structure.
(survey,spectrography,spacecraft,NASA,all sky,near infrared,construction)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPHEREx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorers_Program
http://spherex.caltech.edu/
https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.07039
https://arxiv.org/abs/1805.05489
https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/projects/SPHEREx/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7336
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/meetings/jun2019/presentations/Lisse.pdf
https://indico.flatironinstitute.org/event/121/contributions/752/attachments/151/243/tzu_chang_-_SPHEREx_lim.pdf
WaveL | Freq | Photon Energy | | |
0.75μm | 400THz | 1.7eV | begin | SPHEREx |
5μm | 60THz | 248meV | end | SPHEREx |
|
Referenced by pages:
Cosmic Dawn Intensity Mapper (CDIM)
FINESSE
linearly variable filter (LVF)
PUNCH
Index