NIFTE: The near Infrared Faint-Object Telescope Experiment

Abstract

The high sensitivity of large format InSb arrays can be used to obtain deep images of the sky at 3–5 µm. In this spectral range cool or highly redshifted objects (e.g. brown dwarfs and protogalaxies) which are not visible at shorter wavelengths may be observed. Sensitivity at these wavelengths in ground-based observations is severely limited by the thermal flux from the telescope and from the earth’s atmosphere. The Near Infrared Faint-Object Telescope Experiment (NIFTE), a 50 cm cooled rocket-borne telescope combined with large format, high performance InSb arrays, can reach a limiting flux < 1 µJy (1σ) over a large field-of-view in a single flight. In comparison, ISO will require days of observation to reach a sensitivity more than one order of magnitude worse over a similar area of the sky. The deep 3–5 µm images obtained by the rocket-borne telescope will assist in determining the nature of faint red objects detected by ground-based telescopes at 2 µm, and by ISO at wavelengths longer than 5 µm.