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Herschel out-of-field stray-light characterization

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Abstract

Out-of-field stray-light spots of the Herschel telescope optics relative to the PACS and SPIRE instrument apertures were modeled by ray tracing simulations with the Advanced Systems Analysis Program (ASAP, by Breault Research Organization) prior to launch. The predicted stray-light behaviour was verified by dedicated stray-light calibration observations in-flight. This resulted in a special feature of the Herschel Science Mission Planning Software, marking the sky positions of stray-light spots by the very bright infrared planetary sources Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, as well as the Moon, thus avoiding contamination of scientific photometric observations by out-of-field stray-light of these sources.

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Acknowledgments

The Herschel spacecraft was designed, built, tested, and launched under a contract to ESA managed by the Herschel/Planck Project team by an industrial consortium under the overall responsibility of the prime contractor Thales Alenia Space (Cannes), and including Astrium (Friedrichshafen) responsible for the payload module and for system testing at spacecraft level, Thales Alenia Space (Turin) responsible for the service module, and Astrium (Toulouse) responsible for the telescope, with in excess of a hundred sub-contractors.

PACS has been developed by a consortium of institutes led by MPE (Germany) and including UVIE (Austria); KUL Leuven, CSL, IMEC (Belgium); CEA, LAM (France); MPIA (Germany); INAF-IFSI/OAA/OAP/OAT, LENS, SISSA (Italy); IAC (Spain). This development and the operation of the PACS Instrument Control Centre, planning the calibration observations, analyzing and documenting the measurements and supporting the mission planning stray-light protection has been supported by the funding agencies BMVIT (Austria), ESA-PRODEX (Belgium), CEA/CNES (France), DLR (Germany), ASI/INAF (Italy), and CICYT/MCYT (Spain).

SPIRE has been developed by a consortium of institutes led by Cardiff Univ. (UK) and including Univ. Lethbridge (Canada); NAOC (China); CEA, LAM (France); IFSI, Univ. Padua (Italy); IAC (Spain); Stockholm Observatory (Sweden); Imperial College London, RAL, UCL-MSSL, UKATC, Univ. Sussex (UK); Caltech, JPL, NHSC, Univ. Colorado (USA). This development has been supported by national funding agencies: CSA (Canada); NAOC (China); CEA, CNES, CNRS (France); ASI (Italy); MCINN (Spain); SNSB (Sweden); STFC (UK); and NASA (USA).

We thank the referee for constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany

    U. Klaas

  2. Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, IRFU, Orme des Merisiers, Bât. 709, 91191, Gif/Yvette, France

    K. Okumura

  3. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, UK

    M. Ferlet

  4. Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstraße, 85748, Garching, Germany

    T. Müller

  5. Herschel Science Centre, ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28691, Madrid, Spain

    M. Sanchez-Portal & B. Altieri

  6. ESA Scientific Projects Department, ESTEC/SRE-P, Keplerlaan 1, 2201, AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

    D. Doyle

  7. ESA Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC/SRE-SA, Keplerlaan 1, 2201, AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

    G. L. Pilbratt

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  1. U. Klaas
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  2. K. Okumura
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  3. M. Ferlet
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  4. T. Müller
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  5. M. Sanchez-Portal
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  6. B. Altieri
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  7. D. Doyle
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  8. G. L. Pilbratt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to U. Klaas.

Additional information

Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

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Klaas, U., Okumura, K., Ferlet, M. et al. Herschel out-of-field stray-light characterization. Exp Astron 37, 331–345 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-013-9362-1

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