SIRTF First Look Survey: Characterizing the Mid-Infrared Sky

Abstract.

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is the final element in NASA’s Great Observatories Program and will be launched in July, 2002. The science capabilities include imaging and photometry from $3-180 \mu$m, spectroscopy from $5-40 \mu$m, and spectrophotometry from $50-100 \mu$m. The First Look Survey (FLS) will be the first science program executed after the commissioning of the observing modes. The primary goals of the $\sim 100$-hour survey are to provide a characteristic “first-look” at the mid-infrared sky at sensitivities up to 100 times deeper than previous systematic large area surveys. The data will be rapidly processed and placed in the public domain in time to impact early SIRTF investigations.