The Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager (ETSI), a new instrument for rapid characterization of exoplanet atmospheres

Luke M. Schmidt; Mary Anne Limbach; Erika Cook; D. L. DePoy; Ryan J. Oelkers; J. L. Marshall; Landon Holcomb; Willians Pena; Jacob Purcell; Enrique Gonzalez Vega

doi:10.1117/12.2630196

29 August 2022 The Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager (ETSI), a new instrument for rapid characterization of exoplanet atmospheres

Luke M. Schmidt, Mary Anne Limbach, Erika Cook, D. L. DePoy, Ryan J. Oelkers, J. L. Marshall, Landon Holcomb, Willians Pena, Jacob Purcell, Enrique Gonzalez Vega

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12184, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IX; 1218486 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630196
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Conference Poster

Abstract

The Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager (ETSI) amalgamates a low resolution slitless prism spectrometer with custom multiband filters to simultaneously image 15 spectral bandpasses between 430 nm and 975 nm with an average spectral resolution of R = λ/∆λ ∼ 20. This enables a new technique, common-path multi-band imaging (CMI), used to observe transmission spectra of exoplanets transiting bright (V<14th mag.) stars. ETSI is capable of near photon limited observations, with a systematic noise floor on par with the Hubble Space Telescope and below the Earth’s atmospheric amplitude scintillation noise limit. We report the as-built instrument optical and optomechanical design, detectors, control system, telescope hardware and software interfaces, data reduction pipeline, and upcoming science observations. We discuss ETSI’s science capabilities and the results of our initial April 2022 commissioning run. ETSI requires only moderate telescope apertures (∼ 2 m) and is capable of characterizing the atmospheres of dozens of exoplanets per year, enabling selection of the most interesting targets for further characterization with other ground and space-based observatories.

Citation Download Citation

Luke M. Schmidt, Mary Anne Limbach, Erika Cook, D. L. DePoy, Ryan J. Oelkers, J. L. Marshall, Landon Holcomb, Willians Pena, Jacob Purcell, and Enrique Gonzalez Vega "The Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager (ETSI), a new instrument for rapid characterization of exoplanet atmospheres", Proc. SPIE 12184, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IX, 1218486 (29 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630196

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

;

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE