The JWST Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) and Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS)

René Doyon; John B. Hutchings; Mathilde Beaulieu; Loic Albert; David Lafrenière; Chris Willott; Driss Touahri; Neil Rowlands; Micheal Maszkiewicz; Alex W. Fullerton; Kevin Volk; André R. Martel; Pierre Chayer; Anand Sivaramakrishnan; Roberto Abraham; Laura Ferrarese; Ray Jayawardhana; Doug Johnstone; Michael Meyer; Judith L. Pipher; Marcin Sawicki

doi:10.1117/12.926578

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21 September 2012 The JWST Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) and Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS)

René Doyon, John B. Hutchings, Mathilde Beaulieu, Loic Albert, David Lafrenière, Chris Willott, Driss Touahri, Neil Rowlands, Micheal Maszkiewicz, Alex W. Fullerton, Kevin Volk, André R. Martel, Pierre Chayer, Anand Sivaramakrishnan, Roberto Abraham, Laura Ferrarese, Ray Jayawardhana, Doug Johnstone, Michael Meyer, Judith L. Pipher, Marcin Sawicki

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Proceedings Volume 8442, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 84422R (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926578
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

The Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) is one of the four science instruments on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). FGS features two modules: an infrared camera dedicated to fine guiding of the observatory and a science camera module, the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) covering the wavelength range between 0.7 and 5.0 μm with a field of view of 2.2' X 2.2'. NIRISS has four observing modes: 1) broadband imaging featuring seven of the eight NIRCam broadband filters, 2) wide-field slitless spectroscopy at a resolving power of rv150 between 1 and 2.5 μm, 3) single-object cross-dispersed slitless spectroscopy enabling simultaneous wavelength coverage between 0. 7 and 2.5 μm at Rrv660, a mode optimized for transit spectroscopy of relatively bright (J > 7) stars and, 4) sparse aperture interferometric imaging between 3.8 and 4.8 μm enabling high contrast ("' 10^-4) imaging of M < 8 point sources at angular separations between 70 and 500 milliarcsec. This paper presents an overview of the FGS/NIRISS design with a focus on the scientific capabilities and performance offered by NIRISS.

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René Doyon, John B. Hutchings, Mathilde Beaulieu, Loic Albert, David Lafrenière, Chris Willott, Driss Touahri, Neil Rowlands, Micheal Maszkiewicz, Alex W. Fullerton, Kevin Volk, André R. Martel, Pierre Chayer, Anand Sivaramakrishnan, Roberto Abraham, Laura Ferrarese, Ray Jayawardhana, Doug Johnstone, Michael Meyer, Judith L. Pipher, and Marcin Sawicki "The JWST Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) and Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS)", Proc. SPIE 8442, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 84422R (21 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926578

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