Newcomb: a POINTS precursor mission with scientific capacity

Robert D. Reasenberg; Robert W. Babcock; James D. Phillips; Kenneth J. Johnston; Richard S. Simon

doi:10.1117/12.155750

10 September 1993 Newcomb: a POINTS precursor mission with scientific capacity

Robert D. Reasenberg, Robert W. Babcock, James D. Phillips, Kenneth J. Johnston, Richard S. Simon

Proceedings Volume 1947, Spaceborne Interferometry; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.155750
Event: Optical Engineering and Photonics in Aerospace Sensing, 1993, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Newcomb is a design concept for an astrometric optical interferometer with nominal single- measurement accuracy of 100 microseconds of arc ((mu) as). In a three-year mission life, it will make scientifically interesting measurements of O-star, RR Lyrae, and Cepheid distances, establish a reference grid with internal consistency better than 100 (mu) as, and lay groundwork for the larger optical interferometers that are expected to produce a profusion of scientific results during the next century. With an extended mission life, Newcomb could do a useful search for other planetary systems. The instrument is a highly simplified variant of POINTS. It has three (or four) interferometers stacked one above the other. All three (four) optical axes lie on a great circle, which is also the nominal direction of astrometric sensitivity. The second and third axes are separated from the first by fixed 'observation angles' of 40.91 and 60.51 deg. The fourth axis would be at either 70.77 or 78.60 deg from the first. Each interferometer detects a dispersed fringe (channeled spectrum), which falls on a CCD detector array nominally 8 k elements long and a small number of elements wide. With a nominal baseline length of 30 cm and optical passband from 0.9 to 0.3 microns, the Nyquist limit is reached by a star +/- 21 arcmin from the optical axis. The instrument will be constructed of stable materials such as ULE glass, and have neither internal moving parts nor laser metrology.

Citation Download Citation

Robert D. Reasenberg, Robert W. Babcock, James D. Phillips, Kenneth J. Johnston, and Richard S. Simon "Newcomb: a POINTS precursor mission with scientific capacity", Proc. SPIE 1947, Spaceborne Interferometry, (10 September 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.155750

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

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available