Studying a simple TPF-C

John Krist; John Trauger; Dwight Moody

doi:10.1117/12.672386

7 July 2006 Studying a simple TPF-C

John Krist, John Trauger, Dwight Moody

Proceedings Volume 6265, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation I: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter; 62653O (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672386
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2006, Orlando, Florida , United States

Abstract

The NASA Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph (TPF-C) mission envisions using a space telescope with an approximately 8 m by 3 m diameter primary mirror to image and spectroscopically characterize at visible wavelengths Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars. Such terrestrial planets have intensities of 10^-10 relative to their stars at separations of a fraction of an arcsecond, requiring extremely high-contrast imaging capabilities. A simple optical system with a minimal number of surfaces will likely have the best chance to image a very faint source near a bright star. A proposed version of a TPF-C integrated starlight suppression system and camera called SpeckleCam encompasses such a design. It incorporates two high-density deformable mirrors to control phase and amplitude wavefront errors, a coronagraph to suppress the stellar diffraction pattern, and simultaneous imaging in three passbands. We use the SpeckleCam concept to examine the utility of the PROPER modeling package, a set of IDL routines that simulate wavefront propagation in an optical system.

Citation Download Citation

John Krist, John Trauger, and Dwight Moody "Studying a simple TPF-C", Proc. SPIE 6265, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation I: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter, 62653O (7 July 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672386

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