COLD CORONAGRAPH FOR PLANETARY OBSERVATIONS

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PRODUCE AN INSTRUMENT FOR ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS OF SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS IN THE THERMAL INFRARED REGION (5-30MUM), USING AN OPTICAL SYSTEM THAT IS CAPABLE OF RECONSTRUCTING AN IMAGE (WITH MOVABLE APODIZING MASKS) OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION COLLECTED BY A GROUND-BASED ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE. THE OPPORTUNITY IS TO APPLY TECHNIQUES, PREVIOUSLY USED AT VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS, IN AN INFRARED INSTRUMENT THAT REQUIRES DIFFERENT OPTICAL MATERIALS AND, MOST IMPORTANT, COLD OPTICS TO UTILIZE FULLY THE HIGH SENSITIVITY OF CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-ART IR ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTATION. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO DEVELOP A DETAILED CONCEPTUAL DESIGN THAT WILL SHOW THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AND TESTING AN OPERATING PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT UNDER PHASE II. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PRODUCE AN INSTRUMENT FOR ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS OF SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS IN THE THERMAL INFRARED REGION (5-30MUM), USING AN OPTICAL SYSTEM THAT IS CAPABLE OF RECONSTRUCTING AN IMAGE (WITH MOVABLE APODIZING MASKS) OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION COLLECTED BY A GROUND-BASED ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE. THE OPPORTUNITY IS TO APPLY TECHNIQUES, PREVIOUSLY USED AT VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS, IN AN INFRARED INSTRUMENT THAT REQUIRES DIFFERENT OPTICAL MATERIALS AND, MOST IMPORTANT, COLD OPTICS TO UTILIZE FULLY THE HIGH SENSITIVITY OF CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-ART IR ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTATION. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO DEVELOP A DETAILED CONCEPTUAL DESIGN THAT WILL SHOW THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AND TESTING AN OPERATING PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT UNDER PHASE II.