Optimizing NIRCam coronagraphy: performance and science operations

Julien H. Girard; Mario Gennaro; Armin Rest; Jarron Leisenring; Bryan Hilbert; Alicia Canipe; Martha Boyer; David Golimowski; Tony Sohn; Ananya Sahoo; Ben Sunnquist; Brian Brooks; Anton M Koekemoer; Vera Kozhurina-Platais; Justin R Pierel; Aarynn Carter; John Stansberry; Marshall Perrin; Laurent Pueyo; William Balmer; Jens Kammerer; Kellen Lawson; Ell Bogat; Jason Wang; Marcia Rieke

doi:10.1117/12.3020243

24 August 2024 Optimizing NIRCam coronagraphy: performance and science operations

Julien H. Girard, Mario Gennaro, Armin Rest, Jarron Leisenring, Bryan Hilbert, Alicia Canipe, Martha Boyer, David Golimowski, Tony Sohn, Ananya Sahoo, Ben Sunnquist, Brian Brooks, Anton M Koekemoer, Vera Kozhurina-Platais, Justin R Pierel, Aarynn Carter, John Stansberry, Marshall Perrin, Laurent Pueyo, William Balmer, Jens Kammerer, Kellen Lawson, Ell Bogat, Jason Wang, Marcia Rieke

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 1309251 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020243
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

NIRCam Coronagraphy was declared ready for science in the early summer 2022. Several impactful science results have since been obtained using the NIRCam coronagraphs, mainly on known exoplanetary systems. In this contribution we give an update on all improvements we have implemented to make this mode more efficient and perform better. With tight timing constraints in commissioning, we focused on the long wavelengths occulter MASK335R. Here we describe how we improved the target acquisition for all five masks, the distortion correction and global alignment, the absolute flux calibration, etc. We also implemented the default dual channel operations mid-Cycle 1 (simultaneous short and long wavelengths). While not trivial, this new capability improves the efficiency and the impact NIRCam Coronagraphy can have in the field of exoplanets. We discuss the current on-sky contrasts and astrometric performances which are now better understood and can be compared to other high contrast facilities. We demonstrate that NIRCam Coronagraphy is transformative in characterizing known objects but also discovering colder and/or more mature exoplanets.

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Julien H. Girard, Mario Gennaro, Armin Rest, Jarron Leisenring, Bryan Hilbert, Alicia Canipe, Martha Boyer, David Golimowski, Tony Sohn, Ananya Sahoo, Ben Sunnquist, Brian Brooks, Anton M Koekemoer, Vera Kozhurina-Platais, Justin R Pierel, Aarynn Carter, John Stansberry, Marshall Perrin, Laurent Pueyo, William Balmer, Jens Kammerer, Kellen Lawson, Ell Bogat, Jason Wang, and Marcia Rieke "Optimizing NIRCam coronagraphy: performance and science operations", Proc. SPIE 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 1309251 (24 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020243

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