The Star Formation Observatory (SFO) mission to study cosmic origins near and far

Paul A. Scowen; Rolf Jansen; Matthew Beasley; Brian Cooke; Shouleh Nikzad; Oswald Siegmund; Robert Woodruff; Daniela Calzetti; Steven Desch; Alex Fullerton; John Gallagher; Sangeeta Malhotra; Mark McCaughrean; Robert O'Connell; Sally Oey; Debbie Padgett; James Rhoads; Aki Roberge; Nathan Smith; Daniel Stern; Jason Tumlinson; Rogier Windhorst

doi:10.1117/12.788038

12 July 2008 The Star Formation Observatory (SFO) mission to study cosmic origins near and far

Paul A. Scowen, Rolf Jansen, Matthew Beasley, Brian Cooke, Shouleh Nikzad, Oswald Siegmund, Robert Woodruff, Daniela Calzetti, Steven Desch, Alex Fullerton, John Gallagher, Sangeeta Malhotra, Mark McCaughrean, Robert O'Connell, Sally Oey, Debbie Padgett, James Rhoads, Aki Roberge, Nathan Smith, Daniel Stern, Jason Tumlinson, Rogier Windhorst

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7010, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter; 70103Z (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.788038
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

The Star Formation Observatory (SFO) is a 1.65m space telescope that addresses pivotal components in the 2007 NASA Science Plan, with a primary focus on Cosmic Origins. The design under consideration provides 100 times greater imaging efficiency and >10 times greater spectroscopic efficiency below 115 nm than existed on previous missions. The mission has a well-defined Origins scientific program at its heart: a statistically significant survey of local, intermediate, and high-redshift sites and indicators of star formation, to investigate and understand the range of environments, feedback mechanisms, and other factors that most affect the outcome of the star and planet formation process. This program relies on focused capabilities unique to space and that no other planned NASA mission will provide: near- UV/visible (20-1100 nm) wide-field, diffraction-limited imaging; and high-efficiency, low- and high- resolution (R~40,000) UV (100-175 nm) spectroscopy using far-UV optimized coatings and recent advances in Micro-Channel Plate (MCP) detector technology. The Observatory imager has a field of view in excess of 17' × 17' (>250 arcmin²) and uses a dichroic to create optimized UV/blue and red/near-IR channels for simultaneous observations, employing detectors that offer substantial quantum efficiency gains and that suffer lower losses due to cosmic rays.

Citation Download Citation

Paul A. Scowen, Rolf Jansen, Matthew Beasley, Brian Cooke, Shouleh Nikzad, Oswald Siegmund, Robert Woodruff, Daniela Calzetti, Steven Desch, Alex Fullerton, John Gallagher, Sangeeta Malhotra, Mark McCaughrean, Robert O'Connell, Sally Oey, Debbie Padgett, James Rhoads, Aki Roberge, Nathan Smith, Daniel Stern, Jason Tumlinson, and Rogier Windhorst "The Star Formation Observatory (SFO) mission to study cosmic origins near and far", Proc. SPIE 7010, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter, 70103Z (12 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.788038

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

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
12 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Stars

Galactic astronomy

Sensors

Spectroscopy

Imaging spectroscopy

Observatories

Quantum efficiency

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years