Multi-Object Infrared Camera and Spectrograph (MOIRCS) for the Subaru Telescope* I. Imaging

MOIRCS is a fully cryogenic near-infrared instrument for the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. MOIRCS has two observation modes: a wide-field imaging mode and a multiobject spectroscopy mode. This paper describes the imaging mode, its specifications, and actual performances that we confirmed through laboratory tests and commissioning observations. The imaging mode provides a 40 70 field of view with a pixel scale of 0:00117 pixel 1 in the wavelength range of 0.85 to 2.5 m using cooled optics and two 2048 2048 HgCdTe HAWAII-2 focal plane arrays. Good-quality images are obtained over the entire field of view with practically no chromatic aberration. The limiting magnitudes for a point source estimated from observed background brightness and throughput are 23.7 in the J band, 23.0 in the H band, and 22.6 in the Ks band (Vega) with S=N = 5, 0:005 seeing, 1:000 aperture, and 1 hr exposure.

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