Performance of the GHRS Pt-Ne hollow-cathode lamps after their return from space and comparison with archival data

The Space Telescope European Co-ordinating Facility (ST-ECF) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are collaborating to study hollow cathode calibration lamps as used onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). As part of the STIS Calibration Enhancement (STIS-CE) Project we are trying to improve our understanding of the performance of hollow cathode lamps and the physical processes involved in their long term operation. The original flight lamps from the Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) and the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) are the only lamps that have ever been returned to Earth after extended operation in space. We have taken spectra of all four lamps using NIST's 10.7-m normal-incidence spectrograph and Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) optimized for use in the ultraviolet (UV). These spectra, together with spectra archived from six years of on-orbit operations and pre-launch spectra, provide a unique data set--covering a period of about 20 years--for studying aging effects in these lamps. Our findings represent important lessons for the choice and design of calibration sources and their operation in future UV and optical spectrographs in space. Our results will be directly used for planning science operations of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) which is going to be installed on the HST during the next servicing mission.

[1]  James C. Green,et al.  Cosmic Origins Spectrograph , 2000, Optics + Photonics.

[2]  Dennis C. Ebbets,et al.  THE GODDARD HIGH RESOLUTION SPECTROGRAPH: INSTRUMENT, GOALS, AND SCIENCE RESULTS , 1994 .

[3]  Jules Z. Klose,et al.  Radiance of a Pt/Cr-Ne hollow cathode spectral line source. , 1987, Applied optics.

[4]  P. Bristow,et al.  STIS Calibration Enhancement: Wavelength Calibration and CTI , 2006 .

[5]  H. Rix,et al.  Calibrating and Understanding HST and ESO Instruments , 1995 .

[6]  Michael R. Rosa,et al.  Spectral Characterization of HST Calibration Lamps {?} New Pt/Cr-Ne Line Catalogues and Ageing Test, ed. by G. Hasinger and M.J. Turner , 2004 .

[7]  E. A. Beaver,et al.  The Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph: Post-COSTAR Characteristics , 1998 .

[8]  G. H. Mount,et al.  Compact far ultraviolet emission source with rich spectral emission 1150-3100 A. , 1977, Applied optics.

[9]  Anne P. Thorne,et al.  A Fourier transform spectrometer for the vacuum ultraviolet: design and performance , 1987 .

[10]  Paul Bristow,et al.  Characterization of Pt/Cr-Ne Hollow-Cathode Lamps for Wavelength Standards in Space Astronomy , 2006 .

[11]  Lee D. Feinberg,et al.  The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Design , 1998 .

[12]  M. R. Rosa,et al.  Modeling echelle spectrographs , 1997 .

[13]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[14]  Florian Kerber,et al.  Performance of the FOS and GHRS Pt / ( Cr )-Ne Hollow-cathode Lamps after their Return from Space and Comparison with Archival Data , 2006 .

[15]  Florian Kerber,et al.  STIS Calibration Enhancement - two Unusual Visits to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum , 2004 .

[16]  Mark Clampin,et al.  The On-Orbit Performance of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph , 1998 .

[17]  J. Reader,et al.  Atlas of the Spectrum of a Platinum/Neon Hollow-Cathode Lamp in the Region 1130-4330 {?} , 1992 .

[18]  George F. Hartig,et al.  Characterization of a Pt-Ne hollow cathode spectral line source. , 1990, Applied optics.

[19]  Paul Bristow,et al.  STIS Calibration Enhancement (STIS-CE) : Dispersion Solutions Based on a Physical Instrument Model , 2006 .

[20]  E. A. Beaver,et al.  THE GODDARD HIGH RESOLUTION SPECTROGRAPH: IN-ORBIT PERFORMANCE , 1995 .

[21]  John E. Fitch,et al.  Faint object spectrograph early performance , 1991, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[22]  Craig J. Sansonetti,et al.  Wavelengths and intensities of a platinum/neon hollow cathode lamp in the region 1100-4000 Å , 1990 .

[23]  R. J. Harms,et al.  Faint-Object Spectrograph For Space Telescope , 1979, Other Conferences.

[24]  Mauro Fiorentino,et al.  Spectral characterization of HST calibration lamps: new Pt/Cr-Ne line catalogues and aging test , 2004, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.