Overview, design, and flight results from SuperBIT: a high-resolution, wide-field, visible-to-near-UV balloon-borne astronomical telescope

Romualdez, L.J.; Benton, S.; Brown, A.; Clark, P.; Damaren, C.; Eifler, T.; Fraisse, A.; Galloway, M.; Hartley, J.; Jauzac, M.; Jones, W.; Li, L.; Luu, T.; Massey, R.; McCleary, J.; Netterfield, C.; Redmond, S.; Rhodes, J.; Schmoll, J.; Tam, S.

Abstract

Balloon-borne astronomy is a unique tool that allows for a level of image stability and significantly reduced atmospheric interference without the often prohibitive cost and long development time-scale that are characteristic of space-borne facility-class instruments. The Super-pressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) is a wide-field imager designed to provide 0.02" image stability over a 0.5 degree field-of-view for deep exposures within the visible-to-near-UV (300-900 um). As such, SuperBIT is a suitable platform for a wide range of balloon-borne observations, including solar and extrasolar planetary spectroscopy as well as resolved stellar populations and distant galaxies. We report on the overall payload design and instrumentation methodologies for SuperBIT as well as telescope and image stability results from two test flights. Prospects for the SuperBIT project are outlined with an emphasis on the development of a fully operational, three-month science flight from New Zealand in 2020.

Citation

Romualdez, L., Benton, S., Brown, A., Clark, P., Damaren, C., Eifler, T., Fraisse, A., Galloway, M., Hartley, J., Jauzac, M., Jones, W., Li, L., Luu, T., Massey, R., McCleary, J., Netterfield, C., Redmond, S., Rhodes, J., Schmoll, J., & Tam, S. (2018, June). Overview, design, and flight results from SuperBIT: a high-resolution, wide-field, visible-to-near-UV balloon-borne astronomical telescope. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018
• Start Date: Jun 10, 2018
• End Date: Jun 15, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jul 6, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 6, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 17, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 18, 2018
• Publisher: SPIE
• Series Title: Astronomy Group; Proceedings of SPIE
• Series Number: 10702
• Book Title: Proceedings of SPIE, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VII.
• ISBN: 9781510619579
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2307754
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1145011