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| Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer |
| Mission | Spitzer Space Telescope |
| Operator | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology |
| Launched | 2003-08-25 |
| Wavelength | Infrared (24, 70, 160 μm) |
| Resolution | 6″–40″ |
| Detectors | Si:As, Ge:Ga |
| Programmes | Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, Spitzer Warm Mission |
Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer The Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer was a cryogenic imaging instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope designed to perform broadband photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy in the far-infrared, enabling surveys of Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy, and distant extragalactic fields. It contributed to programs led by teams associated with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, and the California Institute of Technology and was integral to legacy surveys such as the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey and studies connected to the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The instrument provided simultaneous imaging in three bands near 24, 70, and 160 micrometres, complementing instruments on the Spitzer Space Telescope and other observatories like the Infrared Space Observatory and the Herschel Space Observatory. Developed under leadership at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with contributions from institutions including the University of Arizona and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, it enabled photometric measurements that tied into surveys by teams from the SIRTF Science Center, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and consortia associated with the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Its capabilities supported follow-up of targets discovered by projects involving the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Cosmic Evolution Survey, and the Subaru Telescope.
The design incorporated three separate detector arrays: a 24 μm Si:As array, and 70 μm and 160 μm Ge:Ga arrays, each optimized by collaborating groups at the Raytheon and the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation. The instrument cryostat interfaced with the Spitzer Space Telescope cryogenic system and was tested at facilities such as the Goddard Space Flight Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory testbeds. Optical components included dichroic beamsplitters and cold stops developed alongside teams from Lockheed Martin and academic partners like University of Arizona detectors groups, while readout electronics borrowed heritage from projects tied to the Infrared Astronomical Satellite and detector calibration methodologies used by the European Space Agency.
MIPS supported photometric mapping, small field photometry, and a low-resolution spectral energy distribution (SED) mode, used by science teams from the Spitzer Science Center and legacy surveys such as the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey and the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic Survey. Its mapping mode allowed confusion-limited surveys of star-forming regions in the Orion Nebula, the Taurus Molecular Cloud, and external galaxies including M33 and M51, while SED mode provided continuum spectra useful for studies tied to teams from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Observation planning integrated with tools and archives maintained by the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive and the Spitzer Heritage Archive.
Raw data were processed through pipelines developed by the Spitzer Science Center employing calibration frames and reference files maintained in collaboration with the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center and the European Southern Observatory calibration groups. Calibration used standard stars and solar system objects archived by teams at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and cross-checked against photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Data reduction addressed instrumental artifacts such as transient responsivity of Ge:Ga detectors, electronic nonlinearity, and cosmic ray hits; processing steps were implemented in software developed by groups at the California Institute of Technology and distributed to users via the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive.
MIPS observations enabled measurements of star formation rates in galaxies across cosmic time, informed dust mass estimates in systems from the Orion Nebula to ultraluminous infrared galaxies studied by teams associated with the Herschel Space Observatory and the Submillimeter Array, and contributed to characterization of debris disks around nearby stars such as those targeted by surveys involving the Keck Observatory and the Very Large Telescope. Key science outcomes included mapping cold dust in the Andromeda Galaxy, constraining infrared luminosity functions leveraged by collaborators from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the COSMOS consortium, and discovery of obscured active galactic nuclei followed up with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Array. MIPS data continue to serve archival science purposes within the Spitzer Heritage Archive and have influenced instrument designs for successors at institutions including the European Space Agency and NASA centers.
MIPS operated during Spitzer's cryogenic mission phase from launch in 2003 through the depletion of cryogen around 2009, after which limited capabilities were retained in the subsequent Spitzer Warm Mission for other instruments. Operations were coordinated by the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology with mission management by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and support from international partners including the Max Planck Society and the Canadian Space Agency. Throughout its operational life MIPS observations formed part of large legacy programs and community proposals, contributing to multiwavelength campaigns that involved the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and ground-based facilities such as the Keck Observatory and the Subaru Telescope.
Category:Spitzer Space Telescope instruments Category:Infrared telescopes