The Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for polarization: BLAST-pol

G. Marsden; P. A. R. Ade; S. Benton; J. J. Bock; E. L. Chapin; J. Chung; M. J. Devlin; S. Dicker; L. Fissel; M. Griffin; J. O. Gundersen; M. Halpern; P. C. Hargrave; D. H. Hughes; J. Klein; A. Korotkov; C. J. MacTavish; P. G. Martin; T. G. Martin; T. G. Matthews; P. Mauskopf; L. Moncelsi; C. B. Netterfield; G. Novak; E. Pascale; L. Olmi; G. Patanchon; M. Rex; G. Savini; D. Scott; C. Semisch; N. Thomas; M. D. P. Truch; C. Tucker; G. S. Tucker; M. P. Viero; D. Ward-Thompson; D. V. Wiebe

doi:10.1117/12.788413

18 July 2008 The Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for polarization: BLAST-pol

G. Marsden, P. A. R. Ade, S. Benton, J. J. Bock, E. L. Chapin, J. Chung, M. J. Devlin, S. Dicker, L. Fissel, M. Griffin, J. O. Gundersen, M. Halpern, P. C. Hargrave, D. H. Hughes, J. Klein, A. Korotkov, C. J. MacTavish, P. G. Martin, T. G. Martin, T. G. Matthews, P. Mauskopf, L. Moncelsi, C. B. Netterfield, G. Novak, E. Pascale, L. Olmi, G. Patanchon, M. Rex, G. Savini, D. Scott, C. Semisch, N. Thomas, M. D. P. Truch, C. Tucker, G. S. Tucker, M. P. Viero, D. Ward-Thompson, D. V. Wiebe

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7020, Millimeter and Submillimeter Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IV; 702002 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.788413
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) is a sub-orbital experiment designed to study the process of star formation in local galaxies (including the Milky Way) and in galaxies at cosmological distances. Using a 2m Cassegrain telescope, BLAST images the sky onto a focal plane, which consists of 270 bolometric detectors split between three arrays, observing simultaneously in 30% wide bands, centered at 250, 350, and 500 μm. The diffraction-limited optical system provides a resolution of 30" at 250 μm. The pointing system enables raster-like scans with a positional accuracy of ~30", reconstructed to better than 5" rms in postflight analysis. BLAST had two successful flights, from the Arctic in 2005, and from Antarctica in 2006, which provided the first high-resolution and large-area (~0.8−200 deg²) submillimeter surveys at these wavelengths. As a pathfinder for the SPIRE instrument on Herschel, BLAST shares with the ESA satellite similar focal plane technology and scientific motivation. A third flight in 2009 will see the instrument modified to be polarization-sensitive (BLAST-pol). With its unprecedented mapping speed and resolution, BLAST-pol will provide insights into Galactic star-forming nurseries, and give the necessary link between the larger, coarse resolution surveys and the narrow, resolved observations of star-forming structures from space and ground based instruments being commissioned in the next 5 years.

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G. Marsden, P. A. R. Ade, S. Benton, J. J. Bock, E. L. Chapin, J. Chung, M. J. Devlin, S. Dicker, L. Fissel, M. Griffin, J. O. Gundersen, M. Halpern, P. C. Hargrave, D. H. Hughes, J. Klein, A. Korotkov, C. J. MacTavish, P. G. Martin, T. G. Martin, T. G. Matthews, P. Mauskopf, L. Moncelsi, C. B. Netterfield, G. Novak, E. Pascale, L. Olmi, G. Patanchon, M. Rex, G. Savini, D. Scott, C. Semisch, N. Thomas, M. D. P. Truch, C. Tucker, G. S. Tucker, M. P. Viero, D. Ward-Thompson, and D. V. Wiebe "The Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for polarization: BLAST-pol", Proc. SPIE 7020, Millimeter and Submillimeter Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 702002 (18 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.788413

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