▲ Gemini Observatory located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA. Gemini Observatory is installing and operating identical twin telescopes, one each in Hawaii, USA, and Cerro Pachon, Chile. / Photo = Wikipedia
┃Infrared spectroscopy to be used in research starting in 2024
The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KAST) announced that it has developed an infrared high-dispersion spectrograph ‘IGRINS-2’ (hereinafter referred to as IGRINS-2, Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph) for use at the Gemini Observatory, a world-class large telescope, and has succeeded in making its first observation.
A spectroscope is an equipment that decomposes and analyzes light collected through an astronomical observation telescope into wavelengths, and is essential for understanding the composition of a celestial body or the speed of a celestial body. Dispersion, meaning dividing light, is classified into high dispersion, medium dispersion, low dispersion, etc. depending on how detailed it is divided. ▲ IGRINS-2 spectrometer attached to the telescope of the Gemini Observatory in Miunakea, Hawaii, USA. The gold rectangular parallelepiped in the center of the photo is the main body of the spectroscope. / Photo = Astronomical Research Institute The IGRINS-2 spectrometer is scheduled to be provided to astronomers around the world for use in research as early as the second half of next year after additional test observations and performance verification processes in the first half of next year.
Gemini Observatory is an international jointly operated observatory consisting of a large telescope with a diameter of 8.1m, one each in Hawaii, USA and Cerropa Village, Chile. Currently, it is considered the world’s largest optical telescope, along with the Subaru Telescope.
Last October, the Astronomy Research Institute’s observation instrument development team installed a spectroscope at the observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, 4,200 meters above sea level, and successfully captured the expanding gaseous emission lines of the planetary nebula NGC 7027 in the constellation Cygnus. ▲ Hubble Space Telescope of the planetary nebula NGC 7027 video. / Photo = NASA, ESA, and J. Kastner (RIT) The planetary nebula NGC 7027, the first object of observation, is located about 3,000 light-years away from Earth, has a mass 3 to 4 times greater than the Sun, and is in the final stage of stellar evolution, death. It’s a star. Using IGRINS-2, the development team successfully captured various spectral lines coming from gas expanding from the center. ▲ 2.2 micrometer infrared image of planetary nebula NGC 7027 taken with the IGRINS-2 camera. The black line at the top of the center of the photo is the spectrometer’s slit (a small gap that allows only a portion of the wave or light to pass through), through which the incident light spreads in the direction of the wavelength, allowing the velocity components of the celestial body to be determined. ▲ IGRINS-2 spectrometer. Near-infrared spectrum of planetary nebula NGC 7027, imaged with . Light spreads in the wavelength direction (horizontal direction in the picture) using a spectroscope, and the components of an expanding spherical gas can be studied using the Doppler phenomenon. The IGRINS-2 spectrometer is an observation instrument specialized in research on the birth and evolution of stars and planetary systems and the discovery and characterization of exoplanets. By using a silicon immersion grid as a core component, a wide wavelength band can be observed with high sensitivity in a smaller volume than existing spectrometers. In particular, the infrared region, H-band (1.49-1.80 micrometers) and K-band (1.96-2.46 micrometers) can be observed simultaneously, allowing detailed analysis of the physical characteristics of celestial bodies.
Chan Park, a senior researcher at the Astronomy Research Institute in charge of development, said, “It is an opportunity to solidify our pride in our domestic astronomy technology development capabilities in that we completed development and test observations without schedule delay even though we were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for most of the development period.” “It’s done,” he said.
Park Byeong-gon, a senior researcher and head of the Large Telescope Division of the Astronomy Research Institute, said, “It is significant in that we have become the first in Korea to develop and utilize the main observation device of an 8m-class large telescope.”
Since 2019, the Astronomical Research Institute has been jointly operating the Gemini Observatory with the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. After the performance of the IGRINS spectrometer, which was jointly developed with the University of Texas at Austin in the U.S. in 2014, was recognized by the Gemini Observatory community, the Astronomy Research Institute has been developing IGRINS-2, with improved performance, exclusively for the Gemini Observatory since 2020.
Gwangsik Lee, Science Columnist [email protected]
