The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (hereinafter referred to as the Astronomy Research Institute) has developed an infrared high-dispersion spectrometer for the Gemini Observatory, a world-class large telescope.[1] We developed IGRINS-2 (Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph, IGRINS-2) and succeeded in making the first observation (First Light).
The 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. The Astronomy Research Institute’s observation instrument development team installed a spectroscope at the observatory located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, 4,200 meters above sea level, in October of this year and successfully captured the expanding gas emission line of the planetary nebula NGC 7027.
The first object of observation, NGC 7027, a planetary nebula in the constellation Cygnus, is located approximately 3,000 light-years away from Earth. It is a star that is 3 to 4 times more massive than the Sun and is in the death stage. Using IGRINS-2, the development team successfully captured various spectral lines emanating from the gas expanding from the center.
Near-infrared spectrum of planetary nebula NGC 7027, imaged with the IGRINS-2 spectrograph. 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. Source: Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
The IGRINS-2 spectrograph 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 H-band (1.49-1.80 micrometers) and K-band (1.96-2.46 micrometers) bands can be observed simultaneously, allowing detailed analysis of the physical characteristics of celestial bodies.
A 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 component of the celestial body to be determined. Source: Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
The IGRINS-2 spectrometer will undergo additional test observations and performance verification in the first half of 2024, and will be available to astronomers around the world for research as early as the second half of 2024.
Park Chan, senior researcher at Astronomy Research Institute, who is in charge of this development, said, “We are proud of our domestic astronomical 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 was an opportunity,” he said.
Senior Researcher Park Byeong-gon, head of the Large Telescope Project 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 8-meter large telescope.”
Meanwhile, since 2019, the Astronomy Research Institute has been jointly operating the Gemini Astronomical Observatory with the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. When 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.
#Terminology
[1] Spectroscope: A device 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 at which a celestial body moves. Dispersion, which means dividing light, is classified into high dispersion, medium dispersion, and low dispersion depending on how detailed it is.
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