Pre-shipment optical characterization of the SCALES instrument
astro-ph.IM, astro-ph.EP
Submitted: 2026-08-28
Updated: 2026-08-28
Journal ref: Proc. SPIE 14149, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy XI, 1414955 (21 Aug 2026)
DOI: 10.1117/12.3105824
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The gist: The Slicer Combined with an Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy (SCALES) instrument is a 1-5 micron imager and 2-5 micron integral field spectrograph, currently being commissioned on the
Abstract
The Slicer Combined with an Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy (SCALES) instrument is a 1-5 micron imager and 2-5 micron integral field spectrograph, currently being commissioned on the Keck II Telescope. SCALES is optimized for exoplanet high-contrast imaging and spectroscopic characterization, and will be sensitive to older, colder exoplanets than existing instrumentation. The 12.3" x 12.3" imaging channel is designed to replicate the capabilities of NIRC2, and the low (R 35-200, 2.2" x 2.2" FOV) and medium (R 2500-5000, 0.36" x 0.34" FOV) spectral resolution modes offer new capabilities compared to existing Keck instrumentation. We present preliminary optical performance results from laboratory testing and commissioning of SCALES.
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