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The thousand and one nights of Visir.

Les mille et une nuits de Visir.

Author(s) : MÜLLER X.

Type of article: Article

Summary

Ten years were required to study, develop and test Visir, which must operate at cryogenic temperatures, close to absolute zero. This condition is required in order to eliminate the infrared rays emitted at ambient temperatures by the components of the instrument, which would disturb the radiation coming from the sky. In addition to cryogenics, a great deal of expertise (optics, mechanics, electronics) was required and brought together in Dapnia. A new type of cryogenic mechanism was even invented for the occasion. Thus, Visir achieves, in just a few minutes, the observations which would have taken a whole night for the first infra-red thermal camera, Timmi, delivered by the CEA to ESO in 1992 and installed within the heart of the 3-meter diameter telescope in La Silla, in Chile.

Details

  • Original title: Les mille et une nuits de Visir.
  • Record ID : 2005-0548
  • Languages: French
  • Source: Défis CEA - n. 101
  • Publication date: 2004/09

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