The balloon-borne large aperture submillimeter telescope (blast) 2006: Calibration and flight performance

Matthew D.P. Truch; Peter A.R. Ade; James J. Bock; Edward L. Chapin; Mark J. Devlin; Simon R. Dicker; Matthew Griffin; Joshua O. Gundersen; Mark Halpern; Peter C. Hargrave; David H. Hughes; Jeff Klein; Gaelen Marsden; Peter G. Martin; Philip Mauskopf; Lorenzo Moncelsi; C. Barth Netterfield; Luca Olmi; Enzo Pascale; Guillaume Patanchon; Marie Rex; Douglas Scott; Christopher Semisch; Nicholas E. Thomas; Carole Tucker; Gregory S. Tucker; Marco P. Viero; Donald V. Wiebe

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/1723

The balloon-borne large aperture submillimeter telescope (blast) 2006: Calibration and flight performance

Matthew D.P. Truch, Peter A.R. Ade, James J. Bock, Edward L. Chapin, Mark J. Devlin, Simon R. Dicker, Matthew Griffin, Joshua O. Gundersen, Mark Halpern, Peter C. Hargrave, David H. Hughes, Jeff Klein, Gaelen Marsden, Peter G. Martin, Philip Mauskopf, Lorenzo Moncelsi, C. Barth Netterfield, Luca Olmi, Enzo Pascale, Guillaume PatanchonMarie Rex, Douglas Scott, Christopher Semisch, Nicholas E. Thomas, Carole Tucker, Gregory S. Tucker, Marco P. Viero, Donald V. Wiebe

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) operated successfully during a 250 hr flight over Antarctica in 2006 December (BLAST06). As part of the calibration and pointing procedures, the red hypergiant star VYCMa was observed and used as the primary calibrator. Details of the overall BLAST06 calibration procedure are discussed. The 1σ uncertainty on the absolute calibration is accurate to 9.5%, 8.7%, and 9.2% at the 250, 350, and 500 μm bands, respectively. The errors are highly correlated between bands resulting in much lower errors for the derived shape of the 250-500 μm continuum. The overall pointing error is < 5″ rms for the 36″, 42″, and 60″ beams. The performance of optics and pointing systems is discussed.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1723-1728
Number of pages	6
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	707
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/1723
State	Published - 2009
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Balloons
Submillimeter
Telescopes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/1723

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Truch, M. D. P., Ade, P. A. R., Bock, J. J., Chapin, E. L., Devlin, M. J., Dicker, S. R., Griffin, M., Gundersen, J. O., Halpern, M., Hargrave, P. C., Hughes, D. H., Klein, J., Marsden, G., Martin, P. G., Mauskopf, P., Moncelsi, L., Netterfield, C. B., Olmi, L., Pascale, E., ... Wiebe, D. V. (2009). The balloon-borne large aperture submillimeter telescope (blast) 2006: Calibration and flight performance. Astrophysical Journal, 707(2), 1723-1728. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/1723

Truch, MDP, Ade, PAR, Bock, JJ, Chapin, EL, Devlin, MJ, Dicker, SR, Griffin, M, Gundersen, JO, Halpern, M, Hargrave, PC, Hughes, DH, Klein, J, Marsden, G, Martin, PG, Mauskopf, P, Moncelsi, L, Netterfield, CB, Olmi, L, Pascale, E, Patanchon, G, Rex, M, Scott, D, Semisch, C, Thomas, NE, Tucker, C, Tucker, GS, Viero, MP & Wiebe, DV 2009, 'The balloon-borne large aperture submillimeter telescope (blast) 2006: Calibration and flight performance', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 707, no. 2, pp. 1723-1728. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/1723

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title = "The balloon-borne large aperture submillimeter telescope (blast) 2006: Calibration and flight performance",

abstract = "The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) operated successfully during a 250 hr flight over Antarctica in 2006 December (BLAST06). As part of the calibration and pointing procedures, the red hypergiant star VYCMa was observed and used as the primary calibrator. Details of the overall BLAST06 calibration procedure are discussed. The 1σ uncertainty on the absolute calibration is accurate to 9.5%, 8.7%, and 9.2% at the 250, 350, and 500 μm bands, respectively. The errors are highly correlated between bands resulting in much lower errors for the derived shape of the 250-500 μm continuum. The overall pointing error is < 5″ rms for the 36″, 42″, and 60″ beams. The performance of optics and pointing systems is discussed.",

keywords = "Balloons, Submillimeter, Telescopes",

author = "Truch, {Matthew D.P.} and Ade, {Peter A.R.} and Bock, {James J.} and Chapin, {Edward L.} and Devlin, {Mark J.} and Dicker, {Simon R.} and Matthew Griffin and Gundersen, {Joshua O.} and Mark Halpern and Hargrave, {Peter C.} and Hughes, {David H.} and Jeff Klein and Gaelen Marsden and Martin, {Peter G.} and Philip Mauskopf and Lorenzo Moncelsi and Netterfield, {C. Barth} and Luca Olmi and Enzo Pascale and Guillaume Patanchon and Marie Rex and Douglas Scott and Christopher Semisch and Thomas, {Nicholas E.} and Carole Tucker and Tucker, {Gregory S.} and Viero, {Marco P.} and Wiebe, {Donald V.}",

year = "2009",

doi = "10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/1723",

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volume = "707",

pages = "1723--1728",

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T2 - Calibration and flight performance

AU - Truch, Matthew D.P.

AU - Ade, Peter A.R.

AU - Bock, James J.

AU - Chapin, Edward L.

AU - Devlin, Mark J.

AU - Dicker, Simon R.

AU - Griffin, Matthew

AU - Gundersen, Joshua O.

AU - Halpern, Mark

AU - Hargrave, Peter C.

AU - Hughes, David H.

AU - Klein, Jeff

AU - Marsden, Gaelen

AU - Martin, Peter G.

AU - Mauskopf, Philip

AU - Moncelsi, Lorenzo

AU - Netterfield, C. Barth

AU - Olmi, Luca

AU - Pascale, Enzo

AU - Patanchon, Guillaume

AU - Rex, Marie

AU - Scott, Douglas

AU - Semisch, Christopher

AU - Thomas, Nicholas E.

AU - Tucker, Carole

AU - Tucker, Gregory S.

AU - Viero, Marco P.

AU - Wiebe, Donald V.

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) operated successfully during a 250 hr flight over Antarctica in 2006 December (BLAST06). As part of the calibration and pointing procedures, the red hypergiant star VYCMa was observed and used as the primary calibrator. Details of the overall BLAST06 calibration procedure are discussed. The 1σ uncertainty on the absolute calibration is accurate to 9.5%, 8.7%, and 9.2% at the 250, 350, and 500 μm bands, respectively. The errors are highly correlated between bands resulting in much lower errors for the derived shape of the 250-500 μm continuum. The overall pointing error is < 5″ rms for the 36″, 42″, and 60″ beams. The performance of optics and pointing systems is discussed.

AB - The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) operated successfully during a 250 hr flight over Antarctica in 2006 December (BLAST06). As part of the calibration and pointing procedures, the red hypergiant star VYCMa was observed and used as the primary calibrator. Details of the overall BLAST06 calibration procedure are discussed. The 1σ uncertainty on the absolute calibration is accurate to 9.5%, 8.7%, and 9.2% at the 250, 350, and 500 μm bands, respectively. The errors are highly correlated between bands resulting in much lower errors for the derived shape of the 250-500 μm continuum. The overall pointing error is < 5″ rms for the 36″, 42″, and 60″ beams. The performance of optics and pointing systems is discussed.

KW - Balloons

KW - Submillimeter

KW - Telescopes

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VL - 707

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JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 2

ER -

The balloon-borne large aperture submillimeter telescope (blast) 2006: Calibration and flight performance

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