The Faint Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST) is a dual-channel mid-infrared camera and spectrograph sensitive from 5-40 µm. The Short Wave Camera (SWC) uses a Si:As blocked-impurity band (BIB) array optimized for λ < 25 µm, while the Long Wave Camera's (LWC) Si:Sb BIB array is optimized for λ < 25 µm. Observations can be made through either of the two channels individually or, by use of a dichroic mirror, with both channels simultaneously across most of the range. Spectroscopy is also possible using a suite of four grisms, which provide coverage from 5-40 µm with a low spectral resolution of R = λ =Δλ ~ 200. Since it’s commissioning FORCAST has made a number of exciting observations, including the discovery of dust that survived the reverse shock in the supernova remnant Sgr A East, the identification of an asteroid belt analog surrounding ε Eridani, and some of the highest resolution mid-IR observations of the transient Galactic circumnuclear ring to date. Here I present a selection of recent SOFIA FORCAST observations and discuss their relevance to a variety of today’s most pressing astronomical topics.
|