New Hot Paper Comment by Giovanni G. Fazio

Giovanni G. Fazio answers a few questions about this month's new hot paper in the field of Space Science.

From •>>March 2005

Field: Space Science
Article Title: The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) for the Spitzer Space Telescope
Authors: Fazio, GG;Hora, JL;Allen, LE;Ashby, MLN;Barmby, P;Deutsch, LK;Huang, JS;Kleiner, S;Marengo, M;Megeath, ST;Melnick, GJ;Pahre, MA;Patten, BM;Polizotti, J;Smith, HA;Taylor, RS;Wang, Z;Willner, SP;Hoffmann, WF;Pipher, JL;Forrest, WJ;McMurty, CW;McCreight, CR;McKelvey, ME;McMurray, RE;Koch, DG;Moseley, SH;Arendt, RG;Mentzell, JE;Marx, CT;Losch, P;Mayman, P;Eichhorn, W;Krebs, D;Jhabvala, M;Gezari, DY;Fixsen, DJ;Flores, J;Shakoorzadeh, K;Jungo, R;Hakun, C;Workman, L;Karpati, G;Kichak, R;Whitley, R;Mann, S;Tollestrup, EV;Eisenhardt, P;Stern, D;Gorjian, V;Bhattacharya, B;Carey, S;Nelson, BO;Glaccum, WJ;Lacy, M;Lowrance, PJ;Laine, S;Reach, WT;Stauffer, JA;Surace, JA;Wilson, G;Wright, EL;Hoffman, A;Domingo, G;Cohen, M
Journal: ASTROPHYS J SUPPL SER
Volume: 154
Page: 10-17
Year: SEP 2004
* Harvard Smithsonian Ctr Astrophys, 60 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.
* Harvard Smithsonian Ctr Astrophys, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.
* Univ Arizona, Steward Observ, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA.
* Univ Rochester, Dept Phys & Astron, Rochester, NY 14627 USA.
* NASA, Ames Res Ctr, Moffett Field, CA 94035 USA.
* NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, High Energy Astrophys Lab, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA.
* Inst Astron, Hilo, HI 96720 USA.
* CALTECH, Jet Prop Lab, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA.
* CALTECH, Spitzer Sci Ctr, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA.
* Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Phys & Astron, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA.
* Raytheon Infrared Operat, Goleta, CA 93117 USA.
* Univ Calif Berkeley, Dept Astron, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA.

Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

“Every astronomical observation that uses the camera will quote this paper...”

It describes the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. IRAC is being used by a large number of astrophysicists to make important discoveries in both extragalactic and galactic astronomy. It has produced a large number of spectacular images.

  Does it describe a new discovery or a new methodology that's useful to others?

It describes the properties of a new infrared camera in the Sptizer Space Telescope.

  Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

IRAC is used by a large number of astrophysicists. This paper describes the camera and its properties, which are necessary to understand and to be able to use the camera. Every astronomical observation that uses the camera will quote this paper, and therefore, there are very many citations.

  How did you become involved in this research?

Thirty years ago I started a program to develop a new type of infrared detector for astronomical observations: the infrared array detector, which vastly improved the sensitivity and a real coverage of the sky that could be achieved with an infrared telescope. The ability to place these detectors in a camera on a space telescope, where the background radiation is a factor of one million lower, permitted an entirely new view of the infrared universe. The images from IRAC have produced new and spectacular images of the universe.

Dr. Giovanni G. Fazio
Senior Physicist
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Cambridge, MA, USA

ESI Special Topics, March 2005
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/nhp/2005/march-05-GiovanniGFazio.html