PIONS: A CubeSat imager to observe variable UV sources

S. Ambily*, Joice Mathew, Mayuresh Sarpotdar, Jayant Murthy, V. K. Aggarval, S. Nagabhushanam, DIvya A. Rao, Sachin Jeeragal, Kaipachery Nirmal, A. G. Sreejith, Binukumar Gopalakrishnan, Margarita Safonova

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Pesit/IIA Observatory for the Night Sky(PIONS) is a near UV imaging telescope to be flown on a small satellite. The instrument is a 150mm RC telescope that covers a wavelength range of 180-280 nm. We are using an intensified CMOS detector with a solar blind photocathode, to be operated in photon counting mode. The telescope has a wide field of view of 3 degrees and an angular resolution of 13". We plan to point the telescope to scan the sky continuously along the sun pointing axis to look for variable UV sources such as flare stars, AGNs, and other transient events. We can detect objects as faint as 21 magnitude and perform their photometric analysis. Since the aperture and the effective area of the telescope are comparatively small, it can be pointed to relatively brighter parts of the UV sky which were not accessible to larger mission due to detector limitations.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSpace Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018
Subtitle of host publicationUltraviolet to Gamma Ray
EditorsShouleh Nikzad, Jan-Willem A. Den Herder, Kazuhiro Nakazawa
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Print)9781510619517
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Externally publishedYes
EventSpace Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray - Austin, United States
Duration: 10 Jun 201815 Jun 2018

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume10699
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

ConferenceSpace Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAustin
Period10/06/1815/06/18

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