ISOCAM in flight

Abstract

ISOCAM, the camera on-board ISO, takes images of the sky in the wavelength range 2.5 to 18μm. It features two independent channels, containing each a 32x32 pixel detector: the short wavelength channel, 2.5 to 5.5μm, and the long wavelength channel, 4 to 18μm. Each channel features 10 or 11 discrete band pass filters and CVFs with a resolution better than 35. Each channel is fitted with a set of lenses, which reimage the focal plane of the telescope on the array, yielding a pixel field of view of 1.5, 3, 6 or 12arcsec. Throughout the development cycle, ISOCAM has been carefully calibrated, first at component level and next at instrument level. The detectors have been thoroughly tested, including exposure to gamma rays and to fast protons and nuclei. The in-flight performance of ISOCAM matches all the expectations: for instance at 15μm and 6 arcsec field of view, 200 μJy sources are detected at the 10σ level in 200 seconds.