Characterization of the Far-Ultraviolet Spectrum of Pt/Cr-Ne Hollow Cathode Lamps as used on the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope

Published

August 1, 2004

Author(s)

Craig J. Sansonetti, Joseph Reader, F Kerber, Michael R. Rosa

Abstract

We report laboratory measurements to characterize the spectral output of platinum/chromium hollow cathode lamps containing neon carrier gas. The spectrum was recorded photographically with the NIST 10.7-m normal-incidence spectrograph. The lamps investigated are equivalent to the lamps used for wavelength calibration of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Wavelengths and intensities are given for more than 1200 lines in the wavelength range 1132 to 1827 . The uncertainty of the measured wavelengths is estimated to 0.0020 . During an aging test mimicking the operations onboard STIS one Pt/Cr-Ne lamp has passed 1000 h of operation and is still in excellent working condition. This suggests that such a lamp can be operated for significantly more than 10 years and that it will not be a limiting factor for the useful lifetime of STIS.

Citation

Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

Volume

153

Issue

No. 2

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

chromium, Hubble Space Telescope, platinum, spectra, vacuum ultraviolet, wavelengths

Citation

Sansonetti, C. , Reader, J. , Kerber, F. and Rosa, M. (2004), Characterization of the Far-Ultraviolet Spectrum of Pt/Cr-Ne Hollow Cathode Lamps as used on the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope, Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (Accessed October 13, 2025)