Technical Specifications#
This page summarizes the NGPS technical specifications from the May 14, 2026 Version 2 specification sheet.
General Specifications#
Category |
Specification |
|---|---|
Instrument type |
4-channel UV-NIR spectrograph |
Wavelength coverage |
3050 to 10400 |
Telescope focus |
Cassegrain focus at P200, F/13.6, 2.54 arcsec/mm |
Slit / IFU |
3-slit adjustable-width IFU |
Slice length |
50 arcsec long |
Slice width |
0.36 to 10 arcsec wide per slice |
Spectral resolution |
R > 4000 for the narrowest slit setting |
Exposure timing |
Common exposure time |
Detector binning |
Independently binned spatial and spectral directions |
Readout mode |
BOI mode |
Channel Performance#
Channel |
Bandpass |
Max Efficiency, Slit |
Spectral Resolution at 0.4 arcsec |
Spatial Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
U |
3050 to 4430 |
65% |
4100 |
Seeing limited |
G |
4250 to 5960 |
60% |
4200 |
Seeing limited |
R |
5620 to 7950 |
74% |
4300 |
Seeing limited |
I |
7530 to 10400 |
74% |
4500 |
Seeing limited |
Detector and Readout Properties#
Channel |
Plate Scale (arcsec/pixel) |
Dispersion (A/pixel) |
Read Noise (e rms) |
Dark Current (e/pixel/hour) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
U |
0.193 |
0.340 |
2.8 |
< 5.6 TBC |
G |
0.189 |
0.435 |
7.8 |
< 1.7 |
R |
0.186 |
0.577 |
3.7 |
< 1.2 |
I |
0.186 |
0.713 |
4.6 |
< 1.0 |
Detector Format and Cosmic-Ray Rate#
Channel |
Active Detector Region |
Pixel Size |
Cosmic-Ray Rate (% pixel/hour) |
2x1 Bin Readout Time (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
U |
1024 x 4102 |
15 um square pixels |
1.1 |
64 |
G |
1020 x 4114 |
15 um square pixels |
2.8 |
31 |
R |
1020 x 4114 |
15 um square pixels |
3.2 |
55 |
I |
1020 x 4114 |
15 um square pixels |
2.1 |
55 |
Calibration System#
Area |
Specification |
|---|---|
Calibration input |
Telescope-mimicking f/14 telecentric input beam |
Arc lamps |
ThAr, FeAr |
Continuum sources |
Quartz halogen continuum, red; laser-pumped continuum, blue |
Additional calibration sources |
UV LEDs, etalon spectra |
Calibration control |
Concurrent calibration, individual lamp shutters, mechanical PWM control |
Dome lamps |
Palomar dome lamps: low, high, ultrahigh, He |
Acquisition and Guidance#
Area |
Specification |
|---|---|
Acquisition and guidance system |
Offset guider |
Field of view |
4.44 x 4.15 |
Pixel scale |
0.26 arcsec/pixel |
Astrometry |
Full-field solution |
Filters |
Photometric filters: g’, r’, i’, clear |
Camera mode |
EMCCD mode |
Slice Viewing Cameras#
Area |
Specification |
|---|---|
Configuration |
Two fields of view adjacent to outer slices |
Field of view |
21 x 50 arcsec each |
Pixel scale |
0.060 arcsec/pixel |
Additional Features#
Feature |
|---|
Exposure time calculator |
Automated target acquisition |
Guided afternoon calibration |
Quick-look pipeline |
Flexure compensation |
Focus compensation |
Observation Timeline Modeler (OTM) |
Automatic binning adjustment |
Frame transfer capability |