Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam)
Quick Facts
NIRCam is Webb’s primary near-infrared imager, providing high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy for a wide variety of investigations.
It can detect light from the earliest galaxies in the process of formation, stars in nearby galaxies, young stars in the Milky Way, and objects from a distant region of our solar system called the Kuiper Belt.
The instrument is also important to exoplanet research; its coronagraph and time-series imaging capability allow it to track the motion of exoplanets as they orbit their star.
NIRCam is also part of Webb’s wavefront sensing and control system, which detects and corrects for slight irregularities in the shape of the primary mirror or misalignment between mirror segments.
NIRCam is designed to capture light ranging in wavelength from 0.6 microns (visible red) to 5 microns (mid-infrared).
Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam)
The Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) is Webb's primary imager that covers the infrared wavelength range 0.6 to 5 microns. NIRCam detects light from: the earliest stars and galaxies in the process of formation, the population of stars in nearby galaxies, as well as young stars in the Milky Way and Kuiper Belt objects. NIRCam is equipped with coronagraphs, instruments that allow astronomers to take pictures of very faint objects around a central bright object, like stellar systems. NIRCam's coronagraphs work by blocking a brighter object's light, making it possible to view the dimmer object nearby - just like shielding the sun from your eyes with an upraised hand can allow you to focus on the view in front of you. With the coronagraphs, astronomers hope to determine the characteristics of planets orbiting nearby stars.
Video: NIRcam 3d Diagram Rotation
NIRCam Image Gallery
Gallery of the development, testing and commissioning of the NIRCam in reverse chronological order.
The image below is a SLIDESHOW. Hover over the image to see the image title and controls. Click the image to go to a detail page with more info and the ability to download the image at various resolutions (click downward arrow in lower right corner).
In Depth: Technical Details For NIRCam
The NIRCam has ten mercury-cadmium-telluride (HgCdTe) detector arrays. These are analogous to CCDs found in ordinary digital cameras. The NIRCam is a science instrument but also an Optical Telescope Element wavefront sensor, which provides something similar to instant LASIK vision correction.
Resources:
NIRCam was developed by
the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin.
