BOSTON-UNIVERSITY HIGH-RESOLUTION NEAR-INFRARED FABRY-PEROT SPECTROMETER

To take advantage of the large luminosity-resolution product of the Fa bry-Perot interferometer used in tandem with modest-aperture telescope s, a Fabry-Perot interferometer has been developed that is widely adap table to a variety of extended source observations. The instrument is designed for adaptability across a range of optical and near-IR (NIR) spectral lines from 550 to 1100 nm, which are characterized by a wide range of velocity distributions of the emitting species. The system fe atures a twin-etalon configuration to provide an extended free spectra l range and to enhance contrast when observations include bright refle cted solar or twilight backgrounds. Although the optical path and all the optical elements of the system are readily accessible, the instrum ent is ruggedized for transportability and extended remote field opera tion once it is optically configured. State-of-the-art, modularly adap table, proven detectors (GaAs photomultipliers, large CCDs, and german ium integrating detectors) are featured to optimize instrument sensiti vity. Recently, a series of NIR observations were made at the Millston e Hill Incoherent Scatter Radar Facility, Westford, Massachusetts, in a single-etalon mode.