General Information:

The Astro-2 observatory is flown on the Space Shuttle and consists of three separate instruments. All of these instruments work in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum which can only be accessed by putting the instruments above the atmosphere of the earth. These three instruments are:

• The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope -(HUT) : This instrument is essentially an ultraviolet spectrometer with sensitivity from 1000 -- 3000 Angstroms.

• The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope - (UIT): This is an imaging telescope with a very wide field. Its best sensitivity is in the 1400 - 3200 Angstrom range.

• The Wisconsin Ultraviolet Polarimeter Photometer - (WUPPE): Clearly the coolest acryonym of the group, this instrument is a high speed photometer which can also measure the percentage of polarization of the detected light.

• Individual members which comprise the HUT, UIT and WUPPE camps must merrily coordinate together to insure the maximum scientific return of the mission. Before the mission, several simulations of this merriment are held in which team members practice their coordination.

• The portion of the mission which involves The University of Oregon deals with observations using the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This telescope has a diameter of 18 inches. Its overall field of view is a circle of diameter 40 arcminutes. Although the mirror is significantly smaller than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, its significantly larger field of view, by a fctor of 200(!), makes it suitable to do many ultraviolet imaging projects that are not feasible with HST.

The Electronic Universe Project nuts@moo.uoregon.edu