CIRSI: The Cambridge infrared survey instrument

We are currently building a panoramic wide field near infrared imaging camera based on 4 Rockwell Hawaii HgCdTe 1024(2) detectors. The survey instrument will operate in the J and H bands and will be as scientifically versatile and as easy to use as a large format CCD camera. It is expected to be ready for astronomical use by late 1997. It will be particularly weld-suited for surveys of star-forming regions, lour mass stars, distant galaxies, clusters and QSOs. The camera will be commissioned at the prime focus of the 2.5m Isaac Newton telescope, where the image scale is 0.45''/pixel, giving an effective field of view of 14.6 x 14.6 an: minutes. The field of view of this camera with 0.15'' pixels is 5.1 x 5.1 are minutes and is thus similar to 60 times larger than the current near-infrared imager on Keck (NIRC). When combined with a 4.0m class telescope, the combination is similar to 10 times as powerful as the Keck 10.0m, when the apertures are taken into account. The options for upgrading the camera into a wide field spectroscopic survey instrument are currently being investigated.