CSHELL: a high spectral resolution 1-5-μm cryogenic echelle spectrograph for the IRTF

A 1 - 5.4 micrometers Cryogenic Echelle Spectrograph (CSHELL) for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility is described. It achieves a resolving power of 5,000 to 40,000 using slits ranging from 4.0' to 0.5' in width and 30' long. It operates in a single-order long-slit mode, and a circular variable filter is used as an order sorter. Two infrared arrays are employed to achieve spectral coverage from 1 - 5.4 micrometers : a 256 X 256 HgCdTe NICMOS-3 array for 1 - 2.5 micrometers and a SBRC 58 X 62 InSb array for 2.8 - 5.4 micrometers . A closed- cycle cooler is employed to keep the optics and supporting structure at 73 K and to maintain the detectors at their proper operating temperatures. The entire spectrograph fits within an envelope of 64 cm X 35 cm X 27 cm. The instrument is controlled by a microcomputer mounted on the telescope, but the observer commands the instrument from a UNIX X Windows workstation on the Internet. This use of the Internet for communication between instrument control and user interface computers facilitates remote observing. A limiting magnitude of 12.3 mag is achieved for S/N equals 10 in 1 hour integration time, at resolving power of 20,000 at 2.2 micrometers wavelength.