First image of ECLAIRs

News

10 May 2021

The ECLAIRs instrument has produced its first image. After years of development by the APC, CEA, IRAP and CNES teams, and after several months of integration during which the different elements of the telescope were progressively assembled around the detection plane, the ECLAIRs instrument has just produced its first image. This is a major step in the characterization of the instrument.

Image captured by the instrument (left), area of the mask imaged (in the center, clear area), image of the sky reconstructed by the onboard trigger (right, with the source in the center of the field of view).

This first image shows the coded mask shadow projected on the detection plane. The sources being placed at a few tens of centimeters and not at infinity, the mask is magnified and only its central part is imaged.

This image was obtained with the telescope installed in a vacuum tank, in order to be able to cool the detection plane to -25 °C. Two radioactive sources installed in the tank illuminated the detector through the mask. Outside the tank, the computer in charge of driving the camera and acquiring data will also allow the detection of gamma-ray bursts when the instrument is in flight.

This image also kicks off the last phase of calibration of the instrument. This phase, which mobilizes all the technical and scientific teams, including in 3×8 and 7 days a week for some, will continue until the end of May.

IRAP Contact

  • Jean-Luc Atteia, Jean-Luc.Atteia@irap.omp.eu

More news

Unprecedented mineral and organic compounds discovered in Mars’ Jezero Crater

The Perseverance rover has uncovered sedimentary rocks containing minerals and organic matter organized into structures never before seen on Mars, opening up new perspectives on the Red Planet’s past habitability. […]

Juno identifies the missing auroral footprint of the moon Callisto at Jupiter’s poles

Since July 2016, the Juno mission orbiting Jupiter has been studying the properties and physical mechanisms of auroral imprints. A study recently published in the journal Nature Communications shows that […]

Deep long-period earthquakes discovered beneath Massif Central volcanoes

A recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters reveals atypical seismic signals beneath the volcanoes of the Massif Central. These signals, combined with the active presence of magma at depth, […]

Search