M. B. Naik, D. K. Ojha∗, S. K. Ghosh, S. S. Poojary, R. B. Jadhav,
G. S. Meshram, P. R. Sandimani, S. B. Bhagat, S. L. A. D’Costa,
S. M. Gharat, C. B. Bakalkar, J. P. Ninan and J.S. Joshi
Abstract.
TIRCAM2 (TIFR near infrared imaging camera - II) is a closed cycle
cooled imager that has been developed by the Infrared Astronomy Group at the Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research for observations in the near infrared band of 1 to
3.7 μm with existing Indian telescopes. In this paper, we describe some of the techni-
cal details of TIRCAM2 and report its observing capabilities, measured performance
and limiting magnitudes with the 2-m IUCAA Girawali telescope and the 1.2-m PRL
Gurushikhar telescope. The main highlight is the camera’s capability of observing in
the nbL (3.59 μm) band enabling our primary motivation of mapping of Polycyclic
Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) emission at 3.3 μm.
Keywords: instrumentation: detectors - instrumentation: photometers
Infrared Astronomy Group, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400 005, India