PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv
Pre-shipment optical characterization of the SCALES instrument
Abstract
The Slicer Combined with an Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy (SCALES) instrument is a 1-5 micron imager and 2-5 micron integral field spectrograph, currently being commissioned on the Keck II Telescope. SCALES is optimized for exoplanet high-contrast imaging and spectroscopic characterization, and will be sensitive to older, colder exoplanets than existing instrumentation. The 12.3" x 12.3" imaging channel is designed to replicate the capabilities of NIRC2, and the low (R~35-200, 2.2" x 2.2" FOV) and medium (R~2500-5000, 0.36" x 0.34" FOV) spectral resolution modes offer new capabilities compared to existing Keck instrumentation. We present preliminary optical performance results from laboratory testing and commissioning of SCALES.
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BibTeX
@misc{kain2026preshipment,
title = {{Pre-shipment optical characterization of the SCALES instrument}},
author = {Isabel J. Kain and Reni Kupke and Daren Dillon and R. Deno Stelter and Rosalie McGurk and Gwendolin Weber-Stover and Athira Unni and Marc Kassis and Scott Lilley and Peyton Benac and Mackenzie Lach and Arun Surya and Amirul Hasan and Ravinder Banyal and Raquel Martinez and Nicholas MacDonald and Will Deich and Aaron Hunter and Emily Plume and Michael Gonzales and Cristian Rodriguez and Arjun Kumar and Cyril Bourgenot and Paul Whiteg and Juergen Schmollg and James Wells and Spencer Davies and David Bramall and Dimitri Mawet and Olivier Absil and Michael Fitzgerald and Eric Wang and Steph Sallum and Andrew Skemer},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.28918},
eprint = {2608.28918},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28918},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Pre-shipment optical characterization of the SCALES instrument
AU - Isabel J. Kain
AU - Reni Kupke
AU - Daren Dillon
AU - R. Deno Stelter
AU - Rosalie McGurk
AU - Gwendolin Weber-Stover
AU - Athira Unni
AU - Marc Kassis
AU - Scott Lilley
AU - Peyton Benac
AU - Mackenzie Lach
AU - Arun Surya
AU - Amirul Hasan
AU - Ravinder Banyal
AU - Raquel Martinez
AU - Nicholas MacDonald
AU - Will Deich
AU - Aaron Hunter
AU - Emily Plume
AU - Michael Gonzales
AU - Cristian Rodriguez
AU - Arjun Kumar
AU - Cyril Bourgenot
AU - Paul Whiteg
AU - Juergen Schmollg
AU - James Wells
AU - Spencer Davies
AU - David Bramall
AU - Dimitri Mawet
AU - Olivier Absil
AU - Michael Fitzgerald
AU - Eric Wang
AU - Steph Sallum
AU - Andrew Skemer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.28918
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28918
AB - The Slicer Combined with an Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy (SCALES) instrument is a 1-5 micron imager and 2-5 micron integral field spectrograph, currently being commissioned on the Keck II Telescope. SCALES is optimized for exoplanet high-contrast imaging and spectroscopic characterization, and will be sensitive to older, colder exoplanets than existing instrumentation. The 12.3" x 12.3" imaging channel is designed to replicate the capabilities of NIRC2, and the low (R~35-200, 2.2" x 2.2" FOV) and medium (R~2500-5000, 0.36" x 0.34" FOV) spectral resolution modes offer new capabilities compared to existing Keck instrumentation. We present preliminary optical performance results from laboratory testing and commissioning of SCALES.
ER -