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| Paper: |
Astrometry with the James Webb Space Telescope |
| Volume: |
338, Astrometry in the Age of the Next Generation of Large Telescopes |
| Page: |
59 |
| Authors: |
Nelan, E. |
| Abstract: |
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an infrared optimized observatory to be launched in late 2011. The short wavelength arm (0.6 to 2.5 microns) of the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) will have 32 mas pixels. Combined with the telescope's ~6.5 meter segmented primary mirror, NIRCam images will have an angular resolution similar to what is achieved by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on HST. Thus, JWST will have the potential for astrometric performance similar to that achieved with HST imaging. Using archived data from HST observations to provide first epoch positions, JWST will be the observatory of choice for measuring the tranverse motions of stars within globular clusters and other crowded fields. JWST can also provide parallaxes for nearby objects too faint (neutron stars, L-dwarfs, e.g.) for SIM and GAIA. However, the most important application of JWST/NIRCam astrometry will be the routine measurement, with a required accuracy of ~4 milliseconds of arc, of the position of field stars relative to newly discovered, astrophysically interesting objects. This is needed for precise placement of these objects in JWST's near infrared multiple object spectrograh (NIRSpec) for followup studies. |
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