An infrared camera for the Palomar Observatory 60-inch telescope

A near-infrared 0.8-2.5 mu m imaging camera for use at the f/8.75 Cassegrain focus of the Palomar 60-inch telescope is described. The simple and economical design of this camera is readily adaptable to other telescopes. It features diffraction-limited reimaging optics, high optical throughput (39% at H), and effective K-band background suppression. The camera utilizes an all-reflective, all-spherical optical design that is a variant of-the Offner 1:1 reimager. The readout electronics are straightforward, reliable and have low noise, while the data-acquisition system is robust in its utilization of a real-time UNIX operating system on a PC. The electronics and data-acquisition system are described in detail. Various aspects of the performance are given, along with initial results which show that the performance goals of the camera are fully realized.