News 2006

The first images from a new generation camera called "ArTeMiS-1"  have just been obtained at theGornergrat Observatory, near Zermatt in Switzerland. This camera operates in the still poorly known "sub-millimetre" domain, between the infrared and the millimetre waves. It is an array of  16x16 bolometers, small detectors which measure the light energy by converting it into heat. These detectors need to be cooled at very low temperature, only 300 millidegrees above the absolute zero. These successful observations are the first step toward regular astronomical observations to study star formation and galaxy evolution. The camera is based on the technology developed at the Service d'Astrophysique of CEA/DAPNIA, and LETI/LIR at CEA/Grenoble for the HERSCHEL satellite to be launched in 2007.