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Session 56 - Frontiers of Ultraviolet Astrophysics.
Display session, Wednesday, June 10
Atlas Ballroom,
We have proposed the Halo Ultraviolet Explorer (HUE) as a University-class Explorer. This consists of a spectrograph (850 - 1200 A) optimized to detect diffuse O VI (1032/1038 A) emission from the hot Galactic halo. With sensitivities an order of magnitude better than any previous experiment, we will, for the first time, unambiguously detect such lines revealing densities, temperatures and pressures in the halo. The first mission designed specifically to probe the diffuse UV sky, HUE will map supernova remnants and other active regions in the far-UV, where many emission lines critical to the understanding of the violent ISM lie. We will observe dust-scattered starlight from dust in disparate regions, from cold molecular clouds to reflection nebulae near hot stars, testing models of dust evolution and composition in different environments.
If selected, HUE will fly in mid-2001 for a 3 month mission using a Spartan Lite bus. Building upon decades of experience at the Johns Hopkins University, we have put together a mission to perform ground-breaking astrophysical research at remarkably low cost and risk.
