KASINICS: KASI Near-Infrared Camera System

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) is building the KASI Near Infrared Camera System (KASINICS) for the 61-cm telescope at the Sobaeksan Optical Astronomy Observatory (SOAO) in Korea. With KASINICS we will mostly do time monitoring observations, e.g., thermal variations of Jovian planet atmospheres, variable stars, and blazars. We use a 512 x 512 InSb array (Aladdin III Quadrant, Raytheon Co.) for L-band observations as well as J, H, and Ks-bands. The field-of-view of the array is 6 x 6 arcmin with 0.7 arcsec/pixel. Since the SOAO 61cm telescope was originally designed for visible band observations, we adopt an Offner relay optical system with a Lyot stop to eliminate thermal background emission from the telescope structures. In order to minimize weight and volume, and to overcome thermal contraction problems, we optimize the mechanical design of the camera using the finiteelement-method (FEM) analysis. Most of the camera parts including the mirrors are manufactured from the same melt of aluminum alloy to ensure homologous contraction from room temperature to 70 K. We also developed a new control electronics system for the InSb array (see the other paper by Cho et al. in this proceedings). KASINICS is now under the performance test and planned to be in operation at the end of 2006.