Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment

"CUTE" redirects here. For other uses, see Cute (disambiguation).

Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is a small UV space telescope to study selected exoplanets.[1]

It was launched as a rideshare on the Atlas V that launched Landsat 9 on September 27, 2021.[1] Designed to operate for at least 8 months and study 10 exoplanets, CUTE remains operational as of December 2023, 27 months after launch. The spacecraft is expected to remain in orbit until 2027.[2]

CUTE can measure near-UV (255-330 nm) and do low resolution spectroscopy of atmospheric tracers (eg. Fe II, Mg II, Mg I, OH).[3]

The UV sensor is a 2048 x 515 pixel CCD array, with the spectrum lengthwise across the sensor.[4] The 515 pixel width provides tolerance from sensor damage.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Johnston, Scott Alan (25 September 2021). "A Tiny, Inexpensive Satellite Will be Studying the Atmospheres of hot Jupiters". Universe Today. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  2. ^ Werner, Debra (12 December 2023). "Cubesat offers template for future astronomy missions". SpaceNews. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE)". LASP. University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  4. ^ Fleming, Brian T.; et al. (2017). The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE): a dedicated cubesat mission for the study of exoplanetary mass loss and magnetic fields. UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XX. Vol. 10397. Proceedings of SPIE. arXiv:1801.02673v1. doi:10.1117/12.2276138. ISBN 978-1-5106-1251-8.


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