The Black Hole Explorer: operating a hybrid observatory

Sara Issaoun; Kim Alonso; Kazunori Akiyama; Lindy Blackburn; Don Boroson; Peter Galison; Kari Haworth; Janice Houston; Michael D. Johnson; Yuri Y. Kovalev; Peter Kurczynski; Robert Lafon; Daniel P. Marrone; Daniel Palumbo; Eliad Peretz; Dominic Pesce; Leonid Petrov; Alexander Plavin; Jade Wang

doi:10.1117/12.3020041

23 August 2024 The Black Hole Explorer: operating a hybrid observatory

Sara Issaoun, Kim Alonso, Kazunori Akiyama, Lindy Blackburn, Don Boroson, Peter Galison, Kari Haworth, Janice Houston, Michael D. Johnson, Yuri Y. Kovalev, Peter Kurczynski, Robert Lafon, Daniel P. Marrone, Daniel Palumbo, Eliad Peretz, Dominic Pesce, Leonid Petrov, Alexander Plavin, Jade Wang

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 130926P (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020041
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

We present a baseline science operations plan for the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX), a space mission concept aiming to confirm the existence of the predicted sharp “photon ring” resulting from strongly lensed photon trajectories around black holes, as predicted by general relativity, and to measure its size and shape to determine the black hole’s spin. BHEX will co-observe with a ground-based very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) array at high-frequency radio wavelengths, providing unprecedented high resolution with the extension to space that will enable photon ring detection and studies of active galactic nuclei. Science operations require a simultaneous coordination between BHEX and a ground array of large and small radio apertures to provide opportunities for surveys and imaging of radio sources, while coordination with a growing network of optical downlink terminals provides the data rates necessary to build sensitivity on long baselines to space. Here we outline the concept of operations for the hybrid observatory, the available observing modes, the observation planning process, and data delivery to achieve the mission goals and meet mission requirements.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Sara Issaoun, Kim Alonso, Kazunori Akiyama, Lindy Blackburn, Don Boroson, Peter Galison, Kari Haworth, Janice Houston, Michael D. Johnson, Yuri Y. Kovalev, Peter Kurczynski, Robert Lafon, Daniel P. Marrone, Daniel Palumbo, Eliad Peretz, Dominic Pesce, Leonid Petrov, Alexander Plavin, and Jade Wang "The Black Hole Explorer: operating a hybrid observatory", Proc. SPIE 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 130926P (23 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020041

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