Astronomical results from SHARC-II

The Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera (SHARC-II) is a facility instrument for far-infrared (350 μm) imaging at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). With 384 pixels, SHARC-II uses the worldʹs largest bolometer array for astronomical observations. SHARC-II is most efficiently utilized for observations of extended sources and for deep sky surveys. The low 1/f detector noise allows total power measurements without the need to observe an emission free “off position”. This is possible because the sky emission can be distinguished from the celestial emission when the array scans over the sky at sufficient speed. Here we present a representative set of SHARC-II observations, which highlight the capabilities of the instrument. The observations show the submillimeter continuum emission from our own Galactic center, the nearby galaxy M51, and the gravitationally lensed high-z Cloverleaf galaxy H1413+1143.