The Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC, pronounced as "wiffpick") was a camera installed on the Hubble Space Telescope launched in April 1990 and operated until December 1993. It was one of the instruments on Hubble at launch, but its functionality was severely impaired by the defects of the main mirror optics which afflicted the telescope. However, it produced uniquely valuable high resolution images of relatively bright astronomical objects, allowing for a number of discoveries to be made by HST even in its aberrated condition.
WFPC was proposed by James A. Westphal, a professor of planetary science at Caltech, and was designed, constructed, and managed by JPL. At the time it was proposed, 1976, CCDs had barely been used for astronomical imaging, though the first KH-11 KENNEN reconnaissance satellite equipped with CCDs for imaging was launched in December 1976. The high sensitivity offered such promise that many astronomers strongly argued that CCDs should be considered for Hubble Space Telescope instrumentation.
This first WFPC consisted of two separate cameras, each comprising four 800×800 pixel Texas Instruments CCDs arranged to cover a contiguous field of view. The Wide Field camera had a 0.1 arcsecond per pixel resolution and was intended for the panoramic observations of faint sources at the cost of angular resolution. The Planetary Camera had a 0.043 arcsecond per pixel resolution and was intended for high-resolution observations. Selection between the two cameras was done with a four-facetted pyramid that rotated by 45 degrees., page 28. 40 MB PDF file.
As part of the corrective service mission (STS-61 in December 1993) the WFPC was swapped out for a replacement version. The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 improved on its predecessor and incorporated corrective optics needed to overcome the main mirror defect. To avoid potential confusion, the WFPC is now most commonly referred to as WFPC1.
On its return to Earth, the WFPC was disassembled and parts of it were used in Wide Field Camera 3, which was installed in Hubble on May 14, 2009, as part of Servicing Mission 4, replacing WFPC2.
Specifications
The instrument had two different cameras within, the Wide Field and the Planetary Camera. The Wide Field camera had a wider field of view compared to the Planetary Camera. Both cameras have a light wavelength detection range of 115 to 1000 nm.
Wide Field Camera This instrument has a field of view of 2.6 x 2.6 arcminutes and an f-stop of f/12.9. It's equipped with 49 filters: +Wide Field Camera filter setNamenmminmaxpeakF194W162.97281.37208.81F230W197.46291.22235.82F284W224.83353.33285.24F336W290.76381.94336.96F368M345.69404.00371.66F375N365.18388.30376.27F157W124.261024.19294.68F413M387.07440.16412.76F437N433.12439.58436.67F439W392.84479.18435.36F469N464.69472.53468.71F487N482.35491.12486.99F492M457.64527.34490.63F502N497.38506.10501.85G450318.83673.03488.17F517N506.25528.86516.99F122M115.021058.32441.22F547M504.75589.22545.23G200159.991049.96482.07F555W444.24712.01540.00F569W482.20705.66558.06F588N581.08594.40587.98F606W452.50737.56580.36F622W532.31751.58611.44F631N625.44635.04630.62F648M609.05690.78646.34F656N652.73658.47655.83F658N654.54660.20657.71F664N647.01680.26664.01F673N662.51680.21672.26F675W592.30772.69666.27F8ND199.341068.46567.85POL0199.341068.46567.85POL120199.341068.46567.85POL60199.341068.46567.85F128LP200.301068.57570.52F702W583.31895.14683.13F718M662.88786.74714.82G800555.111068.06721.27F791W681.68937.55784.38F814W683.901013.82803.42F875M821.62944.75875.49F889N881.31896.43888.92F725LP698.611078.80838.40F785LP755.991083.60887.16F850LP822.091084.32928.94F1083N1071.001092.881082.98F1042M961.001094.671026.28
Planetary Camera This instrument has a field of view of 66 x 66 arcseconds and an f-stop of f/30, corresponding to a smallest pixel scale of 0.043 arcsecond (unit of degree). It's equipped with 49 filters: +Planetary Camera filter setNamenmminmaxpeakG200M2 114.6197.5155.5F194W 162.8284.6207.8F230W 194.8295.0236.2F284W 228.2363.7289.2F336W 291.3382.2339.0F368M 345.8404.0371.8F375N 365.2388.3376.3F413M 387.1440.3413.0F437N 433.1439.6436.7F439W 393.1479.3436.8F469N 464.7472.5468.7F487N 482.4491.1487.0F492M 457.8527.4491.0F502N 497.4506.1501.9G450 321.6673.2494.1F517N 506.3528.9517.0F157W 125.11047.7377.8F547M 504.8589.2545.2F555W 444.5713.4541.1F569W 482.3706.0558.3F588N 581.1594.4588.0G200 181.71054.8514.4F606W 452.9737.9581.6F622W 532.3752.4611.9F122M 117.61069.1504.8F631N 625.5635.0630.6F648M 609.1690.9646.5F656N 652.7658.5655.8F658N 654.5660.2657.7F664N 647.0680.3664.0F673N 662.5680.2672.3F675W 592.4773.0666.9F702W 583.3897.0684.2F718M 662.9786.9715.0F8ND 213.21078.9589.4POL0 213.21078.9589.4POL120 213.21078.9589.4POL60 213.21078.9589.4F128LP 214.51079.2591.8G800 555.21077.0725.9F791W 681.7938.8785.0F814W 684.01015.6805.2F875M 821.8945.0876.0F889N 881.3896.4888.9F725LP 698.71088.5842.3F785LP 756.11090.9890.9F850LP 822.41091.0931.9F1083N 1071.01092.91083.0F1042M 962.31095.71028.9
First light image
Replacement Although there was nothing known to be wrong with this instrument, the spherical aberration in HST's mirror severely limited the performance. WFPC was replaced by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 which included its own internal corrective optics. WFPC2 was replaced by the Wide Field Camera 3 in 2009. After return to Earth, WFPC was disassembled and its parts cannibalized to make WFC3.
See also Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 Wide Field Camera 3 Advanced Camera for Surveys Cosmic Origins Spectrograph Faint Object Camera Faint Object Spectrograph Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
References
External links Jupiter image by WFPC, 1991