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Next: Timing Up: 6.2 Performance of the Previous: Spatial Variations in Effective

Point Spread Function

   

The point response function of the WFC is dominated by the performance of the mirrors. Figuring errors determine the on-axis response but aberrations inherent in the optical design dominate at the edge of the field of view.  As the energy of the incident photons increases the scattering wings becomes more pronounced (Fig. 6.6). At tex2html_wrap_inline17935 and tex2html_wrap_inline17937 the on-axis half energy widths (HEW) are 2.47' and 1.93' respectively. However, at the edge of the field of view the HEW is 4.6' and independent of photon energy. The encircled energy fraction for a range of off-axis angles is shown in Fig. 6.7. The average HEW over the field of view is 3.5'. Figure 6.8 shows the in-orbit PSF measured from a tex2html_wrap_inline17947 observation of the bright white dwarf HZ 43 in the S2B filter.  



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