Chapter 7:
Feasibility and Detector Performance

In this chapter. . .

The CCD CCD Operation and Feasibility Considerations The MAMA Detectors MAMA Operation and Feasibility Considerations MAMA Spectral Offsetting MAMA Bright-Object Limits

STIS employs two fundamentally different types of detectors: a UV-optimized CCD for use from the near-UV to the near-IR, and Multi-Anode Microchannel Array detectors, known as MAMAs, for use in the ultraviolet. The CCD and the MAMA detectors are used in different ways and impose their own unique limitations on the feasibility of observations performed with them. In this chapter we present the properties of the STIS detectors, describe how to use them to optimize scientific programs, and list the steps you should take to ensure the feasibility of your observations.