First SDSS Astronomical Spectrum
On July 9, 1998 the first astronomical data was obtained from one of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectrographs. The completed spectrograph, residing in the lab at Apache Point Observatory, was fitted with a spare slit head containing 80 fibers. The fiber bundle was aimed at an argon lamp, an incandescent lamp, and finally at the laboratory window to produce the solar spectrum shown below. The spectra were extracted and calibrated using IRAF, but work is in progress to put these images through the full spectroscopic pipeline.
A segment of a raw image is shown in false color.
The
lines visible near the top are Calcium H & K.