The InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) is one of three focal plane instruments on the Spitzer Space Telescope. IRAC is a four-channel camera that provides simultaneous 5.2' × 5.2' images at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 microns. The instrument observes two fields of view simultaneously with centers about 6.5 arcminutes apart, leaving a gap of about 1.5 arcminutes between the fields. One field is imaged at 3.6 and 5.8 microns while the other is imaged at 4.5 and 8.0 microns. All four detector arrays in the camera are 256 × 256 pixels in size, with a pixel size of ~ 1.2" x 1.2". The two short wavelength channels use InSb detector arrays and the two longer wavelength channels use Si:As detectors. IRAC was built by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) with management and scientific leadership by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) under principal investigator Giovanni Fazio.

IRAC is a powerful survey instrument because of its high sensitivity, large field of view, mapping capabilities, and simultaneous four-color imaging.

Cryogenic IRAC Pocket Guide (PDF, 252 KB)

Warm IRAC Pocket Guide (PDF, 143 KB)