10min:

JEFFERY D. WALLER, Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1; KENNETH H. HINKLE, National Optical Astronomy Observatories, PO Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85732, USA; AND PETER F. BERNATH, Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1.

A new high resolution (~ 0.02 cm^-1) cryogenic echelle spectrograph called Phoenix has been constructed at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Phoenix has been used to record high resolution infrared spectra of the obscured carbon star IRC+10216 and the comet Hale--Bopp. Observations were made while Phoenix was attached at the Cassegrain focus of the 2.1 m telescope at Kitt Peak. Molecules targeted for observation included C₇, C₉, C₂H₆, C₂H₄, C₄H₂ and C₃. The design parameters and performance characteristics of Phoenix will be discussed along with some laboratory measurements.