K band (infrared)

In infrared astronomy, the K band is an atmospheric transmission window centered on 2.2 μm (in the near-infrared 136 THz range).^[1][2] HgCdTe-based detectors are typically preferred for observing in this band.^[3]

Photometric systems used in astronomy are sets of filters or detectors that have well-defined windows of absorption, based around a central peak detection frequency and where the edges of the detection window are typically reported where sensitivity drops below 50% of peak. Various organizations have defined systems with various peak frequencies and cutoffs in the K band, including K′, and K_S, and K_dark.^[4]

See also

• Absolute magnitude