9.5.2 Bright Objects and Instrumental Backgrounds

Bright objects with MIPS leave latents in the arrays, so when planning observations near bright objects, we must also worry about the effect that the bright objects have on our observations (and the ones that come after us). Spot can help us figure out how many bright objects may affect our observations. After entering the AOR parameters (see below) and obtaining an image (above), we can choose from the Overlays menu the option to overlay "Spitzer bright objects for AOR." This will show us all of the objects that might cause latents in the arrays. We then need to specifically explain in our proposal why we would like to do this observation anyway, how we will deal with the latents, and how this additional background affects our science. In this example, at least 20 bright objects are displayed, and our proposal would definitely have to include such a discussion.