Abstract

TIFR Near Infrared Spectrometer and Imager (TIRSPEC) which is based on 1024 x 1024 HgCdTe focal plane array (Rockwell HAWAII-1 PACE detector with imaging capabilities in 1 - 2.5 μm waveband range) at the focal plane of the 2 m Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) will be a major workhorse for a variety of challenging astrophysical problems. This will be extremely sensitive to low temperature stellar photospheres (T ≤ 2500 K) and objects surrounded by warm dust envelopes or embedded in dust/molecular clouds. It is therefore particularly suited to the search for low and very low mass stellar populations (M/L dwarfs, brown dwarfs), strong mass-losing stars on the asymptotic giant branch, young stellar objects still in their protostellar envelopes and active galactic nuclei. \mbox{TIRSPEC} is being developed by Mauna Kea Infrared, LLC, Hawaii, USA (MKIR) in collaboration with the infrared astronomy group of TIFR.