The systems are designed for imaging the same 0.9 degree field in the space-UV band from 140 nm to 300 nm. The image quality is 6-8 arcsec (FWHM), depending on the spectral band.
The filter complement consists of a broad-band filter (BBF), which provides a blue cutoff for wavelengths shorter than 200 nm, three intermediate band filters (SF-1, SF-2, and SF-3) with central wavelengths near 160, 210, and 260 nm respectively, and bandpasses of about 40 nm, and two narrow band filters centered at 150 and 210 nm, with bandpasses of about 10 nm.
The detectors are photon-counting imaging devices, made of a CsTe cathode on the inner surface of the entrance window, a stack of 3 microchannel plates (MCP), and a multi-electrode anode of the wedge-and-strip type.
The typical on-board image integration time is 1 hour.
TAUVEX has no right for target assignment but observes whenever any of the prome science instruments is observing.
The instrument is constructed for Tel Aviv University and the Israel Space Agency by El-Op, Electro-Optical Industries, Ltd. of Rehovoth, Israel.