Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Satellite-borne limb scanning UV spectrometer for thermospheric remote sensing

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

A concave grating Wadsworth spectrometer designed to scan the UV limb of the earth was flown on a Defense Department meteorological satellite to obtain measurements of atmospheric emissions in the 85–395-nm wavelength range as a function of height above the solid earth. The instrument field of view was 0.14 × 3.8° corresponding to 6 km in the vertical and 230 km in the horizontal at the limb. The scanning motion was controlled by a momentum compensated dc-torque motor mechanism that panned the line of sight across the limb corresponding to tangent altitudes of 80–480 km. A set of three photon counting detectors, each viewing a separate exit slit, provided simultaneous coverage of the wavelength bands of 85–120 nm (EUV), 110–163 nm (far UV), and 290–395 nm (UV) at a wavelength resolution of 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 nm, respectively. A separate photometric channel isolated the atmospheric sodium doublet at 589.0–589.6 nm. The grating position and instrument view angle were controlled by digital circuitry operating on hardwired and uplinked command instructions. The operating modes included a variety of scanning and fixed wavelength and view angle operations. A description of the instrument and several examples of the data are presented. These include the dayglow emissions from thermospheric oxygen and nitrogen that form the basis of a thermospheric density determination, auroral enhancements observed in these emissions and in hydrogen Ly-α, and nighttime sodium emissions.

© 1982 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Spectroscopic imaging of the thermosphere from the Space Shuttle

Marsha R. Torr, R. W. Basedow, and D. G. Torr
Appl. Opt. 21(22) 4130-4145 (1982)

Extreme ultraviolet imaging spectrometer for thermospheric emissions

Marsha R. Torr and R. C. Vitz
Appl. Opt. 21(17) 3080-3090 (1982)

Determination of vertical ozone distributions by spacecraft measurements using a limb-scan technique

Tadashi Aruga and Donald F. Heath
Appl. Opt. 21(16) 3047-3054 (1982)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (13)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Tables (6)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article tables are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved