Session

Technical Session V: Instrumentation & Sensors

Abstract

The design and expected measurements of the Atmospheric Ultraviolet Radiance Analyzer (AURA) are presented. The goal of AURA is to provide global measurements of the ultraviolet emissions (1150 A to ~1900 A) from the Earth's atmosphere. These measurements will include spectra and images. AURA is expected to fly in a near circular, high inclination angle orbit. AURA is designed to have sufficient sensitivity to observe relatively weak emissions in the nighttime tropical arcs or the diffuse aurora. It will also provide excellent signal to noise measurements of the day airglow and discrete auroral arcs. The measurements will provide information on atmospheric background emissions and can be used to test remote sensing techniques for ionospheric parameters such as electron density profiles. The AURA instrument will provide two channels of UV observations. Each channel uses a 1/8 meter Ebert-Fastie spectrometer mated to a telescope with a scanning mirror. The scan mirrors and grating angles will be precisely controlled by stepper motors and will use optical fiducials to determine absolute positioning. The two channels operate independently in mode (imaging, spectral, or photometer), viewing direction, or observed wavelength. This independence allows for imaging the two channels on the same area of observation at slightly shifted times. The field-of-regard of these channels is a 180° swath perpendicular to the orbital path (spacecraft velocity vector). The angular field of- view of these channels will be approximately 2° by 0.2°. From the orbital altitudes anticipated (~700 to 1000 km), this will provide higher spatial resolution than previous auroral images from spacecraft.

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Sep 15th, 11:00 AM

Measurement of Atmospheric Ultraviolet Radiation from a Low Earth Orbit Satellite

The design and expected measurements of the Atmospheric Ultraviolet Radiance Analyzer (AURA) are presented. The goal of AURA is to provide global measurements of the ultraviolet emissions (1150 A to ~1900 A) from the Earth's atmosphere. These measurements will include spectra and images. AURA is expected to fly in a near circular, high inclination angle orbit. AURA is designed to have sufficient sensitivity to observe relatively weak emissions in the nighttime tropical arcs or the diffuse aurora. It will also provide excellent signal to noise measurements of the day airglow and discrete auroral arcs. The measurements will provide information on atmospheric background emissions and can be used to test remote sensing techniques for ionospheric parameters such as electron density profiles. The AURA instrument will provide two channels of UV observations. Each channel uses a 1/8 meter Ebert-Fastie spectrometer mated to a telescope with a scanning mirror. The scan mirrors and grating angles will be precisely controlled by stepper motors and will use optical fiducials to determine absolute positioning. The two channels operate independently in mode (imaging, spectral, or photometer), viewing direction, or observed wavelength. This independence allows for imaging the two channels on the same area of observation at slightly shifted times. The field-of-regard of these channels is a 180° swath perpendicular to the orbital path (spacecraft velocity vector). The angular field of- view of these channels will be approximately 2° by 0.2°. From the orbital altitudes anticipated (~700 to 1000 km), this will provide higher spatial resolution than previous auroral images from spacecraft.