Abstract

This paper presents the current state of results from our program of balloon-borne far-infrared spectroscopy of the stratosphere. The instrumentation used in these observations consists of a two-beam Fourier transform spectrometer, which receives thermal emission radiation from the atmosphere by means of a telescope that is accelerometer- and gyroscope-stabilized to 0.02° in absolute elevation. The spectrometer is operated over the range 80-220 cm^-1, with an unapodized resolution of 0.032 cm^-1. The field of view on the sky is 0.3°, corresponding to a sampling width of less than 1/3 atmospheric scale height when used in a limb-scanning manner to probe the atmosphere below the altitude of the balloon platform.

© 1985 Optical Society of America