Abstract

A photoelectric photometer has been constructed that permits simultaneous and continuous measurement in three wavelength regions of the reflected solar radiation from artificial satellites. The instrument is fitted for manual tracking in altitude and azimuth coordinates, and is equipped with a one-meter catadioptric objective of 27-cm aperture. Light from an object in the field of view is dispersed into a spectrum by a 600 lines/mm diffraction grating, and the desired wavelength regions are isolated by means of narrow-band interference filters. A separate photomultiplier tube is used to measure the flux in each color. At present, the system is equipped with photomultiplier-filter combinations centered near 4750, 6015, and 7020 Å; observations at these wavelengths as the satellite passes into the earth’s shadow permit determination of the variation with altitude of the density and ozone content of the atmosphere. Satisfactory records have been obtained during several passes of the balloon satellite, Echo I, and are currently being analyzed.

© 1963 Optical Society of America

An 8–14 Micron Infrared Astronomical Photometer

James A. Westphal, Bruce C. Murray, and Dowell E. Martz
Appl. Opt. 2(7) 749-753 (1963)

Quadrant Photometer for Satellite-Borne Auroral and Optical Measurements

David R. Criswell and Brian J. O’Brien
Appl. Opt. 6(6) 1105-1110 (1967)

An Image-Scanning Three-Beam Photoelectric Photometer for Astronomical Observations

G. L. Roberts
Appl. Opt. 6(5) 907-909 (1967)

A Dual-Channel Pulse-Counting Astronomical Spectrophotometer

James P. Rodman
Appl. Opt. 2(2) 165-175 (1963)

The Wavelength Dependence of Polarization

Thomas Gehrels and Thomas M. Teska
Appl. Opt. 2(1) 67-77 (1963)