SEARCH · Search NASA
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The design and construction of a high-resolution far-infrared Fourier-transform spectrometer for use on the Smithsonian balloon-borne one-meter telescope is described. The instrument will operate at a resolution of about 0.1 kayser in the region from 25 to 150 microns. It will be used to obtain spectra of Jupiter, Venus, Orion, and other H II and molecular cloud regions, as well as the terrestrial stratosphere.
The detection of CH3D in the 5-micron spectrum of Saturn, as obtained by a Fourier transform spectrometer, is reported. A CH3D abundance of 2.6 plus or minus 0.8 centimeter-amagat has been found along with a temperature of 175 plus or minus 30 K for the mean level of spectroscopic line formation. This suggests that the observed flux is due to thermal radiation from relatively deep levels within the atmosphere. This CH3D abundance indicates a deuterium/hydrogen ratio of approximately 2 x 10 to the -5th power, which is of a magnitude similar to that of Jupiter. This value is considerably lower than the terrestrial and meteoritic value of 15 x 10 to the -5th power. If stellar processing of the deuterium that formed the solar system is minimal, this ratio may be representative of the primordial ratio at the time of the formation of the universe.
An intense airglow from O2(1 Delta) at 1.27 microns on both the light and the dark sides of Venus has been detected by using a ground-based high-resolution Fourier-transform spectrometer. Both dayglow and nightglow are roughly 1,000 times brighter than the visible O2 nightglow found by Veneras 9 and 10 in 1975. The column emission rate of O2(1 Delta) from Venus is close to the rate at which fresh O atoms are produced from photolysis of CO2 on the day side. Formation of O2(1 Delta) is thus a major step in the removal of O atoms from the atmosphere, and dynamical processes must carry these atoms to the night side fast enough to yield a maximum density near 90 km, which is almost constant over the planet.
Postperihelion observations of Comet West (1975n = 1976 VI) have been made with a Fourier transform spectrometer at heliocentric distances from 0.57 to 1.68 AU. Measurements were made of the emission bands of C2, CN, C3, CH, and NH2, as well as the emission lines of Na D and forbidden (O I), and the flux in the continuum in nine different bandpasses. Several ratios of the band strengths of CN have been used to determine the two free parameters in the fluorescence equilibrium model of CN of Danks and Arpigny (1973). From the values of the parameters it is inferred that the vibrational transition probability for the ground electronic state is between 0.025 and 0.075 per sec and that the ratio of oscillator strengths between the (0-0) bands of the violet and red systems is between 25 and 30. When corrected for field-of-view effects, NH2 shows no systematic variation in abundance relative to C2 while CH shows a small increase. The cometary continuum is found to be slightly redder than the solar continuum, consistent with results for other bright, dusty comets. The equivalent width of the Delta u = 0 sequence of C2 shows a marked decrease at r(H) = 1.2 AU.
The phy system of titanium oxide has been studied in emission in the near-infrared, with the Fourier transform spectrometer at a resolution of 8000,000. Approximately 3000 lines from 25 bands of this system have been identified, including all five 0-0 and 0-1 bands corresponding to the five natural titanium isotopes. Eleven vibrational levels have been observed, and all bands have been rotationally analyzed. Band intensities are agreement with known isotopic abundances and calculated Franck-Condon factors.
Thermal emission from three rotational lines of H(Cl-35) and H(Cl-37) was observed with a Fourier transform spectrometer from a balloon platform at 28.9 km. The measured HCl line-of-sight density at 1.9 deg elevation above 28.9 km is 4.7 + or - 1.3 x 10 to the 15th/sq cm, implying an average volume mixing ratio of 0.8 + or - 0.2 x 10 to the -9th at the mean sampling altitude of 32.5 km. For a uniform mixing ratio model, this corresponds to a vertical column density of 2.4 + or - 0.6 x 10 to the 14th/sq cm. This result is in reasonable agreement with near infrared spectroscopic determinations and an abundance from a chemical sampling technique of HCl at this altitude; a pressure modulator radiometer measurement yields a significantly higher amount of HCl.
In the last dozen years spaceborne Fourier transform spectrometers have obtained infrared emission spectra of Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Titan as well as of the Galilean and other Saturnian satellites and Saturn's rings. Intercomparisons of the properties of planetary atmospheres and of the characteristics of solid surfaces are now feasible. The principles of remotely sensing the environment on a planetary body are dicussed. Special consideration is given to the most recent results obtained by the Voyager infrared investigation on the Saturn system.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy program is a multiflight shuttle borne investigation designed to determine, on a global scale, the compositional structure and spatial variability of the upper atmosphere using the technique of high resolution infrared absorption spectroscopy. The measurement approach is based on an advanced Fourier Transform Spectrometer capable of obtaining high sensitivity spectral measurements of the atmosphere over a wide spectral region (625-5000 kaysers; 2-16 microns) at high spectral resolution (0.01 kaysers) and vertical height spatial resolution (2 km). Additional elements of the sensor system include a suntracker, a telescope, a mechanically cooled (Hg,Cd)Te detector, and a data handling subsystem with a 16 Mbit/s PCM output. A description is given of the sensor design, including performance predictions, followed by a brief summary of the current technical status of the development effort.
A list of new methane line parameters for the 2385-3200 cm region included in the Air Force Geophysical Laboratory's compilation of molecular line parameters is presented. Line positions were determined by computer computations from Fourier transform spectrometer data using a Kitt Peak subroutine. With the exception of class IV lines, all line strengths were determined by the method of equivalent widths. Additional line strengths were measured from spectra taken at cold sample temperatures so that lower state transition energies could be determined experimentally. Observed line positions and strengths are given for 8076 absorptions with strengths greater than 3.3 x 10 to the -24 cm/molecule.
The C-12:C-13 ratios in the atmospheres of the outer planets are important parameters with which to test models for isotope formation and fractionation during the early history of the solar system, yielding insight into processes occurring in the primitive solar nebula. The 3 ny sub 3 spectra of methane were obtained using the Kitt Peak Solar Fourier Transform Spectrometer and a 6 m White cell. The experimental results are summarized in a table. The strength ratios for the R-branch of 3 ny sub 3 exhibit strong anomalies, with C-13H4 lines consistently weaker than their C-12H4 counterparts. The C-12:C-13 abundance ratios for the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn have been redetermined using the 3 ny sub 3 line-strength ratios measured.
The precision required in making spectroscopic measurements is discussed. Remarks are directed specifically to vibration-rotation spectra rather than continuum absorptions. The ultimate precision that is required for line positions is related to the width of the lines which may be no narrower than the Doppler width. The spectroscopic methods considered are those which are of the most general value to the astronomers; those which acquire and can handle large volumes of spectra in digital form, or in a form which is compatible with computer analysis, and in a form which is at least internally consistent. The use of dye laser, grating instruments, and the most versatile instrument for laboratory spectroscopy, the Fourier transform spectrometer is discussed.
The 3.5 micron region of methane was analyzed. The positions and strengths of approximately 9000 absorption lines in the region from 2400 to 3200 cm were measured. Spectra were obtained at a resolution of 0.1 cm using the Fourier transform spectrometer and at 0.02 cm resolution using the four passed grating spectrometer. The analysis of the 3.5 micron region required the use of spectra of CH4 in other regions, therefore the methane spectrum from 1200 to 4700 cm is indicated. The method used for the compilation of line lists is demonstrated.
Balloon measurements of the stratospheric HF/HCl ratio are reported. Seven far-infrared rotational lines of HF and HCl were observed at elevation angles of 25, 18 and 8 deg by a far-infrared Fourier-transform spectrometer on board a balloon platform at 28.5 km. Analysis of line intensities yields an average HF/HCl ratio of 0.18 + or - 0.02 at an effective altitude of 33 km, with a water vapor mixing ratio of about 4 ppmv. Results are noted to be in reasonable agreement with the calculated profile of Sze and Ko (1981) with 4.5 ppmv H2O.
For more than a decade, spaceborne Fourier transform spectrometers have been employed in investigations concerning the earth and other objects in the solar system. The wide spectral range at moderately high spectral resolution, the precise wavenumber and radiometric calibrations, and the reliability achieved by these instruments, have permitted scientific investigations which would otherwise have been impossible. Weight limitations and the long flight durations prohibited the use of highly sensitive, cryogenically cooled detectors on these missions. A brief review is presented of the evolution of the instruments known as IRIS (InfraRed Interferometric Spectrometer). The concept of remote sensing by infrared emission spectroscopy is discussed, and examples of results obtained with IRIS are presented. Attention is given to the most recent results from Voyager with emphasis on those from Titan.
The parameters of three bands of CO2 near 2600 per cm have been determined by the nonlinear least squares method of whole-band analysis. Careful modeling of the effect of the Fourier transform spectrometer on the spectrum has made it possible to reduce the difference between the observed and calculated spectra to values close to the estimated noise in the experimental spectrum. In particular, it is found necessary to model the effects of phase error even though these are difficult to observe in the experimental spectra.
The paper analyzes line positions and absolute line strengths of Blatherwick et al. (1979), based on moderately high resolution spectra of methane between 1100 and 1800 per cm, obtained using the Fourier transform spectrometer and the multiple-pass cold cell at the NASA Ames Research Center. Hamiltonian models are used to calculate theoretical relative line strengths, which, in combination with measured line strengths, yield integrated band strengths for the fundamentals v2 and v4. Ratios of calculated intensities to experimental intensities are analyzed, and the systematic deviations in the P- and R-branches of the v2 band are found to be represented by a Herman-Wallis type factor for Coriolis interactions. An analysis of ratios of calculated to experimental intensities of the v4 band yields a small correction to the Herman-Wallis factor.
The vibration-rotation spectrum of HDO in the 2400-3300 per cm region has been studied at 0.01 per cm resolution with a Fourier transform spectrometer. Values of the ground state levels and levels in the (100) and (020) states have been determined from the data. The ground state levels are fitted to a Watson-type Hamiltonian from which 17 rotational constants are obtained. Measurements of the strengths of over 1100 lines have been made using a nonlinear least-squares fitting technique, and 548 of these lines are analyzed to determine the band strengths, the coefficients of the F factors, and the Coriolis interaction parameters. The strengths of the A- and B-type (100) bands and the A- and B-type (020) bands are 53.2 + or - 0.9, 0.43 + or - 0.07, 6.00 + or - 0.54, and 2.75 + or - 0.12 per sq cm per atm at 296 K, respectively.
A long path, low pressure laboratory spectrum of carbon dioxide is presented for the spectral region 1830 to 2010/cm. The data were recorded at 0.01/cm resolution and room temperature with the Fourier transform spectrometer in the McMath solar telescope complex at Kitt Peak National Observatory. A list of positions and assignments is given for the 1038 lines observed in this region. A total of 30 bands and subbands of 12C16O2, 13C16O2, 12C16O18O, 12C16O17O, and 13C16O18O were observed.