SOFIA water vapor monitor design

Robert Cooper; Thomas L. Roellig; Lunming Yuen; Brian Shiroyama; Allan W. Meyer

doi:10.1117/12.458633

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3 March 2003 SOFIA water vapor monitor design

Robert Cooper, Thomas L. Roellig, Lunming Yuen, Brian Shiroyama, Allan W. Meyer

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Proceedings Volume 4857, Airborne Telescope Systems II; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.458633
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

The SOFIA Water Vapor Monitor (WVM) is a heterodyne radiometer designed to determine the integrated amount of water vapor along the telescope line of sight and directly to the zenith. The basic technique that was chosen for the WVM uses radiometric measurements of the center and wings of the 183.3 GHz rotational line of water to measure the water vapor. The WVM reports its measured water vapor levels to the aircraft Mission Controls and Communication System (MCCS) while the SOFIA observatory is in normal operation at flight altitude. The water vapor measurements are also available to other scientific instruments aboard the observatory. The electrical, mechanical and software design of the WVM are discussed.

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Robert Cooper, Thomas L. Roellig, Lunming Yuen, Brian Shiroyama, and Allan W. Meyer "SOFIA water vapor monitor design", Proc. SPIE 4857, Airborne Telescope Systems II, (3 March 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.458633

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