In this paper, we report the development of low flux short wavelength infrared radio-imaging
systems to study the radiance due to nightglow emission. This radiation is mainly due to the desexcitation of
hydroxyl molecules in the upper atmosphere. It is present in the visible range and reaches its maximum
value (at ground level) in the short wavelength infrared band between 1.4 and 1.8μm. The nightglow may be
an interesting additional light source for night vision systems in moonless or cloudy sky conditions. In this
paper, we describe the experimental setup and present first results of the measurement campaigns that we
performed at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence in France and at the European Southern Observatory site
of La Silla in Chile.
The emission of the upper atmosphere introduces an additional component into photometric observations of astronomical objects. In the I band for instance, the intensity of the atmospheric emission is of the order of 1 to 2 Imag20 per square arcsecond. The subtraction of this component is not easy because it varies during the night by as much as 50% and it is not homogeneous over the sky. A program aimed at understanding the main characteristics of the atmospheric emission was undertaken. A set of CCD images of the OH emission in the I band covering the sky was assembled in a panorama, it shows wide converging arches. An algorithm was developed in order to invert the perspective projection of the photographs. The result is a 2200 km wide view over Europe and Mediterranean Sea of the emission as seen from a virtual satellite. This image shows the presence of an extended wave field. A Fourier analysis allows to infer mean horizontal wavelength, mean temporal period and horizontal phase velocity. The atmospheric emission varies under the influence of atmospheric waves. A stereoscopic imaging program is currently under development to measure the amplitude and the energy of the atmospheric waves.
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