10/20/2023
By Lynne Schaufenbil

The Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology is please to announce the virtual talk "Application of the modern-day Fabry-Perot interferometer to study aeronomy and space physics dynamics" by John Meriwether, Distinguished Research Professor, Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.

Abstract:

Application of the Fabry-Perot interferometer instrument to study upper atmosphere dynamics has been one of the primary tools of ground-based optical aeronomy research ever since the beginning of the Space Age in the 60s. The introduction of the imaging detector as represented by the CCD camera technology in the early 2000s has resulted in a major advance in the FPI sensitivity as compared with the early technology of the scanning FPI instrument. I will cover the basic principles that explain how this instrument works. I will also illustrate current day FPI capability by showing examples of Doppler shift and Doppler broadening with error bars of 1-2 ms-1 for winds and 4-5 K for temperatures. After summarizing the science motivations for wanting to use this instrument in modern aeronomy, I will then discuss the science objectives for the state-of-the-art instrument undergoing development by Keo Scientific, Ltd. This instrument named MaxFPI supported by a NSF Major Research Instrument award is designed to achieve observations of the He 1083 metastable 2^3S state spectral profile to measure exospheric winds and temperatures at altitudes of 500 to 700 km. The expected etendue for MaxFPI relative to current FPIs is an order of magnitude increase. Such a remarkable gain is achieved by using a large format deep depleted CCD camera to increase the field-of-view by a factor of 3 combined with an increase of the aperture diameter from 12 cm to 20 cm thus increasing the etendue by a factor of 3. Simultaneous observations of both thermosphere and exosphere dynamics will help determine whether the exospheric winds are faster and hotter as compared with the thermosphere winds and temperatures. Finally, I will close with a discussion of the properties of the SWIR imager that is also being constructed by KeoScientific, Ltd that will help complement the MaxFPI observations by providing context for auroral and airglow measurements.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Lynne_Schaufenbil@uml.edu for the Zoom link.