Title :
The IRMA Water Vapour Radiometer and its Application to Remote Astronomical Site Testing
Author :
Phillips, Robin R. ; Naylor, David A. ; Dahl, R.E. ; Knee, Lewis
Author_Institution :
Lethbridge Univ., Lethbridge
Abstract :
IRMA is a compact, low power, 20um IR water vapour monitor suitable for operation in the astronomical site testing role. IRMA units have been in operation at sites in Chile, Mexico and the USA for the TMT site testing campaign. An additional unit has been modified for operation in the extreme Antarctic environment at Dome C in 2007. We have developed a standalone solar panel/battery power supply and satellite phone based modem control system. This allows an IRMA unit to be powered and operated anywhere on the planet -for example, remote mountain tops in western China that might be suitable sites for telescope construction.
Keywords :
atmospheric humidity; atmospheric measuring apparatus; infrared astronomy; infrared detectors; power supplies to apparatus; radiometry; remote sensing; Chile; Dome C; IRMA water vapour radiometer; Infrared Radiometer for Millimetre Astronomy; Mexico; TMT site testing campaign; USA; battery power supply; extreme Antarctic environment; remote astronomical site testing; satellite phone based modem control system; standalone solar panel; telescope construction; western China; Antarctica; Batteries; Control systems; Modems; Planets; Power supplies; Radiometry; Remote monitoring; Satellite broadcasting; Testing;
Conference_Titel :
Infrared Millimeter Waves and 14th International Conference on Teraherz Electronics, 2006. IRMMW-THz 2006. Joint 31st International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Shanghai
Print_ISBN :
1-4244-0400-2
Electronic_ISBN :
1-4244-0400-2
DOI :
10.1109/ICIMW.2006.368388
