High-Speed Intensified Camera System for Investigation of Plasma Turbulence Induced by the Aurora
This the final report for a one-year effort to develop a high frame-rate multi-scale camera for investigations of fine-scale auroral dynamics and induced beam-plasma instabilities in the high-latitude ionosphere. The scope of the project included development and field-testing of the instrument, as w...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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2013
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| Online Access: | http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA578221 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA578221 |
| Summary: | This the final report for a one-year effort to develop a high frame-rate multi-scale camera for investigations of fine-scale auroral dynamics and induced beam-plasma instabilities in the high-latitude ionosphere. The scope of the project included development and field-testing of the instrument, as well as development of an image processing framework for extracting physical parameters from the recorded measurements. The optical architecture consisted of a low-noise scientific-grade CMOS sensor coupled to a 140-mm f/1 optic through a prompt-emission notch filter. This design provided meter-scale spatial resolution at 120-km stand-off distance over an 8x6 degree field-of-view. 16-bit sampling provided the large dynamic range required to observe the full range of variability in the aurora. A lower resolution wide-field sensor provided contextual information and the acquisition trigger for the CMOS sensor. Triggering was accomplished via real-time analysis of intensity and motions of targets within the field. Initial observations from the Sondrestrom, Greenland, ionospheric research facility have provided compelling proof-of-concept in support of a broader science program, as discussed in this report. The original document contains color images. |
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