University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Work
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      Ground based measurement of ozone using stellar spectra

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      r_mcdonald.pdf (18.37Mb)
      Date
      2006-02-23
      Author
      McDonald, C. Reid
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      The use of stars as a radiation source for ground-based ozone remote-sensing instruments is explored and an automated prototype instrument that measures absorption due to atmospheric ozone in stellar spectra has been designed, implemented and tested. This work represents the proof-of-concept development of a low-cost, low dispersion slitless imaging spectrometer that measures Chappuis-band absorption in stellar spectra. The work presented here progresses from the initial concept to a functional calibrated prototype that is capable of nightly automated observations of visible-band spectra from mid-magnitude stars. The design and calibration of the prototype and subsequent data collection and analysis are presented. A slitless imaging spectrometer has been developed and integrated with a commercial self-pointing telescope and an astronomical imager. A relative intensity calibration and the development of a dynamic wavelength calibration scheme, necessitated by the slitless nature of the instrument, is presented. The calibrated prototype has been used to collect several data sets of stellar spectra, and it is shown that the instrument can detect Chappuis absorption in stellar spectra. Several issues with both the concept and design that must be addressed in further development of the prototype are identified.
      Degree
      Master of Engineering (M.Eng.)
      Department
      Physics and Engineering Physics
      Program
      Physics and Engineering Physics
      Supervisor
      Llewellyn, Edward J.; Degenstein, Douglas A.
      Committee
      McWilliams, Kathryn A.; Manson, Alan; Koustov, Alexandre V. (Sasha); Rangacharyulu, Chilakamarri (Chary)
      Copyright Date
      February 2006
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-02282006-154255
      Subject
      proof of concept
      Chappuis band
      absorption
      spectroscopy
      instrument design
      Collections
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy