Infrared Detection Techniques for Space Research : Proceedings of the Fifth Eslab/Esrin Symposium Held in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, June 8–11, 1971

Infrared Astronomy is a relatively new subject but it has already radically altered our ideas about astronomical sources. Recent progress in this subject is the result of improved detection techniques, particularly the use of detectors at liquid helium temperatures. Unfortunately, the terrestrial atmosphere greatly restricts Infrared astronomers by allowing them to detect radiation only in narrow transmission win­ dows and by presenting a foreground emission which limits the faintness of observable sources. It is only from aircraft or balloon altitudes that we can begin to observe faint sources over the complete range of wavelengths between the visible and the radio regions. Few such observations have yet been made and none from satellites, although the latter vehicle will offer complete freedom from atmospheric effects. New developments and intermediate steps will be required before the ultimate aim of flying in space can be achieved. It is not surprising therefore that the Fifth Eslab/Esrin Symposium should deal with this problem. This book contains the proceedings of the Symposium and faithfully records all discussions. The Symposium covered the present situation and future perspectives of IR techniques. International leaders in the field reviewed the results to date and the possible developments in telescope systems, detectors, cryogenics, filters, and interferometers. Individual con­ tributions were made by European and U. S. scientists in each of these fields. Front Matter....Pages I-XII Introduction....Pages 1-2 Front Matter....Pages 3-3 Review of Results in Infrared Space Astronomy....Pages 5-25 Front Matter....Pages 27-27 The NASA 91.5 cm Aperture Airborne Telescope....Pages 29-31 A 32-cm Airborne Infrared Observatory....Pages 32-40 Far-Infrared Observations of Celestial Objects by Balloon-Borne Telescope....Pages 41-52 An Infrared Photometer for the Balloon-Borne Telescope Thisbe....Pages 53-59 Measurements of the Atmospheric Background Emission Between 10μ and 100 μ....Pages 60-62 A Balloon-Borne Helium-Cooled Interferometer for Investigation of the Isotropic Submillimetre Background....Pages 63-72 Infrared Rocket Astronomy....Pages 73-76 An Interference Filter Radiometer with Cooled Optics and a Cooled Pbs Detector for Rocket Application....Pages 77-83 Infrared Interferometry from Satellites....Pages 84-92 The Meteosat Dual-Channel Radiometer....Pages 93-99 Front Matter....Pages 101-101 Infrared Detectors. Survey of the Present State of the Art....Pages 103-113 Liquid Helium-Cooled Bolometers....Pages 114-120 A New Type of Helium-Cooled Bolometer....Pages 121-131 Performance Tests of InSb and Ge Bolometers....Pages 132-140 An Infrared Transducer for Space Applications....Pages 141-146 Josephson Detection....Pages 147-153 Astronomical Polarimetry at 5 and 10μ....Pages 154-159 Problems and Design of Black-Body References....Pages 160-167 Front Matter....Pages 169-169 Cooling Systems for Spaceborne Infrared Experiments....Pages 171-188 Balloon-Borne Infrared Cryostats....Pages 189-195 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 Survey of the Present State of Art of Infrared Filters....Pages 199-218 Metallic Grid Filters....Pages 219-224 New Narrow-Band Metallic Mesh Filters for the 50 μ Region....Pages 225-233 High-Pass Filters for Far Infrared Astrophysical Investigation....Pages 234-242 Filters for Far Infrared Astronomy....Pages 243-256 Submillimetre and Millimetre Mapping Using Interference Filters....Pages 257-264 Front Matter....Pages 265-265 Interferometric Spectrometry for Infrared Astronomy....Pages 267-280 Far Infrared Broad Band Interferometry....Pages 281-283 Rapid Scanning Michelson Interferometer....Pages 284-287 Field Compensated Interferometer for Stellar Spectrometry....Pages 288-288 A Sisam Interferometer and a Simple Michelson-Interferometer with Spherical Mirrors for Space Application....Pages 289-305 Liquid Helium-Cooled Grating Monochromator....Pages 306-312 One- and Two-Dimensional Computational Problems Associated with Interferometry....Pages 313-331 Remarks on Infrared Technology and Spectroscopy in Astrophysics....Pages 332-334 Front Matter....Pages 335-335 General Discussion....Pages 337-344 Back Matter....Pages 345-346 Proceedings of the Fifth ESLAB/ESRIN Symposium, held in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, June 8-11, 1971