Attempt to measure the diffuse brightness of the sky at submillimeter wavelengths

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6997977

Lange, A E

A rocket-borne experiment designed to measure the diffuse brightness of the sky in six passbands between 100 ..mu..m and 1 mm is described. Past attempts to measure the submillimeter background are reviewed. Despite numerous attempts, the submillimeter background remains undetected. The spectrum of the submillimeter background is estimated on the basis of absolute measurements in adjacent regions of the spectrum, and relative measurements at submillimeter wavelengths. Three components of diffuse submillimeter emission are identified: the 2.8 K background, thermal emission from interstellar dust, and thermal emission from interplanetary dust. The observability of extragalactic backgrounds due to the integrated infrared emission from distant galaxies is discussed. The instrument designed to measure the submillimeter background consists of a horn antenna and a multi-channel absolute photometer, both of which are cooled to 1.2 K by liquid /sup 4/He. The design, fabrication, and calibration of the instrument are described in detail.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6997977
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640104* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Solar Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BACKGROUND RADIATION
BRIGHTNESS
DIFFUSE SOLAR RADIATION
DUSTS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIATIONS
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
SHORT WAVE RADIATION
SKY
SOLAR FLUX
SOLAR RADIATION
SPACE
STELLAR RADIATION