THE ARCADE 2 INSTRUMENT
- Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, Code 665, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
- Code 665, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
- Department of Physics, Columbia University, 1027 Pupin Hall, Box 47, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States)
The second generation Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission (ARCADE 2) instrument is a balloon-borne experiment to measure the radiometric temperature of the cosmic microwave background and Galactic and extragalactic emission at six frequencies from 3 to 90 GHz. ARCADE 2 utilizes a double-nulled design where emission from the sky is compared to that from an external cryogenic full-aperture blackbody calibrator by cryogenic switching radiometers containing internal blackbody reference loads. In order to further minimize sources of systematic error, ARCADE 2 features a cold fully open aperture with all radiometrically active components maintained at near 2.7 K without windows or other warm objects, achieved through a novel thermal design. We discuss the design and performance of the ARCADE 2 instrument in its 2005 and 2006 flights.
- OSTI ID:
- 21574807
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 730, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/730/2/138; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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