A two-channel Fabry-Perot interferometer with thermoelectric-cooled CCD detectors for neutral wind measurement in the upper atmosphere

Abstract

We describe performance of a new two-channel Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) with two thermoelectric-cooled CCD detectors to measure neutral winds for both the 558-nm (mesopause region) and 630-nm (thermosphere) airglow emissions simultaneously at Shigaraki (34.8°N, 136.1°E), Japan. The employment of the thermoelectric cooling system enables us continuous automatic operation of the FPI since October 2000. The random errors of wind measurement are estimated to be ~5–8 m/s and ~10–50 m/s for 558 nm and 630 nm, respectively. The wind velocities obtained by the FPI (558 and 630 nm) fit well with those obtained by the collocated Middle and Upper (MU) atmosphere radar.