Far Ultraviolet Imaging from the Image Spacecraft

Abstract

Abstract. Two FUV Spectral imaging instruments, the Spectrographic Imager (SI) and the Geocorona Photometer (GEO) provide IMAGE with simultaneous global maps of the hydrogen (121.8 nm) and oxygen 135.6 nm components of the terrestrial aurora and with observations of the three dimensional distribution of neutral hydrogen in the magnetosphere (121.6 nm). The SI is a novel instrument type, in which spectral separation and imaging functions are independent of each other. In this instrument, two-dimensional images are produced on two detectors, and the images are spectrally filtered by a spectrograph part of the instrument. One of the two detectors images the Doppler-shifted Lyman-α while rejecting the geocoronal "cold " Lyman-α, and another detector images the OI 135.6 nm emission. The spectrograph is an all-reflective Wadsworth configuration in which a grill arrangement is used to block most of the cold, un-Doppler-shifted geocoronal emission at 121.567 nm. The SI calibration established that the upper limit of transmission at cold geocoronal Lyman-α is less than 2%. The measured light collecting efficiency was 0.01 and 0.008 cm2 at 121.8 and at 135.6 nm, respectively. This is consistent with the size of the input aperture, the optical transmission, and the photocathode efficiency. The expected sensitivity is 1.8 x 10-2 and 1.3 x 10-2 counts per Rayleigh per pixel for each 5s viewing exposure per satellite revolution (120s). The measured spatial resolution is better than the 128 x 128 pixel matrix over the 15 ° x 15 ° field of view in both wavelength channels. The SI detectors are photon counting devices using the cross delay line principle. In each detector a triple