Engineering topics

Smith, W. Hayden

Publications and source records attributed to Smith, W. Hayden.

6 records

NASA NTRS1992

COMPAS: Compositional mineralogy with a photoacoustic spectrometer

There is an important need for an in situ method of mineral and rock identification and quantification that provides true absorption spectra for a wide spectral range for lunar lander/rover missions. Many common minerals such as feldspars, magnetite, ilmenite, and amorphous fine solids or glasses, can exhibit flat spectral reflectances in the 400-2500 nm spectral region that render inaccurate or difficult their spectral detection and quantitative analysis. Ideal rock and mineral spectra are, of course, pure absorption spectra that are independent of the spectral effects of scattering, particle size, and distribution that can result in a suppression or distortion of their spectral features. This ideal seldom pertains to real samples. Since sample preparation is difficult and may fundamentally alter the observed diffuse spectral reflectance, an in situ spectral measurement method for rocks and minerals on the Moon, insensitive to the sample morphology, would be invaluable. Photoacoustic spectroscopy is a well-established technique appropriate for this task that has been widely applied in condensed-phase spectral studies of complex, highly light scattering, unprepared samples of everything from coal to whole blood, including rock and mineral characterization. A Compositional Mineralogy Photoacoustic Spectrometer, or COMPAS, can enable in situ spectral measurement of rocks and minerals, bypassing the major limitations of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. COMPAS spectral capabilities for rock and mineral samples will be incorporated into an instrument prototype specifically for lunar measurements, compatible with rover capabilities.

Smith, W. Hayden↗

NASA NTRS1992

Lunar UV-visible-IR mapping interferometric spectrometer

Ultraviolet-visible-infrared mapping digital array scanned interferometers for lunar compositional surveys was developed. The research has defined a no-moving-parts, low-weight and low-power, high-throughput, and electronically adaptable digital array scanned interferometer that achieves measurement objectives encompassing and improving upon all the requirements defined by the LEXSWIG for lunar mineralogical investigation. In addition, LUMIS provides a new, important, ultraviolet spectral mapping, high-spatial-resolution line scan camera, and multispectral camera capabilities. An instrument configuration optimized for spectral mapping and imaging of the lunar surface and provide spectral results in support of the instrument design are described.

Smith, W. Hayden↗

NASA NTRS1989

O I concentration in Comet Halley

The present 200-mA spectral resolution and 1-inch spatial resolution long-slit spectra centered on Comet Halley's nucleus show an emission feature at the 5577 A wavelength of the green O I line whose spatial variation is very similar to that of the O I 6300-A line, but not the C2 bandhead nearby. On the assumption that the cometary O I 5577 A feature should share the cometary O I 6300-A line's spatial distribution, the 5577-A feature becomes at least partly attributable to oxygen; the ratio of the 6300-A line to the 5577-A line is then of the order of 10:1, which is consistent with the Festou and Feldman (1981) model in which water is the parent for the O I concentration features.

Smith, W. Hayden↗

NASA NTRS1989

The 2.4 micron spectrum of Comet Halley - A search for H2 emission

A 2.4-micron spectrum of Comet Halley was obtained on April 1, 1986 with the UKIRT scanning Fabry-Perot-CVF equipped with an InSb detector. From the ratio of the measured flux from comet Halley to Zeta Her in the 8.8 x 10 to the -4th micron bandwidth, Comet Halley produced a detected flux of about 1.3 x 10 to the 5th photons/sec with a 1-sigma variance of 385 photons. The flux detected in the same spectral region by Maillard et al. (1986) agrees with the measurements reported here to within a factor of two. The data obtained are examined from the standpoint of the possible mechanisms of H2 production.

Smith, W. Hayden↗

NASA NTRS1987

Spectral imagery with an acousto-optic tunable filter

.A spectral imager for astronomy and aeronomy has been fabricated using collinear or non-collinear acoustooptic tunable filters (AOTFs). The AOTF provides high transparency, rapid tunability over a wide wavelength range, a capability of varying the bandwidth by more than an order of magnitude, high etendue, and linearly polarized output. Some typical observational applications of acoustooptic tunable filters used in several configurations at astronomical telescopes are demonstrated.

Smith, W. Hayden↗

NASA NTRS1987

Spectral differential imaging detection of planets about nearby stars

Direct ground-based optical imaging of planets in orbit about nearby stars may be accomplished by spectral differential imaging using multiple passband acoustooptic filters with a CCD. This technique provides two essential results. First, it provides a means to modulate the stellar flux reflected from a planet while leaving the flux from the star and other sources in the same field of view unmodulated. Second, spectral differential imaging enables the CCD detector to achieve a sufficiently high dynamic range to locate planets near a star in spite of an integrated brightness differential of 5 x 10 to the 8th. Spectral differential imaging at nearby diffraction limited imaging conditions with telescope apodization can reduce the time to conduct a sensitive planetary search to a few hours in some cases. The feasibility of this idea is discussed here and shown to provide, in principle, the discrimination and sensitivity to detect a Jovian-class planet about stars at distances of about 10 parsecs. The detection of brown dwarfs is shown to be feasible as well.

Smith, W. Hayden↗