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E. W. Dunham (Lowell Observatory), J. L. Elliot (MIT), B. W. Taylor (Lowell Observatory)
Earth-based observations of stellar occultations provide extremely high spatial resolution of atmospheres and rings of bodies in the outer solar system. Airborne occultation observations are particularly effective, since the controlled mobility of the observing platform allows the observer to fly within the optimum part of the occultation shadow for most events that are visible from Earth. In addition, these observations are carried out above any clouds and are nearly free of scintillation noise from the Earth's atmosphere.
We describe here the specifications and development status of HOPI, the High-Speed Occultation Photometer and Imager. This is a dual-channel CCD imaging occultation photometer for use on SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy. Both HOPI and SOFIA are currently under development with initial flights scheduled to occur in late 2001.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: dunham@lowell.edu