TSTAR: Stratospheric temperature and pressure profiles retrievals using on-orbit star pairs observation.

Abstract:

TSTAR (Temperature profiles using Star Pairs) is a revolutionary sensor which observes occulting star pairs from orbiting sensors. As star pairs are being compressed during descent through the atmospheric limb, refraction angle change is computed for deducing density profile, which in turn by inversion allows getting stratospheric temperature and pressure profiles.

This instrument is intended to be a new source of global high altitude temperature fields, providing global coverage from cloud-top (tropopause ≈8–17 km) to 45 km at a horizontal resolution better than 100 km. Such a system works with standard visible cameras, not requiring complex cooled detectors. Moreover, refractive angle resolution is not limited by the optical resolution of the instrument, and by using orbital mechanics, accurate computation can be done without precise spacecraft attitude knowledge.

This technically simple, compact, and low cost hardware will also provide a valuable data set for improving weather forecasting. This concept has just completed the conceptual phase and feasibility analysis. The next step is to form key collaborations for developing a demonstration sensor. In due course, as few as a dozen of nanosatellites could get the Earth covered.