AbstractHigh resolution diffraction limited imagery, high resolution spectroscopy from UV to IR, and long integration times photometry are necessary to significantly improve our knowledge on planetary bodies from grains to planets. Ground-based observations are severely limited by the Earth's atmosphere. The capabilities of orbiting telescopes depend strongly on the selected orbit and on the possibility to replace the focal plane instruments.A Moon-based observatory should allow to cover a spectral range from 100 nm to 30 microns by a set of spectrometers and cameras operating simultaneously. Such an observatory should have an unique capability to investigate time-variable phenomena and should lead to major advances in many fields such as: planet-magnetosphere-satellite interactions, cometary jets of dust and molecules, varying atmospheric features from Venus to Neptune and Pluto, planetary oscillations, stellar occultations by atmospheres and rings, geochemical provinces on solid bodies from satellites to asteroids, physical characteristics of a multitude of primitive bodies, stellar and planetary formation.
Remote observations of solid surfaces of planets, satellites, rings and small bodies
Advances in Space Research ; 14 , 6 ; 141
1994-01-01
1 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Remote Observations of Solid Surfaces of Planets, Satellites, Rings and Small Bodies
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1994
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