Low cost multi-purpose balloon-borne platform for wide-field imaging and video observation

Francisco Ocaña; Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel; Aitor Conde

doi:10.1117/12.2233001

27 July 2016 Low cost multi-purpose balloon-borne platform for wide-field imaging and video observation

Francisco Ocaña, Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, Aitor Conde

Proceedings Volume 9906, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VI; 99061X (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233001
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

Atmosphere layers, especially the troposphere, hinder the astronomical observation. For more than 100 years astronomers have tried observing from balloons to avoid turbulence and extinction. New developments in cardsize computers, RF equipment and satellite navigation have democratised the access to the stratosphere. As a result of a ProAm collaboration with the Daedalus Team we have developed a low-cost multi-purpose platform with stratospheric balloons carrying up to 3 kg of scientific payload. The Daedalus Team is an amateur group that has been launching sounding probes since 2010. Since then the first two authors have provided scienti fic payloads for nighttime flights with the purpose of technology demonstration for astronomical observation. We have successfully observed meteor showers (Geminids 2012, Camelopardalis 2014, Quadrantids 2016 and Lyrids 2016) and city light pollution emission with image and video sensors covering the 400-1000nm range.

Citation Download Citation

Francisco Ocaña, Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, and Aitor Conde "Low cost multi-purpose balloon-borne platform for wide-field imaging and video observation", Proc. SPIE 9906, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VI, 99061X (27 July 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233001

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