Balloon-borne telescope

A balloon-borne telescope is a type of airborne telescope, a sub-orbital astronomical telescope that is suspended below one or more stratospheric balloons, allowing it to be lifted above the lower, dense part of the Earth's atmosphere. This has the advantage of improving the resolution limit of the telescope at a much lower cost than for a space telescope. It also allows observation of frequency bands that are blocked by the atmosphere.[1] Multiple cosmic-ray, neutrinos, and particle observatories and detectors were also launched on balloons.

History

Balloon-borne telescopes have been used for observation from the stratosphere since the Stratoscope I was launched in 1957.[2] A number of different instruments have since been carried aloft by balloons for observation in the infrared, microwave, X-ray and gamma ray bands. The BOOMERanG experiment, flown between 1997–2003,[3] and the MAXIMA, which made flights in 1998 and 1999,[4] were used to map the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.

Disadvantages

Balloon-borne telescopes have the disadvantage of relatively low altitude and a flight time of only a few days. However, their maximum altitude of about 50 km is much higher than the limiting altitude of aircraft-borne telescopes such as the Kuiper Airborne Observatory and Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, which have a limiting altitude of 15 km.[1][5] A few balloon-borne telescopes have crash landed, resulting in damage to, or destruction of the telescope.

The balloon obscures the zenith from the telescope, but a very long suspension can reduce this to a range of 2°. The telescope must be isolated from the induced motion of the stratospheric winds as well as the slow rotation and pendulum motion of the balloon. The azimuth stability can be maintained by a magnetometer, plus a gyroscope or star tracker for shorter term corrections. A three axis mount gives the best control over the tube motion, consisting of an azimuth, elevation and cross-elevation axis.[5]

Missions

Name Active Description and purpose
Stratoscope I 1957–59 12-inch telescope attached to a polyethylene balloon (Skyhook balloon).[2] This was the first balloon-borne astronomical telescope.[6] It took photographic images of the sun, showing granulation features. In 1959 it was flown again, this time with a television transmitter.[2]
Stratoscope II 1963–71 36-inch telescope with a tandem balloon system.[2]
LEE 1968– Low energy electron detector for solar modulation study[7]
THISBE 1973–76 Telescope of Heidelberg for Infrared Studies by Balloon-borne Experiments. Infrared telescope used for observations of extended sources, including OH airglow, the zodiacal light, and the central galaxy region.[8]
HIREGS 1991–98 High-resolution spectrometer for examining gamma ray and hard X-ray emissions from solar flares and galactic sources. It used an array of liquid nitrogen-cooled germanium detectors.[9]
AESOP 1997– Anti-Electron Sub Orbital Payload, a particle detector used to investigate the charge-sign dependence in solar modulation.[7]
BOOMERanG experiment 1997–2003 Microwave telescope with cryogenic detectors that was carried on long-duration flights over the antarctic. It was used to map the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR).[3]
MAXIMA 1998–99 Microwave telescope with a cryogenic receiver that was used to measure the CMBR.[4]
Archeops 1999 Cosmic microwave background experiment
ATIC 2000 Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter, measured the energy and composition of cosmic rays
HERO 2001–10 Hard X-ray telescope that flew successfully beginning in 2001 but crashed in 2010, destroying the telescope.[10]
BLAST 2003– Submillimetre telescope with a 2 m aperture. It was destroyed during the third flight, but was rebuilt and completed a fourth flight in 2010.[11]
InFOCμS 2004– Hard X-ray telescope with a 49 cm2 collecting area.[12]
BESS 2004 Balloon-borne Experiment with Superconducting Spectrometer designed to search for antimatter in cosmic radiation
CREAM 2004–2019 NASA experiment to determine the composition of cosmic rays.
CREST 2005–2011 The Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope, an experiment designed to measure the flux of primary cosmic ray electrons at energies greater than 1 TeV.[13]
HEFT 2005 Hard X-ray telescope with grazing-incidence optics.[14]
Nuclear Compton Telescope 2005–2010 A Compton telescope to observe the gamma-ray sky in the energy range from a few hundred keV to several MeV.
ANITA 2006–2007 Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna, an ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrinos detector
ARCADE 2006–2011 Absolute Radiometer for Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Diffuse Emission, a NASA mission intended to measure the heating of the universe by the first stars and galaxies after the big bang and search for the signal of relic decay or annihilation
TRACER 2007 Transition Radiation Array for Cosmic Energetic Radiation, a cosmic ray detector
Sunrise 2009– 1 m ultraviolet telescope with image stabilization and adaptive optics for observing the Sun.[15]
PoGOLite 2011– Telescope for polarised hard X-rays and soft gamma-rays.[16]
GAPS 2012– General AntiParticle Spectrometer, designed for antideuteron search in cosmic rays
BRRISON 2013 Balloon Rapid Response for ISON, a NASA mission to study comet C/2012 S1 (ISON).
SuperTIGER 2013–2017 Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder, a NASA cosmic ray detector mission[17][18]
BARREL 2013–2020 Balloon Array for Radiation-belt Relativistic Electron Losses, a NASA mission to study X-rays in Earth’s atmosphere near the North and South poles.[19]
BOPPS 2014 The Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science, a NASA mission which observed Oort Cloud comets, the asteroid Ceres and the double star Castor.[20]
STO 1 and 2 2014–2016 The Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory, a NASA exploratory mission for the GUSTO telescope.[21][22]
Spider 2015– Submillimeter telescope searching for primordial gravitational waves.[23]
SuperBIT 2015– Near-IR to Near-UV, wide-field, optically diffraction-limited telescope mapping out dark matter distribution in galaxy clusters through weak lensing.[24]
BACCUS 2016 The Boron And Carbon Cosmic rays in the Upper Stratosphere, a NASA experiment to study cosmic rays and the chemicals and atoms that make up the interstellar space.[25]
COSI 2016 Compton Spectrometer and Imager Science, a Compton telescope for soft gamma-rays[26]
PIPER 2017– Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer, a NASA mission of twin telescopes super-cooled to near absolute zero for increased sensitivity to detect the faint, remnant heat radiation from the big bang.[27]
ASHI 2021 All-Sky Heliospheric Imager, a NASA experiment to test the instrument’s capability to reduce stray light and observe the solar wind from here on Earth.[28]
BALBOA 2021 BALloon-Based Observations for sunlit Aurora, a NASA experiment to test a wide-view infrared camera designed to study daytime auroras.[28]
BBC 2021 Balloon-borne Chirpsounder, a NASA experiment to measure how the radio signals ping off and through the ionosphere before bouncing back to its detectors.[28]
BOOMS 2021 Balloon Observation of Microburst Scales, a NASA experiment to observe microbursts, flashes of X-ray light that sporadically appear in the polar atmosphere.[28]
GUSTO 2023 Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory, a NASA mission designed to study the interstellar medium.[29][30][31]
EXCITE 2024 EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope, a NASA mission designed to study atmospheres around exoplanets.[32]
PUEO 2025 Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations, a particle detector for Askaryan emission from neutrinos interacting in the ice, geomagnetic (and Askaryan) emission from tau leptons, and geomagnetic emission from Ultra-High Energy cosmic rays[33]
ASTHROS Future, NET 2026 Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths, a NASA mission to research stellar feedback in the Milky Way.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kitchin, Christopher R. (2003). Astrophysical techniques (4th ed.). CRC Press. p. 83. ISBN 0-7503-0946-6.
  2. ^ a b c d Kidd, Stephen (September 17, 1964). "Astronomical ballooning: the Stratoscope program". New Scientist. 23 (409): 702–704. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  3. ^ a b Masi, S. (2002). "The BOOMERanG experiment and the curvature of the universe". Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics. 48 (1): 243–261. arXiv:astro-ph/0201137. Bibcode:2002PrPNP..48..243M. doi:10.1016/S0146-6410(02)00131-X. S2CID 16998444.
  4. ^ a b Rabii, B.; et al. (July 2006). "MAXIMA: A balloon-borne cosmic microwave background anisotropy experiment". Review of Scientific Instruments. 77 (7) 071101. arXiv:astro-ph/0309414. Bibcode:2006RScI...77g1101R. doi:10.1063/1.2219723. S2CID 16803721.
  5. ^ a b Cheng, Jingquan (2009). The principles of astronomical telescope design. Astrophysics and space science library. Vol. 360. Springer. pp. 509–510. ISBN 978-0-387-88790-6.
  6. ^ Zimmerman, Robert (2010). The universe in a mirror: the saga of the Hubble Telescope and the visionaries who built it. Princeton University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-691-14635-5.
  7. ^ a b https://www.bartol.udel.edu/gp/balloon/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ Hofmann, W.; Lemke, D.; Thum, C. (May 1977). "Surface brightness of the central region of the Milky Way at 2.4 and 3.4 microns". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 57 (1–2): 111–114. Bibcode:1977A&A....57..111H.
  9. ^ Boggs, S. E.; et al. (October 2002). "Balloon flight test of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) electronics and background model performance on the HIREGS payload". Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. 491 (3): 390–401. Bibcode:2002NIMPA.491..390B. doi:10.1016/S0168-9002(02)01228-7.
  10. ^ Malik, Tariq (April 29, 2010). "Huge NASA Science Balloon Crashes in Australian Outback". space.com. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  11. ^ Devlin, Mark. "Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope: home page". blastexperiment. Archived from the original on 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  12. ^ Tueller, J.; et al. (2005). "InFOCμS hard X-ray imaging telescope". Experimental Astronomy. 20 (1–3): 121–129. Bibcode:2005ExA....20..121T. doi:10.1007/s10686-006-9028-3. S2CID 122127514.
  13. ^ "CREST (Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope) - 12/25/2011". stratocat.com.ar.
  14. ^ Chen, C. M. Hubert; et al. (September 2006). "In-flight Performance of the Balloon-borne High Energy Focusing Telescope". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 38: 383. Bibcode:2006HEAD....9.1812C.
  15. ^ Schmidt, W.; et al. (June 2010). "SUNRISE Impressions from a successful science flight". Astronomische Nachrichten. 331 (6): 601. Bibcode:2010AN....331..601S. doi:10.1002/asna.201011383.
  16. ^ "PoGOLite: home page". Archived from the original on 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  17. ^ "NASA's Super-Tiger Balloon Breaks Records While Collecting Data - NASA".
  18. ^ "NASA's SuperTIGER Balloon Flies Again to Study Heavy Cosmic Particles - NASA". December 6, 2017.
  19. ^ "BARREL". NASA. 21 May 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  20. ^ "NASA Conducts Successful Planetary Science Balloon Mission - NASA".
  21. ^ "STO2". 17 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory 1&2 | Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian". www.cfa.harvard.edu.
  23. ^ Crill, B.P.; Ade, P.A.R; Battistelli, E.S. (2008). Oschmann, Jr, Jacobus M; De Graauw, Mattheus W. M; MacEwen, Howard A (eds.). "SPIDER: a balloon-borne large-scale CMB polarimeter". Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter. 7010. SPIE: 70102P. arXiv:0807.1548. Bibcode:2008SPIE.7010E..2PC. doi:10.1117/12.787446. S2CID 7924096.
  24. ^ Romualdez, L. Javier; Benton, Steven J.; Brown, Anthony M.; Clark, Paul; Damaren, Christopher J.; Eifler, Tim; Fraisse, Aurelien A.; Galloway, Mathew N.; Gill, Ajay; Hartley, John W.; Holder, Bradley (2020-03-01). "Robust diffraction-limited NIR-to-NUV wide-field imaging from stratospheric balloon-borne platforms -- SuperBIT science telescope commissioning flight & performance". Review of Scientific Instruments. 91 (3): 034501. arXiv:1911.11210. doi:10.1063/1.5139711. hdl:10852/82931. ISSN 0034-6748. PMID 32259997. S2CID 215409662.
  25. ^ "Balloons on Ice: NASA Launches Antarctica Scientific Balloon Campaign - NASA". November 29, 2016.
  26. ^ Pacheco, Luis Eduardo. "COSI (Compton Spectrometer and Imager Science) - 5/16/2016". stratocat.com.ar.
  27. ^ "PIPER (Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer)". NASA. 14 November 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  28. ^ a b c d "Lofted by NASA Balloons, New Experiments Will Study Sun-Earth System - NASA". April 28, 2021.
  29. ^ "NASA Balloon Mission Designed to See the Space Between Stars". NASA.
  30. ^ "GUSTO". NASA. 21 November 2023.
  31. ^ "NASA's Balloon Mission GUSTO Mapping the Space Between the Stars | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory". www.jhuapl.edu.
  32. ^ "EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope)". NASA. 25 November 2024.
  33. ^ "About -". pueo.space.
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