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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 8967-8973, 2009
www.atmos-chem-phys.net/9/8967/2009/ doi:10.5194/acp-9-8967-2009 © Author(s) 2009. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
Technical note: Scintillations of the double star α Cru observed by GOMOS/Envisat
1Earth observation, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
2LATMOS, Université Versailles Saint-Quentin; CNRS/INSU, Verrières-le-Buisson, France
3Organization of Russian Academy of Sciences A. M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics RAS, Moscow, Russia
Abstract. In this paper, we discuss scintillation time-spectra of the double star α Cru, which were measured by the GOMOS/Envisat photometer. The components of α Cru are not resolved by the angular field of view of the detector. The double structure of the light source reveals itself in the modulation of the observed scintillation spectra; this modulation is caused by anisotropic irregularities of the stratospheric air density. We present a qualitative and quantitative explanation of the properties of the double-star scintillation spectra. Possibilities of using double star scintillations for studying atmospheric air density irregularities are also discussed in the paper.
Citation: Sofieva, V. F., Dalaudier, F., Kan, V., and Gurvich, A. S.: Technical note: Scintillations of the double star α Cru observed by GOMOS/Envisat, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 8967-8973, doi:10.5194/acp-9-8967-2009, 2009.