Application of a radiometric calibration method to lunar Fourier transform IR spectra by using a liquid-nitrogen-cooled high-emissivity blackbody

Abstract

Since winter 1994/1995 the Moon has been used in addition to the Sun as an IR source of radiation to measure atmospheric absorption spectra with a Bruker IR Fourier transform spectrometer IFS 120M located near Kiruna, Sweden. A two-point radiometric calibration method with blackbody references was applied to lunar spectra in the long-wave detector channel to improve the accuracy of evaluation of the column amounts of different atmospheric trace gases. A new liquid-nitrogen-cooled high-emissivity blackbody without an entrance window is described that is used for this calibration method.