NSSDCA ID: 1975-057A-03
Mission Name: OSO 8This Columbia experiment was designed to monitor continuously the sun's emission in the 2-8 keV range, to obtain high-resolution spectra of many celestial X-ray objects, and to measure the polarization of X-ray emission from stellar sources. This instrument package was mounted in the wheel section and made use of the wheel rotation to obtain complete Bragg energy spectra of the sun every 10 s during flares. The spectrometer was oriented perpendicular to the spin axis and used large area panels of crystals (1100 sq cm of graphite, 194 sq cm of PET) to reflect, via Bragg reflection, monochromatic solar X-rays into proportional counter detectors. The detectors were double-sided proportional counters with 0.025-mm beryllium windows on each side and contained an argon-xenon gas mixture chosen for its high efficiency over the 2-8 keV range. A ground wire-grid plane through the center of the bank of counters effectively divided the instrument into two isolated spectrometers. The polarimeter was oriented parallel to the spin axis and utilized Bragg angle reflection to measure polarization in X-rays from celestial sources. For more details, see H. L. Kestenbaum et al., Ap. J., v. 210, p. 805, 1976.
Questions and comments about this experiment can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. James Roger Angel | Other Investigator | University of Arizona | rangel@as.arizona.edu |
Dr. Richard S. Wolff | Other Investigator | Columbia University | rsw@thumper.bellcore.com |
Dr. Martin C. Weisskopf | Other Investigator | NASA Marshall Space Flight Center | martin.weisskopf@msfc.nasa.gov |
Dr. Robert Novick | Principal Investigator | Columbia University | rn@cuphys.phys.columbia.edu |