RESUMO
We present accurately calibrated submillimeter atmospheric transmission spectra obtained with a Fourier-transform spectrometer at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. These measurements cover the 0.9-0.3-mm wavelength range and are the first in a series aimed at defining the terrestrial long-wave atmospheric transmission curve. The 4.1-km altitude of the Mauna Kea site provides access to extremely low zenith water-vapor columns, permitting atmospheric observations at frequencies well above those possible from sea level. We describe the calibration procedures, present our first well-calibrated transmission spectra, and compare our results with those of a single-layer atmospheric transmission model, AT. With an empirical best-fit continuum opacity term included, this simple single-layer model provides a remarkably good fit to the opacity data for H(2)O line profiles described by either van Vleck-Weisskopf or kinetic shapes.
RESUMO
A medium-resolution Fourier-transform spectrometer for ground-based observation of astronomical sources at near-millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths is described. The steps involved in measuring and calibrating astronomical spectra are elaborated. The spectrometer is well suited to planetary spectroscopy, and initial measurements of the intrinsic brightness temperature spectra of Uranus and Neptune at wavelengths of 1.0 to 1.5 mm are presented.
