GLUV pathfinder: Setting up for rapid cadence UV monitoring of the transient universe

Abstract

The ozone layer has a complex spectral absorption profile at NUV wavelengths. It is dependent on seasonal effects due to solar intensity, as well as atmospheric circulation of the ozone layer. Getting above this then becomes imperative for getting a usable SNR for scientific observations. GLUV is an affordable, long duration, high altitude balloon experiment which will fly a network of NUV telescopes at altitudes of 20-30 km. GLUV Pathfinder is a spectrometer based system to identify the sky background in the NUV, measuring this as a function of altitude, latitude, and seasonal phase in the regimes that the final GLUV project will experience. The development of dedicated NUV instrumentation is highly important for supernovae astronomy, as these higher energy wavelengths reveal their initial detonation conditions. GLUV is expected to capture the initial shocks of these events at a rate of 10+ per year of operation, well in excess of the few instances that have been seen to date. Show more