Abstract
Measurements of the near infrared surface brightness of the zodiacal light were obtained by a balloon-borne telescope launched in October 1972 from the NCAR balloon flight station, Palestine, Texas. Because of the intensive OH air-glow1 zodiacal light observations in the near infrared are in general not possible from the ground2 and not even from balloon altitudes, except for a gap of Δλ = 0.3 µm in the airglow spectrum at λ = 2.4 µm. At a float altitude of 32 km the atmospheric absorption in the near infrared is negligible. Moreover, the dryness there permits the use of an actively cooled instrument.
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HOFMANN, W., LEMKE, D., THUM, C. et al. Observations of the Zodiacal Light at 2.4 µm. Nature Physical Science 243, 140–141 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/physci243140a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/physci243140a0
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