Development of Spatial Heterodyne Spectroscopy and Observation of O2 Nightglow

Spatial Heterodyne Spectroscopy is a novel approach to Fourier transform interferometry and serves as a valuable technique for large field-of-view spectroscopy. This makes SHS systems ideal for remote sensing of astronomical and geophysical phenomena. Thus far, SHS has been used in multiple configurations over a range of wavelengths, from the ultraviolet to the near infrared, with widely varying targets, including, for example, measurement of mesospheric emission and detection of interstellar gas. In solar system astronomy, what is most needed is instrumentation capable of observing the large, spatially extended sources that often have faint emission in the ultraviolet. An all-reflective SHS, able to make use of these wavelengths due to its lack of transmitting optics, has been built at the University of Washington. Successful tests of this SHS system may be completed via ground-based sensing of the atmospheric O2 nightglow. We report on these findings and discuss future applications of SHS technology.