Slow-Scan Television System for a Balloon-Borne Telescope
A narrow-band television system for space observation utilizing an image-memory tube has been developed and used as a finder system for a balloon-borne solar telescope. Slow-scan video signal from the camera or FM receiver is supplied to a slow-scan monitor. The pictures on the screen are recorded by a motor-driven 35mm film camera. The slow-scan pictures are converted to the standard scanning rate by a scan converter with two memory tubes. This system has been used with 15,000 m3 balloons since 1971 as a finder system for a balloon-borne solar telescope jointly with a group of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo. The image of the telescope is divided by a half mirror. One optical path is for an on-board motor- driven film camera. The other is for the television camera. The usefulness of the television system as a real-time finder was proved by the test flight in 1971 using a 48-mm-diam solar telescope. In 1972 and 1973, 100-mm-diam and 17-m composite-focal-length solar telescope was used to make photographs of the solar surface.
- Print ISSN
- 0361-4573
- Published
- 1975-10
- Content type
- Original Research
- DOI
- 10.5594/J10596