Calibration of the sky-earth-atmosphere model for the hubble space telescope and potential gain in viewing time

摘要

Background light from the illuminated earth is avoided during observations by the Hubble Space Telescope by earth clearance constraints. On the basis of a preliminary calibration of the SEAM software model from a liminted data resource, opportunities for the reduction of constraints for the Fine Guidance System are described. When signal-to-noise ratio is sufficiently high because of low earth albedo in the visible wavelength range, favorable sun position, or high guide star brightness, relaxation of the illuminated earth clearance limit appears possible.