Spectrometer Tops Mount Everest

摘要

Ocean Optics recently provided a Jaz Modular Sensing Suite to the trek crew of Return to Everest 2009 - a crew including Keith Cowing, Miles O'Brien, NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski - to measure solar irradiance at extreme altitude. Jaz was utilised to determine UV intensity levels in the Everest region where levels are typically extremely high. The handheld Jaz unit that accompanied the Back to Everest 2009 group included solar irradiance scripting language, an SD card for storage of spectra and Jaz's lithium-ion battery. The participants used Jaz to measure solar irradiance with a focus on UV levels at an extreme altitude. It is suggested that UV levels on Everest should be among the highest on Earth and Jaz was used to perform analysis of the nature of the sunlight during the experiment phase of the summit.