Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere by the Ultraviolet Detector TUS Onboard the Lomonosov Satellite

Abstract

The orbital detector TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Setup) with high sensitivity in near-visible ultraviolet (tens of photons per time sample of 0.8 μ s of wavelengths 300–400 nm from a detector’s pixel field of view) and the microsecond-scale temporal resolution was developed by the Lomonosov-UHECR/TLE collaboration and launched into orbit on 28 April 2016. A variety of different phenomena were studied by measuring ultraviolet signals from the atmosphere: extensive air showers from ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, lightning discharges, transient atmospheric events, aurora ovals, and meteors. These events are different in their origin and in their duration and luminosity. The TUS detector had a capability to conduct measurements with different temporal resolutions (0.8 μ s, 25.6 μ s, 0.4 ms, and 6.6 ms) but the same spatial resolution of 5 km. Results of the TUS detector measurements of various atmospheric emissions are discussed and compared to data from previous experiments.