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Odin is a
combined astronomy/aeronomy mission first conceived and developed
by Sweden. Canada, France, and Finland are international partners
in the mission. Canada has a 20% share in both aspects of the
mission. Odin was
successfully launched
on February 20th, 2001. The duration of the mission is expected to
be about 2 years.
Four sub-millimetre
bands will be accessible, centred on 495, 548, 555 and 571 GHz.
The radiometer will provide a 17 GHz tuning range about each of
these frequencies and has an instantaneous bandwidth of 1 GHz.
There will also be a fifth band in the millimetre range centred on
119 GHz. The spatial resolution is ~2 arc min at sub-millimetre
wavelengths and ~9 arc min at 119 GHz.
The scientific
support of Odin astronomy in Canada is funded by the Canadian
Space Agency, and contracted to the University of Calgary. Six
Odin scientists were selected in a national competition: Lorne
Avery (H.I.A.), Paul Feldman (H.I.A.), Mike Fich (Waterloo), Sun
Kwok (Calgary, P.I.), George Mitchell (St. Mary's), and Christine
Wilson (McMaster). Peter Bernath (Waterloo) is also invited as an
expert to the spectral scan team by the international science
team.
Technical personnel
in Canada for Odin astronomy are: Steve Torchinsky
(Instrumentation Scientist), Kevin Volk (Project Scientist), and
Tatsuhiko Hasegawa (Project Scientist).
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Many molecular and atomic lines of
astronomical interest will be accessible for the first time. Some
of the most interesting are transitions of
water, carbon monoxide,
molecular oxygen molecular oxygen,
chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and CS. A major goal will be
the study of the interstellar and circumstellar oxygen chemistry
using water and molecular oxygen. These species are key to the
oxygen budget but neither is detectable from the ground. Odin
observations will have an impact on a wide range of subjects
including
Water
Oxygen
Spectrum of W-hydrae
Ortho Water Lines
Para Water Lines
Oxygen Energy Level
Diagram
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