Physics Commons^™

Estimation Of Atmospheric Turbulence Using Differential Motion Of Extended Features In Time-Lapse Imagery, Santasri Bose-Pillai, Jack E. Mccrae, Christopher A. Rice, Ryan A. Wood, Conner E. Murphy, Steven T. Fiorino

Faculty Publications

We address the design, development, and testing of a pointer/tracker as a probe beam for the purpose of making high-speed, aero-optical measurements of the flow over a scaled beam director turret. The tracker uses retro-reflection of the probe beam off of a Reflexite annulus surrounding the turret. The constraints of the design required a near-total-commercial off the shelf system that could be quickly installed and removed in a rented aircraft. Baseline measurements of environmental vibrations are used to predict pointing performance; mitigation of line-of-sight jitter on the probe beam is achieved through passive isolation and the design of relay optics. …