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Radiation Budget Activity:
Instrument Answers

 Radiation of energy from the sun.

Satellites and the Radiation Budget

Questions and Answers:

  1. What types of instruments are used by ERBE?

    scanner and nonscanner

  2. What are these instruments used to study?

    Instruments are used to study light, heat, and total radiation.

  3. What is the difference between a scanner instrument and a non-scanner instrument?

    A scanner instrument moves by sweeping back and forth across the satellite's path as it flies, while the non-scanner instrument collects data from a fixed wide viewpoint.

  4. How long was the ERBS scanner in operation?

    The ERBS scanner was operational for more that five years.
    (See http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/erbe/erbescanner.html)

  5. How can you obtain more information on topics related to these questions?

    You can obtain more information about topics related to these questions by searching the Internet and from books in the library.

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