New on-ground reference blackbody developed by PTB

To operate, the spectrometer that will fly on the European Space Agency’s upcoming FORUM mission needs a reference source – a device that will be used to calibrate the instrument to make sure its measurements remain as accurate as possible while in space.

For a spectrometer of this kind, this reference source is a ‘blackbody’ – a physical object that, in theroy, absorbs all electromagnetic radiation and reflects none. The National Institute of Germany (PTB) have developed a reference blackbody that allowed them to calibrate the blackbody which will actually fly on FORUM.

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[Image description: This is a photo of a ‘blackbody’, which is a physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation and reflects none. The blackbody looks like a silvery metallic cylindrical device held by a rectangular support frame. It is equipped with various metal piping, and a prominent copper-coloured ring is visible at the front end of the cylinder. The whole assembly rests on a silvery metal platform with tiny holes in it.]