Fast Auroral Imager (FAI) for the e-POP Mission

The Fast Auroral Imager (FAI) consists of two charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras: one to measure the 630 nm emission of atomic oxygen in aurora and enhanced night airglow; and the other to observe the prompt auroral emissions in the 650 to 1100 nm range. High sensitivity is realized through the combination of fast lens systems (f/0.8) and CCDs of high quantum efficiency (>90 % max). The cameras have a common 26 degree field-of-view to provide nighttime images of about 650 km diameter from apogee at 1500 km. The near infrared camera provides up to two images of 0.1 s exposure per second with a spatial resolution of a few km when the camera is pointing in the nadir direction, making it suitable for studies of dynamic auroral phenomena. The 630-nm camera has been designed to provide one image of 0.5 s exposure every 30 seconds. Launch of the satellite occurred on September 29, 2013. Following a description of the instrument, sample auroral images are presented.