[Phys-l] Temperature in Space

[<carmelo@pacific.net.sg>]

David Abineri <dabineri@fuse.net> wrote:
> Where the temperature is 700C at high altitude, what instrument does one 
> use to measure this?  How does one avoid picking up external radiation 
> effects if one just wants the average kinetic energy of the air molecules?

I believe it is quite formidable to measure this temperature directly with thermometer, it may take comparatively long time for thermal equilibrium to be established between the atmosphere and any kind of thermometers.

The temperature is calculated by measuring the amount of laser light reflected from air molecules to derive the temperature profile...


Alphonsus