Glory's Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor Taking Polarimetric Measurements

Glory is a remote-sensing, Earth-orbiting observatory that will study two of Earth's crucial climate forcings: atmospheric aerosols and total solar irradiance. Glory is equipped with two state of the art instruments: the Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS), which collects information on aerosols with unprecedented accuracy; and the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM), which continues collection of total solar irradiance data for the long-term climate record. This animation reveals Glory's APS taking polarimetric measurements along the satellite ground track within the solar reflective spectral region (0.4 to 2.4 micrometers). Aerosols are among the least understood of Earth's climate forcings, and the APS will provide data on the global distribution of natural and anthropogenic aerosols; the direct impact of aerosols on the radiation budget; and the effect of aerosols on clouds.