Mantis: an all-sky visible-to-near-infrared hyper-angular spectropolarimeter.

Area of Science:

• Atmospheric optics
• Remote sensing instrumentation

Background:

• Polarimetric imaging of skylight is crucial for understanding atmospheric properties.
• High-resolution instruments are needed to capture detailed spatial and spectral variations.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce the Mantis spectropolarimeter and present its initial performance.
• Evaluate its capabilities for acquiring high-resolution polarimetric data of downwelling skylight.

Main Methods:

• The Mantis instrument, a pushbroom spectropolarimeter, was utilized.
• It acquires linear Stokes vectors from 382-1017 nm with 0.64 nm spacing.
• Full sky dome measurements were performed using a pan-tilt unit and automated sun shade.

Main Results:

• The instrument provides high spatial (2226 pixels, 72° FOV) and spectral resolution.
• Uncertainty in polarization ranges from 0.07% to 0.5%.
• Radiometric uncertainty is between 2.07% and 2.5%.

Conclusions:

• Mantis is a capable instrument for detailed skylight polarimetric imaging.
• Its performance indicates significant potential for various remote sensing applications.