Sensor compensation for vehicle magnetic signatures

Most land vehicles whose positions need to be tracked are made primary of steel. The problem considered is that of finding locations within or on land vehicles where magnetic sensors can be mounted to measure heading accurately and of finding compensation methods that minimize the effect of the vehicle magnetic signature. Results obtained with various types of vehicles in several world locations are given. Advantages and disadvantages of pendulous mounting are considered, and vehicle magnetic changes caused by driving in areas of extremely strong magnetic fields such as those generated by DC-powered trains are discussed     

The Magellan project

Magellan is one of the future space projects being studied by the European Space Agency. The aim is to provide high resolution (λ/Δλ ≥ 2.5 × 10⁴) spectra in the far and extreme UV (between 500 and 1550 Å) of faint galactic and extragalactic objects (V ≤ 16^m). The instrument consists of a mechanical collimator, a concave holographic grating and a bidimensional photon-counting detector. A low resolution mode (λ/Δλ ≥ 10³) will provide spectra of objects as faint as 18^m.5. Magellan is planned as an observatory, operated in real time, and allowing interaction with the observer.