Editing Michelson interferometer (section)

===Atmospheric and space applications===
The Michelson Interferometer has played an important role in studies of the [[upper atmosphere]], revealing temperatures and winds, employing both space-borne, and ground-based instruments, by measuring the [[Doppler broadening|Doppler widths]] and shifts in the spectra of airglow and aurora. For example, the Wind Imaging Interferometer, WINDII,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Shepherd|first=G. G.|display-authors=etal|date=1993|title=WINDII, the Wind Imaging Interferometer on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite|journal=[[J. Geophys. Res.]]|volume=98(D6)|pages=10,725–10,750}}</ref> on the Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite, UARS, (launched on September 12, 1991) measured the global wind and temperature patterns from 80 to 300&nbsp;km by using the visible airglow emission from these altitudes as a target and employing optical Doppler interferometry to measure the small wavelength shifts of the narrow atomic and molecular airglow emission lines induced by the
bulk velocity of the atmosphere carrying the emitting species. The instrument was an all-glass field-widened achromatically and thermally compensated phase-stepping Michelson interferometer, along with a bare CCD detector that imaged the airglow limb through the interferometer. A sequence of phase-stepped images was processed to derive the wind velocity for two orthogonal view directions, yielding the horizontal wind vector.

The principle of using a polarizing Michelson Interferometer as a narrow band filter was first described by Evans <ref>{{cite journal|last=Evans|first=J. W.|date=1947|title=The birefringent filter|journal=[[J. Opt. Soc. Am.]]|volume=39 229}}</ref> who developed a birefringent photometer where the incoming light is split into two orthogonally polarized components by a polarizing beam splitter, sandwiched between two halves of a Michelson cube. This led to the first polarizing wide-field Michelson interferometer described by Title and Ramsey <ref name="Title 1980">{{cite journal|last=Title|first=A. M.|author2=Ramsey, H. E.|date=1980|title=Improvements in birefringent filters. 6: Analog birefringent elements|journal=[[Appl. Opt.]]|volume=19, p. 2046|issue=12|pages=2046–2058 |doi=10.1364/AO.19.002046|pmid=20221180 |bibcode=1980ApOpt..19.2046T}}</ref> which was used for solar observations; and led to the development of a refined instrument applied to measurements of oscillations in the Sun's atmosphere, employing a network of observatories around the Earth known as the Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Harvey|first=J.|display-authors=etal|date=1996|title=The Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) Project|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=272|pages=1284–1286|bibcode=1996Sci...272.1284H|doi=10.1126/science.272.5266.1284|issue=5266|pmid=8662455|s2cid=41026039|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1231076}}</ref>

[[File:417176main SDO Guide CMR Page 09 Image 0003.jpg|thumb|right|Figure 9. Magnetogram (magnetic image) of the Sun showing magnetically intense areas (active regions) in black and white, as imaged by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory]]
The Polarizing Atmospheric Michelson Interferometer, PAMI, developed by Bird et al.,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bird|first=J.|display-authors=etal|date=1995|title=A polarizing Michelson interferometer for measuring thermospheric winds|journal=[[Meas. Sci. Technol.]]|volume=6 | issue = 9|pages=1368–1378|doi=10.1088/0957-0233/6/9/019|bibcode = 1995MeScT...6.1368B |s2cid=250737166 }}</ref> and discussed in ''Spectral Imaging of the Atmosphere'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Shepherd|first=G. G.|date=2002|title=Spectral Imaging of the Atmosphere|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|isbn=0-12-639481-4}}</ref> combines the polarization tuning technique of Title and Ramsey <ref name="Title 1980"/> with the Shepherd ''et al.'' <ref>{{cite journal|last=Shepherd|first=G. G.|display-authors=etal|date=1985|title=WAMDII: wide angle Michelson Doppler imaging interferometer for Spacelab|journal=[[Appl. Opt.]]|volume=24, p. 1571}}</ref> technique of deriving winds and temperatures from emission rate measurements at sequential path differences, but the scanning system used by PAMI is much simpler than the moving mirror systems in that it has no internal moving parts, instead scanning with a polarizer external to the interferometer. The PAMI was demonstrated in an observation campaign <ref>{{cite journal|last=Bird|first=J.|author2=G. G. Shepherd |author3=C. A. Tepley|date=1995|title=Comparison of lower thermospheric winds measured by a Polarizing Michelson Interferometer and a Fabry–Pérot spectrometer during the AIDA campaign|journal=[[Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics]]|volume=55 | issue = 3|pages=313–324|doi=10.1016/0021-9169(93)90071-6|bibcode = 1993JATP...55..313B }}</ref> where its performance was compared to a Fabry–Pérot spectrometer, and employed to measure E-region winds.

More recently, the [[Helioseismology|Helioseismic]] and Magnetic Imager ([[Solar Dynamics Observatory#Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI)|HMI]]), on the [[Solar Dynamics Observatory]], employs two Michelson Interferometers with a polarizer and other tunable elements, to study solar variability and to characterize the Sun's interior along with the various components of magnetic activity. HMI takes high-resolution measurements of the longitudinal and vector magnetic field over the entire visible disk thus extending the capabilities of its predecessor, the [[Solar and Heliospheric Observatory|SOHO]]'s MDI instrument (See Fig.&nbsp;9).<ref>{{cite web|author=Dean Pesnell |author2=Kevin Addison|title=SDO – Solar Dynamics Observatory: SDO Instruments|url=http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission/instruments.php|publisher=NASA|date=5 February 2010|access-date=2010-02-13}}</ref> HMI produces data to determine the interior sources and mechanisms of solar variability and how the physical processes inside the Sun are related to surface magnetic field and activity. It also produces data to enable estimates of the coronal magnetic field for studies of variability in the extended solar atmosphere. HMI observations will help establish the relationships between the internal dynamics and magnetic activity in order to understand solar variability and its effects.<ref>{{cite web|author=Solar Physics Research Group| url=http://hmi.stanford.edu/Description/HMI_Overview.html|title=Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager Investigation|publisher=Stanford University|access-date=2010-02-13}}</ref>

In one example of the use of the MDI, Stanford scientists reported the detection of several sunspot regions in the deep interior of the Sun, 1–2 days before they appeared on the solar disc.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Ilonidis | first1 = S. | last2 = Zhao | first2 = J. | last3 = Kosovichev | first3 = A. | doi = 10.1126/science.1206253 | title = Detection of Emerging Sunspot Regions in the Solar Interior | journal = Science | volume = 333 | issue = 6045 | pages = 993–996 | year = 2011 | pmid =  21852494|bibcode = 2011Sci...333..993I | s2cid = 19790107 }}</ref> The detection of sunspots in the solar interior may thus provide valuable warnings about upcoming surface magnetic activity which could be used to improve and extend the predictions of space weather forecasts.