Minimum cross-entropy inversion of satellite photometer

The inversion of satellite photometry data to produce a 2-D distribution of volume emission rate of optical emissions in the upper atmosphere does not provide a unique solution, but this problem may be alleviated by the application of the minimum cross-entropy (MCE) principle. This principle provides a rational criterion of choice for the selection of that distribution of volume emission rate which is maximally noninformative subject to the constraints imposed by the data (namely, the integrated column brightness measurements). A practical and effective iterative algorithm is developed to compute the MCE reconstruction of volume emission rates. This algorithm is then applied to both synthetic and real satellite photometer data to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed inversion scheme.