Feasibility of observations of stratospheric trace gases using the Hubble Space Telescope

The stellar occultation method has been successfully used in the past from orbiting observatories to measure concentrations of certain trace gases in the earth's mesosphere. The greatly improved spectroscopic capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have prompted recent suggestions for its use to measure stratospheric C10. This possibility is examined along with that for other species relevant to the chemistry of the ozone layer. It is concluded that stratospheric (as opposed to mesospheric) observations with HST are not practical, in part because of its orbital and pointing characteristics, but primarily because the high opacity of stratospheric ozone over most of the bandpass of the HST's most suitable spectrometer will obscure observation of other trace species, such as C10, having mixing ratios of less than 0.001.