Resolution and coverage analysis for ionospheric tomography

This paper presents results of investigations of the relationship between o ptimal image resolution and associated sky-coverage for ionospheric tomogra phy. Several measures of the variation of image information content as a fu nction of resolution are presented for understanding the trade-offs between information content and computational resources. A new quantitative descri ption of imaging geometry that enables sky-coverage analysis for this limit ed information tomographic system is introduced here. This paper also prese nts examples of commonly encountered nonideal system geometries, diagnosis of associated image artifacts, and improvements achieved by minor logistica l modifications to the imaging system.