Patent ID: 7166825

Claim:
A solar calibration device for a remote sensor comprising: a housing having a deployable door at one portion of the housing and an aperture at another portion of the housing; a solar diffuser disposed within the housing for receiving solar irradiance, when the deployable door is in an open position, and diffusely reflecting the received solar irradiance; a solar diffuser monitor having detectors, disposed within the housing, receiving the diffusely reflected solar irradiance from the solar diffuser, for calibrating the solar irradiance reflected from the solar diffuser, and the solar diffuser monitor receiving solar irradiance directly from the sun through the aperture, and calibrating the solar diffuser monitor detectors based on the solar irradiance received directly from the sun, wherein the solar diffuser monitor is pivoted between first and second positions, and the first position is configured to receive the diffusely reflected solar irradiance from the solar diffuser, and the second position is configured to receive the solar irradiance directly from the sun through the aperture.