Hyperspectral imaging systems and methods for imaging a remote object

A method for obtaining a hyperspectral image comprising:

• providing a hyperspectral imaging system comprising:
• a fore optic;
• a scannable slit mechanism having a first slit and a second slit;
• a spectrometer with dispersing device;
• a two-dimensional image sensor with a plurality of detection elements;
• and
• an actuator;
• and
• positioning said fore optic to acquire and project an image from a remote object, said image including a plurality of lines of light;
• and
• controlling said actuator to operate said scannable slit mechanism to position said first slit and said second slit such that a first portion of said first slit and a first portion of said second slit are simultaneously illuminated by said projected image, said first slit being illuminated by a first line of light of said image and said second slit being illuminated by a second line of light of said image, said first line of light originating from a first portion of said remote object and said second line of light originating from a second portion of said remote object;
• and
• passing said first line of light through said first slit to said spectrometer, said spectrometer dispersing said first line of light and directing said dispersed first line of light to a first set of detection elements of said two-dimensional image sensor, said two-dimensional image sensor recording an image of said dispersed first line of light;
• and
• passing said second line of light through said second slit to said spectrometer;
• said spectrometer dispersing said second line of light and directing said dispersed second line of light to a second set of detection elements of said two-dimensional image sensor, said two-dimensional image sensor recording an image of said dispersed second line of light;
• and
• controlling said actuator to reconfigure said scannable slit mechanism, said reconfiguration including repositioning said first slit and said second slit, said repositioning removing said first portion of said first slit and said first portion of said second slit from the field of illumination of said fore optic, said repositioning moving a second portion of said first slit and a second portion of said second slit into said field of illumination of said fore optic, said second portion of said first slit and said second portion of said second slit being simultaneously illuminated by said image projected by said fore optic, said second portion of said first slit receiving and passing a third line of light originating from a third portion of said remote object and said second portion of said second slit receiving and passing a fourth line of light from a fourth portion of said remote object.

A hyperspectral imaging system comprising:

• a fore optic configured to receive an image from a remote object, said image including a plurality of lines of light;
• a scannable slit mechanism that includes a first slit and a second slit, said first slit and said second slit being arcuate or spiral in shape, said first slit and said second slit being positioned so that said fore optic projects said image to simultaneously illuminate said first slit and said second slit, said first slit receiving a first line of light from said fore optic and outputting a trimmed first line of light, said second slit receiving a second line of light from said fore optic and outputting a trimmed second line of light, said first line of light originating from a first portion of said remote object and said second line of light originating from a second portion of said remote object;
• a spectrometer with dispersing device, said spectrometer positioned to receive and disperse said trimmed first line of light to produce a dispersed first line of light, said spectrometer positioned to receive and disperse said trimmed second line of light to produce a dispersed second line of light;
• a two-dimensional image sensor with a plurality of detection elements, said two-dimensional image sensor positioned to receive said dispersed first line of light over a first set of said detection elements and to receive said dispersed second line of light over a second set of said detection elements, said two-dimensional image sensor configured to obtain a two-dimensional image of said dispersed first line of light and a two-dimensional image of said dispersed second line of light;
• and
• an actuator configured to reconfigure said scannable slit mechanism, said reconfiguration including repositioning said first slit and said second slit.