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NASA NTRS1972

Solar observations from Skylab.

A wide variety of problems in solar physics will be attacked with coordinated observations made by the following instruments on Skylab: a white light coronagraph, a spectrograph for the 950-3900 A range, a spectrometer-spectroheliometer for the 300-1300 A range, a spectroheliograph for 150-650 A, X-ray telescopes, and supporting instrumentation. There will be complementary measurements from the ground and from space with 1-sec angular resolution on the sun. A coordinated program of correlative ground-based observations, sounding rocket launches, and observations from other spacecraft is being developed to provide calibration in orbit and simultaneous observations of solar phenomena over a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Oertel, G. K.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Stereo and Solar Cycle 24

The twin STEREO spacecrafi, launched in October 2006, are in heliocentric orbits near 4 AU with one spacecraft (Ahead) leading Earth in its orbit around the Sun and the other (Behind) trailing Earth. As viewed from the Sun, the STEREO spacecraft are continually separating from one another at about 45 degrees per year with Earth biseding the angle. At present, th@spaser=raft are a bit more than 45 degrees apart, thus they are able to each 'vie@ ground the limb's of the Sun by about 23 degrees, corresponding to about 1.75 days of solar rotation. Both spameraft contain an identical set of instruments including an extreme ultraviolet imager, two white light coronagraphs, tws all-sky imagers, a wide selection of energetic particle detectors, a magnetometer and a radio burst tracker. A snapshot of the real time data is continually broadcast to NOW-managed ground stations and this small stream of data is immediately sent to the STEREO Science Center and converted into useful space weather data within 5 minutes of ground receipt. The resulting images, particle, magnetometer and radio astronomy plots are available at ~ ~ j ~ g ~ ~ ~ i t , : gAs~ timqe~ co~n~ting ue~s ijnto~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ g ~ solar cycle 24, the separation angle becomes 90 degrees in early 2009 and 180 degrees in early 201 1 as the activity heads toward maximum. By the time of solar maximum, STEREO will provide for the first time a view of the entire Sun with the mronagraphs and e*reme ultraviolet instruments. This view wilt allow us to follow the evolution of active regions continuously and also detect new active regions long before they pose a space weather threat to Earth. The in situ instruments will be able to provide about 7 days advanced notice of co-rotating structures in the solar wind. During this same intewal near solar maximum, the wide-angle imagers on STEREB will both be ;able to view EarlCP-dirsted CMEs in their plane-oPsky. When combined with Eat-lhorbiting assets available at that time, it seems solar cycle 24 will mark a great increase in our ability to understand and predict space weather.

Kaise,r Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Measurement of stray radiance in the High Altitude Observatory's Skylab coronagraph

The paper outlines two techniques used for determining the instrumental stray radiance from orbital results obtained with the Skylab white light coronagraph. The first technique employs images of the lunar disk made near the time of solar eclipse to compare the apparent contrasts of maria and highlands recorded by the coronograph with those of previous studies and then determine the magnitude of the stray radiance and its variation along a radius. The second method determines the azimuthal variation of the stray radiance by measuring the change in the net radiance of a point in the coronal images as the image is rotated.

Csoeke-Poeckh, A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Characteristics of flares producing metric type II bursts and coronal mass ejections

An attempt is made to study the origin of coronal shocks by comparing several flare characteristics for two groups of flares: those with associated metric type II bursts and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and those with associated metric type II bursts but no CMEs. CMEs accompany about 60 percent of all flares with type II bursts for solar longitudes greater than 30 deg, where CMEs are well observed with the NRL Solwind coronagraph. H-alpha flare areas, 1-8 A X-ray fluxes, and impulsive 3-cm fluxes are all statistically smaller for events with no CMEs than for events with CMEs. It appears that both compact and large mass ejection flares are associated with type II bursts. The events with no CMEs imply that at least many type II shocks are not piston-driven, but the large number of events of both groups with small 3 cm bursts does not support the usual assumption that type II shocks are produced by large energy releases in flare impulsive phases. The poor correlation between 3 cm burst fluxes and the occurrence of type II bursts may be due to large variations in the coronal Alfven velocity.

Kahler, S.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The Astrometric Imaging Telescope Optical System

The Astrometric Imaging Telescope will detect extra-solar planetary systems with imaging and astrometry. The optical system contains a high-efficiency coronagraph and scatter-compensated mirrors to detect Jupiter-size planets around nearby stars.

Astrometric Imaging↗
NASA NTRS2012

Direct Imaging of Extra-Solar Planets in Star Forming Regions: Lessons Learned from a False Positive Around IM Lup

Context. Most exoplanet imagers consist of ground-based adaptive optics coronagraphic cameras which are currently limited in contrast, sensitivity and astrometric precision, but advantageously observe in the near-infrared window (1 5 m). Because of these practical limitations, our current observational aim at detecting and characterizing planets puts heavy constraints on target selection, observing strategies, data reduction, and follow-up. Most surveys so far have thus targeted young systems (1 100 Myr) to catch the putative remnant thermal radiation of giant planets, which peaks in the near-infrared. They also favor systems in the solar neighborhood (d less than 80 pc), which eases angular resolution requirements but also ensures a good knowledge of the distance and proper motion, which are critical to secure the planet status, and enable subsequent characterization. Aims. Because of their youth, it is very tempting to target the nearby star forming regions, which are typically twice as far as the bulk of objects usually combed for planets by direct imaging. Probing these interesting reservoirs sets additional constraints that we review in this paper by presenting the planet search that we initiated in 2008 around the disk-bearing T Tauri star IM Lup, which is part of the Lupus star forming region (140-190 pc). Methods. We show and discuss why age determination, the choice of evolutionary model for both the central star and the planet, precise knowledge of the host star proper motion, relative or absolute (between different instruments) astrometric accuracy (including plate scale calibration), and patience are the key ingredients for exoplanet searches around more distant young stars. Results. Unfortunately, most of the time, precision and perseverance are not paying off: we discovered a candidate companion around IM Lup in 2008, which we report here to be an unbound background object. We nevertheless review in details the lessons learned from our endeavor, and additionally present the best detection limits ever calculated for IM Lup. We also accessorily report on the successful use of innovative data reduction techniques, such as the damped-LOCI and iterative roll subtraction.

D Mawet↗
NASA NTRS1986

White Light Coronagraph (WLC) and Ultra-Violet Coronal Spectrometer (UVCS)

The WLC and UVS together reveal the corona and the roots of the solar wind from 1.5 to 6 solar radii from sun center. The WLC measures the plasma density and spatial structure of the corona and coronal mass ejections at a plasma density and spatial structure of the corona and coronal mass ejections at a resolution of about 20 arcsec. The UVCS in combination with the WLC measures the temperature and radial outflow speed of the coronal plasma. These instruments will detect mass ejections from active regions and high speed solar wind streams from coronal holes a few days before the source regions rotate onto the face of the Sun, thus giving a week or more of advanced warning for disturbed geomagnetic conditions at Earth.

Moore, R.↗
NASA NTRS1998

SOHO Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) Mission Operations and Data Analysis

The scientific goal of UVCS is to obtain detailed empirical descriptions of the extended solar corona as it evolves from a period of minimum activity to maximum and to use these descriptions to identify and understand the physical processes responsible for coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, coronal mass ejections (CME's), and the phenomena that establish the plasma properties of the solar wind as measured by the CELIAS/SOHO experiment. We must observe a wide range of conditions (e.g., heating rate, impulsive mass ejections, magnetic field opening) in order to choose among competing theoretical explanations of the observed coronal structures and dynamics. During the first year of scientific observations (1 April 1996 through 31 March 1997), the LTVCS made the first extensive ultraviolet spectroscopic observations above the base of the solar corona. Those observations revealed extremely high most probable speeds along the line of sight for O(5+) in polar coronal holes above 2 solar radii from sun center and smaller such speeds for H(0) and protons. Doppler dimming and pumping diagnostics indicated that O(5+) and H(0) I reached supersonic outflow velocities within 2 solar radii. The observations appeared to be consistent with O95+) heating and direct momentum transfer by high frequency MHD waves through ion cyclotron resonance. Equatorial streamers were found to appear much different when observed in O VI, Fe XII and Mg X than when observed in H I Lyman-alpha or visible light. This led G. Noci to suggest that the elemental abundance of O, Fe, and Mg are lower in the dark center region of the O VI streamer image than it is in the brighter outer legs of the streamer. The O VI line ratio indicated a much smaller outflow speed in streamers than in the surrounding coronal holes. Spectroscopic observations of CME's in June and December 1996 showed large Doppler shifts indicating macroscopic flows of up to 200 km/s transverse to the apparent motion of the CME. The December event displayed factor of 500 intensity increases in H I Lyman lines and bright emissions in cool ion lines like C III 977 A indicating that the origin of some of the gas was a prominence. UVCS also observed two comets, several stars and interplanetary hydrogen. In the current reporting period, the initial results were published and detailed analyses including self consistent empirical models were developed. The research results were reported, published or submitted/accepted for publication. New observations were made to uncover additional information about the surprising results of the first year and other new observations revealed more surprises. A UVCS Tutorial was developed to familiarize potential users of UVCS data with the data products, analysis techniques and coronal models needed to analyze the data.

Kohl, John L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

SOHO Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) Mission Operations and Data Analysis

The scientific goal of UVCS is to obtain detailed empirical descriptions of the extended solar corona as it evolves over the solar cycle and to use these descriptions to identify and understand the physical processes responsible for coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and the phenomena that establish the plasma properties of the solar wind as measured by "in situ" solar wind instruments. This report covers the period from 15 November 1998 to 14 March 2001. During that time, UVCS observations have consisted of three types: 1) standard synoptic observations comprising, primarily, the H I Lycc line profile and the O VI 103.2 and 103.7 nm intensity over a range of heights from 1.5 to about 3.0 solar radii and covering 360 degrees about the sun, 2) sit and stare watches for CMEs, and 3) special observations designed by the UVCS Lead Observer of the Week for a specific scientific purpose. The special observations are often coordinated with those of other space-based and ground based instruments and they often are part of SOHO joint observation programs and campaigns. Lead observers have included UVCS Co-Investigators, Guest Investigators, scientists from the solar physics community and several graduate and undergraduate level students. UVCS has continued to successfully meet its goal of using powerful spectroscopic diagnostic techniques to obtain a much more detailed description of coronal structures than existed before the SOHO mission. The new descriptions of coronal structures from UVCS have inspired a large number of theoretical studies aimed at identifying the physical processes responsible for solar wind acceleration in coronal holes and streamers. UVCS has proven to be a very stable instrument. Stellar observations have demonstrated its stability and the analysis of coordinated observations with Spartan 201 have verified the accuracy of the absolute calibration and spectral resolution at H I Ly (alpha) line profile. UVCS has required no flight software modifications and all mechanisms are operational. The UVCS O VI Channel with its redundant optical path for wavelengths near H I Ly (alpha) is capable of observing the entire UVCS wavelength range. Since December 1998, the O VI Channel has been used for all UVCS observations. Although the H I Ly (alpha) Channel and detector are still operational, increases in the dark count up to about 5x 10(exp-4) counts/sec/pixel and an increase in high voltage current to within a factor of two of the maximum used in the laboratory before flight led to the decision to not use that detector at the present time. There is no significant science impact since the O VI Channel can observe nearly the same wavelength range.

Kohl, John L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

SOHO Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) Mission Operations and Data Analysis

The scientific goal of UVCS is to obtain detailed empirical descriptions of the extended solar corona as it evolves over the solar cycle and to use these descriptions to identify and understand the physical processes responsible for coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and the phenomena that establish the plasma properties of the solar wind as measured by 'in situ' solar wind instruments. This report covers the period from 01 February 2002 to 15 February 2003. During that time, UVCS observations have consisted of three types: 1) standard synoptic observations comprising, primarily, the H I Ly alpha line profile and the O VI 103.2 and 103.7 nm intensity over a range of heights from 1.5 to about 3.0 solar radii and covering 360 degrees about the sun, 2) sit and stare watches for CMEs, and 3) special observations designed by the UVCS Lead Observer of the Week for a specific scientific purpose. The special observations are often coordinated with those of other space-based and ground-based instruments and they often are part of SOHO joint observation programs and campaigns. Lead observers have included UVCS Co-Investigators, scientists from the solar physics community and several graduate and undergraduate level students. UVCS has continued to achieve its purpose of using powerful spectroscopic diagnostic techniques to obtain a much more detailed description of coronal structures and dynamic phenomena than existed before the SOHO mission. The new descriptions of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and coronal structures from UVCS have inspired a large number of theoretical studies aimed at identifying the physical processes responsible for CMEs and solar wind acceleration in coronal holes and streamers. UVCS has proven to be a very stable instrument. Stellar observations have demonstrated its stability. UVCS has required no flight software modifications and all mechanisms are operational. The UVCS O VI Channel with its redundant optical path for wavelengths near H I Ly alpha is capable of observing the entire UVCS wavelength range. Since December 1998, the O VI Channel has been used for all UVCS observations. Although the H I Ly alpha Channel and detector are still operational, increases in the dark count up to about 5 x 10(exp -4) counts/sec/pixel and an increase in high voltage current to within a factor of two of the maximum used in the laboratory before flight led to the decision to not use that detector at the present time. There is no significant decrease in the scientific capability of UVCS owing to the O VI channel redundant optical path. UVCS data, data analysis software, calibration files and the mission log are available from the SOHO archive and SAO. All UVCS data is now available to scientists and the general public via the SOHO Data Archive and SAO within three months of the observations. UVCS has resulted in 46 scientific papers in 2002. There were numerous presentations at scientific meetings. All requests for observation time by qualified outside users have been granted.

Kohl, John L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

SOHO Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) Mission Operations and Data Analysis

The scientific goal of UVCS is to obtain detailed empirical descriptions of the extended solar corona as it evolves over the solar cycle and to use these descriptions to identify and understand the physical processes responsible for coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and the phenomena that establish the plasma properties of the solar wind as measured by "in situ" solar wind instruments. This report covers the period from 15 February 2003 to 14 April 2004. During that time, UVCS observations have consisted of three types: 1) standard synoptic observations comprising, primarily, the H I Lyalpha line profile and the 0 VI 103.2 and 103.7 nm intensity over a range of heights from 1.5 to about 3.0 solar radii and covering 360 degrees about the Sun, 2) sit and stare observations for major flare watches, and 3) special observations designed by the UVCS Lead Observer of the Week for a specific scientific purpose. The special observations are often coordinated with those of other space-based and ground-based instruments and they often are part of SOHO joint observation programs and campaigns. Lead observers have included UVCS Co-Investigators, scientists from the solar physics community and several graduate and undergraduate level students. UVCS has continued to achieve its purpose of using powerful spectroscopic diagnostic techniques to obtain a much more detailed description of coronal structures and dynamic phenomena than existed before the SOHO mission. The new descriptions of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and coronal structures from UVCS have inspired a large number of theoretical studies aimed at identifying the physical processes responsible for CMEs and solar wind acceleration in coronal holes and streamers. UVCS has proven to be a very stable instrument. Stellar observations have demonstrated its radiometric stability. UVCS has not required any flight software modifications and all mechanisms are operational. The UVCS 0 VI Channel with its redundant optical path for wavelengths near H I Lyalpha is capable of observing the entire UVCS wavelength range. The regions of the detector currently being used require different grating angles for direct OVI observations and redundant path H I Lyalpha observations, and so those can no longer be observed simultaneously. Since December 1998, the 0 VI Channel has been used for all UVCS observations. Although the H I Lyalpha Channel and detector are still operational, increases in the dark count up to about 5x10(exp 4) counts/sec/pixel and an increase in high voltage current to within a factor of two of the maximum used in the laboratory before flight led to the decision to not use that detector after 1998. The visible light channel functioned nominally during the reporting period. UVCS data, data analysis software, calibration files and the mission log are available from the SOHO archive and SAO. All UVCS data are now available within three months of the observations to scientists and the general public via the SOHO Data Archive and SAO. UVCS has resulted in 33 scientific papers in 2003. There were numerous presentations at scientific meetings. UVCS Education and Public Outreach activities involved nine members of the UVCS team. During the reporting period, there were over a dozen events directed at students and teachers, museum audiences, and public audiences via the mass media, internet and educational literature.

Gurman, Joseph↗
NASA NTRS1973

Space application of SEC vidicons - The OSO 7 coronagraph.

An externally occulted Lyot coronagraph employing a digitized SEC vidicon detection system is a prime experiment aboard the NASA Orbiting Solar Observatory 7 (OSO 7). Continuing daily operation since the 29 September 1971 launch has produced more than 2200 pictures of the solar white light corona covering the region between 3 R and 10 R. Important advantages of the SEC vidicon in this application are its ability to integrate an electron image and store it for long periods prior to readout. Special applications of digital techniques are employed in stepping and pulsing the readout electron beam, thereby realizing the detector's inherent qualities of high resolution and large dynamic range.

Brueckner, G.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Solar radio bursts of spectral type II, coronal shocks, and optical coronal transients

An examination is presented of the association of solar radio bursts of spectral type II and coronal shocks with solar flare ejecta observed in H-alpha, the green coronal line, and white-light coronagraphs. It is suggested that fast-moving optical coronal transients should for the most part be identified with piston-type phenomena well behind the outward-traveling shock waves that generate type II radio bursts. A general model is presented which relates type II radio bursts and coronal shocks to optically observed ejecta and consists of three main velocity regimes: (1) a quasi-hemispherical shock wave moving outward from the flare at speeds of 1000-2000 km/sec and Alfven Mach number of about 1.5; (2) the velocity of the piston driving the shock, on the order of 0.8 that of the shock; and (3) the regime of the slower-moving H-alpha ejecta, with velocities of 300-500 km/sec.

Maxwell, A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

White Light Coronograph (WLC) and Ultra-Violet Coronal Spectrometer (UVCS)

The white light coronagraph (WLC) and ultraviolet coronal spectrometer (UVCS) together reveal the corona and the roots of the solar wind from 1.5 to 6 solar radii from Sun center. The WLC measures the plasma density and spatial structure of the corona and coronal mass ejections at a resolution of about 20 arcseconds. The UVCS, in combination with the WLC, measures the temperature and radial outflow speed of the coronal plasma. These instruments will detect mass ejections from active regions and high speed solar wind streams from coronal holes a few days before the source regions rotate onto the face of the Sun, thus giving a week or more of advanced warning for disturbed geomagnetic conditions at Earth.

Moore, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

More than a solar cycle of synoptic solar and coronal data - A video presentation

Color video movies of synoptic observations of the sun and corona can now be created. Individual analog frames on laser disks can be referenced digitally and played back at any speed. We have brought together photospheric magnetic field data from the Wilcox Solar Observatory at Stanford and the National Solar Observatory, model computations of the coronal magnetic field, and coronal data from the Sacramento Peak coronagraph and the Mauna Loa K-coronameter and made a series of movies presenting the data sets individually and in comparison with one another. This paper presents a description of each of the data sets and movies developed thus far and briefly outlines some of the more interesting and obvious features observed when viewing the movies.

Hoeksema, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Investigation of Coronal Large Scale Structures Utilizing Spartan 201 Data

Two telescopes aboard Spartan 201, a small satellite has been launched from the Space Shuttles, on April 8th, 1993, September 8th, 1994, September 7th, 1995 and November 20th, 1997. The main objective of the mission was to answer some of the most fundamental unanswered questions of solar physics-What accelerates the solar wind and what heats the corona? The two telescopes are 1) Ultraviolet Coronal Spectrometer (UVCS) provided by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory which uses ultraviolet emissions from neutral hydrogen and ions in the corona to determine velocities of the coronal plasma within the solar wind source region, and the temperature and density distributions of protons and 2) White Light Coronagraph (WLC) provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center which measures visible light to determine the density distribution of coronal electrons within the same region. The PI has had the primary responsibility in the development and application of computer codes necessary for scientific data analysis activities, end instrument calibration for the white-light coronagraph for the entire Spartan mission. The PI was responsible for the science output from the WLC instrument. PI has also been involved in the investigation of coronal density distributions in large-scale structures by use of numerical models which are (mathematically) sufficient to reproduce the details of the observed brightness and polarized brightness distributions found in SPARTAN 201 data.

Guhathakurta, Madhulika↗
NASA NTRS2000

Description of the Sun as a Star: General Physical Characteristics

Numerical parameters characterizing the size and energy output of the sun are presented. These values are the standard yardstick by which other stars are measured. The large number of significant digits tabulated here serve mainly to illustrate the precision to which these parameters are known. Also listed are parameters characterizing the earth's orbit around the sun and the intensity of the sun's radiation at the mean orbital distance. The appearance of the sun depends critically on how it is observed. Each type of radiation observed carries specific information about the physical processes at work on the sun. Special types of instruments reveal aspects otherwise invisible. Coronagraphs reveal the dimmer outer regions of the sun's atmosphere otherwise visible only during total solar eclipses. Spectroscopy can reveal motions, magnetic field strengths, temperatures and densities. In situ measurements have revealed the characteristics of the solar wind and extended our knowledge of the solar magnetic field both near the earth and beyond the orbits of the planets. As an example, the sun's disk observed almost simultaneously in six different wavelengths of light is shown. In visible light we can see the white disk of the sun with the dark spots known as sunspots. By analyzing the spectral lines produced by the sun we can measure the strength of the sun's magnetic field at its surface, producing a magnetogram. This magnetogram reveals that the sunspots are regions of intense magnetic field. Further images of the sun reveal that the sunspot regions are just the bases of systems of hot loops which emit radio-waves, ultraviolet light and X-rays. The sun imaged in a spectral line of hydrogen known as "H alpha" is shown. In this line we also see the long dark "filaments". These filaments form in long channels between areas of opposing magnetic field. Such channels can be seen in the ultraviolet image. Data concerning the sun are obtained with many different kinds of instruments and from many different vantage points, both on the ground and in space. Techniques for observing the sun's various emissions throughout the electromagnetic spectrum are illustrated.

Kucera, Theresa↗
NASA NTRS1990

The Advanced Solar Observatory

A conceptual plan for the development of a comprehensive long duration solar space observatory, The Advanced Solar Observatory (ASO) is described. The ASO is intended to provide solar astronomers with the observational power necessary to address fundamental problems relating to the solar convection zone and activity cycle; the thermal and nonthermal processes that control the transport of energy, mass, and magnetic flux in the solar atmosphere; the generation of the solar wind; and the dynamics of the inner heliosphere. The ASO concept encompasses three proposed Space Station-based instrument ensembles: (1) the High Resolution Telescope Cluster, which includes far ultraviolet, extreme ultraviolet, and X-ray telescopes; (2) the Pinhole/Occulter Facility, which includes Fourier transform and coded aperture hard X-ray and gamma ray telescopes and occulted ultraviolet and visible light coronagraphs; and (3) the High Energy Facility, which contains neutron, gamma ray, and low frequency radio spectrometers. Two other facilities, the Orbiting Solar Laboratory, and a package of Global Dynamics Instrumentation, will, with the Space Station ensembles, form a comprehensive capability for solar physics. The scientific program of the ASO, current instrument concepts for the Space Station based ASO instrument ensembles, and plans for their accommodation on the Space Station are described.

Walker, Arthur B. C., Jr.↗