Browsing by Author "Kankelborg, Charles"

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Calibration of multilayer mirrors for the Multi‐Spectral Solar Telescope Array II
(1995-06-20) Kankelborg, Charles; Plummer, James E.; Martinez-Galarce, Dennis S.; O'Neal, Ray H.; DeForest, Craig; Walker, Arthur B.C. II; Barbee, Troy W. Jr.; Weed, J.W.; Hoover, Richard B.; Powell, Forbes R.
The Multi-Spectral Solar Telescope Array II (MSSTA II), a rocket-borne solar observatory, was successfully flown on November 3, 1994 obtaining solar images in multiple XUV and FUV bands with an array of compact multilayer telescopes. Extensive measurements have recently been carried out on some of the multilayer telescopes at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. These measurements are the first high spectral resolution calibrations of newly introduced MSSTA II instruments and instruments with lambda0 less than 130 angstrom. Previous measurements and/or calculations of telescope throughputs have been confirmed with greater accuracy. Results are presented on Mo/Si multilayer bandpasses, and multilayer bandpass changes with time.
CORONAL LOOP EXPANSION PROPERTIES EXPLAINED USING SEPARATORS
(2009-10-27) Plowman, Joseph; Kankelborg, Charles; Longcope, Dana W.
One puzzling observed property of coronal loops is that they are of roughly constant thickness along their length. Various studies have found no consistent pattern of width variation along the length of loops observed by TRACE and SOHO. This is at odds with expectations of magnetic flux tube expansion properties, which suggests that loops are widest at their tops, and significantly narrower at their footpoints. Coronal loops correspond to areas of the solar corona which have been preferentially heated by some process, so this observed property might be connected to the mechanisms that heat the corona. One means of energy deposition is magnetic reconnection, which occurs along field lines called separators. These field lines begin and end on magnetic null points, and loops forming near them can therefore be relatively wide at their bases. Thus, coronal energization by magnetic reconnection may replicate the puzzling expansion properties observed in coronal loops. We present results of a Monte Carlo survey of separator field line expansion properties, comparing them to the observed properties of coronal loops.
Data inversion for the Multi‐Order Solar Extreme‐Ultraviolet Spectrograph
(2003-11-05) Fox, J. Lewis; Kankelborg, Charles; Metcalf, Tomas R.
The Multi-Order Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph (MOSES) is a high resolution, slitless imaging spectrometer that will observe the Sun in extreme ultraviolet near 304A. MOSES will fly on a NASA sounding rocket launch in spring 2004. The instrument records spatial and spectral information into images at three spectral orders. To recover the source spectrum, an illposed inversion must be performed on these data. We will explore two of the techniques by which this may be accomplished: Fourier backprojection and Pixons, constrained by the spatially integrated spectrum of the Sun. Both methods produce good results, including doppler shifts measured to 1/3pixel accuracy. The Pixon code better reproduces the line widths.
Design and performance of thin foil XUV filters for the Multi‐Spectral Solar Telescope Array II
(1995-06-20) Plummer, James E.; DeForest, Craig; Martinez-Galarce, Dennis S.; Kankelborg, Charles; Gore, David B.; O'Neal, Ray H.; Walker, Arthur B.C. II; Powell, Forbes R.; Hoover, Richard B.; Barbee, Troy W. Jr.; Weed, J.W.
The redesigned payload of the Multi-Spectral Solar Telescope Array (MSSTA), the MSSTA II, was successfully flown on November 3, 1994. The multilayer mirrors used in the normal incidence optical systems of the MSSTA II are efficient reflectors for soft x-ray/extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation at wavelengths that satisfy the Bragg condition, thus allowing a narrow band of the soft x-ray/EUV spectrum to be isolated. When applied to solar observations the temperature response of an optical system is quite sensitive to telescope bandpass because of the high density of lines in the coronal spectrum. We have designed a set of thin foil filters in conjunction with our multilayer optics to eliminate contaminant lines and specular reflectivity, thus enhancing the temperature diagnostic capabilities of our instruments. Extensive measurements have recently been carried out on the thin foil filters at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. We describe here the design and performance of thin foil filters developed for the MSSTA II.
Detection of Supersonic Downflows and Associated Heating Events in the Transition Region above Sunspots
(2014-07) Kleint, Lucia; Antolin, P.; Tian, Hui; Judge, P.; Testa, Paola; De Pontieu, Bart; Martínez-Sykora, J.; Reeves, Kathy K.; Wülser, Jean-Pierre; McKillop, Sean; Saar, Steven; Carlsson, Mats; Boerner, P.; Hurlburt, Neal E.; Lemen, James; Tarbell, Ted D.; Title, Alan M.; Golub, Leon; Hansteen, Viggo H.; Jaeggli, Sarah; Kankelborg, Charles
Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph data allow us to study the solar transition region (TR) with an unprecedented spatial resolution of 0.''33. On 2013 August 30, we observed bursts of high Doppler shifts suggesting strong supersonic downflows of up to 200 km s–1 and weaker, slightly slower upflows in the spectral lines Mg II h and k, C II 1336, Si IV 1394 Å, and 1403 Å, that are correlated with brightenings in the slitjaw images (SJIs). The bursty behavior lasts throughout the 2 hr observation, with average burst durations of about 20 s. The locations of these shortlived events appear to be the umbral and penumbral footpoints of EUV loops. Fast apparent downflows are observed along these loops in the SJIs and in the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, suggesting that the loops are thermally unstable. We interpret the observations as cool material falling from coronal heights, and especially coronal rain produced along the thermally unstable loops, which leads to an increase of intensity at the loop footpoints, probably indicating an increase of density and temperature in the TR. The rain speeds are on the higher end of previously reported speeds for this phenomenon, and possibly higher than the freefall velocity along the loops. On other observing days, similar bright dots are sometimes aligned into ribbons, resembling small flare ribbons. These observations provide a first insight into smallscale heating events in sunspots in the TR.
Evidence of nonthermal particles in coronal loops heated impulsively by nanoflares
(2014-10) Testa, Paola; De Pontieu, Bart; Allred, J.; Carlsson, Mats; Reale, F.; Daw, A.; Hansteen, Viggo H.; Martinez-Sykora, J.; Liu, W.; DeLuca, E.E.; Golub, Leon; McKillop, Sean; Reeves, Kathy K.; Saar, Steven; Tian, Hui; Lemen, James; Title, Alan M.; Boerner, P.; Hurlburt, Neal E.; Tarbell, Ted D.; Wuelser, Jean-Pierre; Kleint, Lucia; Kankelborg, Charles; Jaeggli, Sarah
The physical processes causing energy exchange between the Sun’s hot corona and its cool lower atmosphere remain poorly understood. The chromosphere and transition region (TR) form an interface region between the surface and the corona that is highly sensitive to the coronal heating mechanism. High-resolution observations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveal rapid variability (~20 to 60 seconds) of intensity and velocity on small spatial scales (≲500 kilometers) at the footpoints of hot and dynamic coronal loops. The observations are consistent with numerical simulations of heating by beams of nonthermal electrons, which are generated in small impulsive (≲30 seconds) heating events called “coronal nanoflares.” The accelerated electrons deposit a sizable fraction of their energy (≲1025 erg) in the chromosphere and TR. Our analysis provides tight constraints on the properties of such electron beams and new diagnostics for their presence in the nonflaring corona.
Exploring the interface between the Sun's surface and corona
(2012-04) Kankelborg, Charles
We present the science case for a broadband Xray imager with highresolution spectroscopy, including simulations of Xray spectral diagnostics of both active regions and solar flares. This is part of a trilogy of white papers discussing science, instrument (Bandler et al. 2010), and missions (Bookbinder et al. 2010) to exploit major advances recently made in transitionedge sensor (TES) detector technology that enable resolution better than 2 eV in an array that can handle high count rates. Combined with a modest Xray mirror, this instrument would combine arcsecondscale imaging with highresolution spectra over a field of view sufficiently large for the study of active regions and flares, enabling a wide range of studies such as the detection of microheating in active regions, ionresolved velocity flows, and the presence of nonthermal electrons in hot plasmas. It would also enable more direct comparisons between solar and stellar soft Xray spectra, a waveband in which (unusually) we currently have much better stellar data than we do of the Sun.
Fast Differential Emission Measure Inversion of Solar Coronal Data
(2012-10) Plowman, Joseph; Kankelborg, Charles; Martens, Petrus
We present a fast method for reconstructing differential emission measures (DEMs) using solar coronal data. The method consists of a fast, simple regularized inversion in conjunction with an iteration scheme for removal of residual negative emission measure. On average, it computes over 1000 DEMs s1 for a sample active region observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and achieves reduced chisquared of order unity with no negative emission in all but a few test cases. The high performance of this method is especially relevant in the context of AIA, which images of order one million solar pixels per second. This paper describes the method, analyzes its fidelity, compares its performance and results with other DEM methods, and applies it to an active region and loop observed by AIA and by the Extremeultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode.
First Flight of the EUV Snapshot Imaging Spectrograph (ESIS)
(American Astronomical Society, 2022-10) Parker, Jacob D.; Smart, Roy T.; Kankelborg, Charles; Winebarger, Amy; Goldsworth, Nelson
The Extreme-ultraviolet Snapshot Imaging Spectrograph (ESIS) launched on a sounding rocket from White Sands Missile Range on 2019 September 30. ESIS is a computed tomography imaging spectrograph (CTIS) designed to map emission line profiles across a wide field of view, revealing the structure and dynamics of small-scale transient events that are prevalent at transition region temperatures. In this paper, we review the ESIS instrument, mission, and data captured. We demonstrate how this unique data set can be interpreted qualitatively and further present some initial quantitative inversions of the data. Using a multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique, we combine information from all four ESIS channels into a single spatial–spectral cube at every exposure. We analyze two small explosive events in the O v 629.7 Å spectral line with jets near ±100 km s−1 that evolve on 10 s timescales and vary significantly over small spatial scales. Intriguingly, each of these events turns out to be a bimodal (red+blue) jet with outflows that are asymmetric and unsynchronized. We also present a qualitative analysis of a small jetlike eruption captured by ESIS and draw comparisons to previously observed mini-filament eruptions. In 5 minutes of observing time, ESIS captured the spatial and temporal evolution of tens of these small events across the ∼11.′5 field of view, as well as several larger extended eruptions, demonstrating the advantage of CTIS instruments over traditional slit spectrographs in capturing the spatial and spectral information of dynamic solar features across large fields of view.
High‐resolution imaging with multilayer telescopes: resolution performance of the MSSTA II telescopes
(1999-09-29) Martinez-Galarce, Dennis S.; Walker, Arthur B.C. II; Gore, David B.; Kankelborg, Charles; Hoover, Richard B.; Barbee, Troy W. Jr.; Boerner, P.
The Multi-Spectral Solar Telescope Array (MSSTA) is a sounding rocket-borne observatory composed of a set of normal-incidence multilayer-coated telescopes that obtained selected bandpass spectroheliograms of the Solar atmosphere. These spectroheliograms were recorded on specially fabricated XUV and FUV 70mm Kodak film. Rocket launches of this instrument payload took place in 1991 and 1994 at the White Sands Missile Test Range in New Mexico, sponsored by the NASA sounding rocket experiment program. Immediately prior to the 1994 launch, visible light focusing test of each telescope were performed in-situ using a 1951 Standard Air Force High Resolution Test-target, to measure optical resolution performance. We determined that the MSSTA II telescopes performed at diffraction-limited resolutions down to 0.70 arc-second at visible wavelengths. Based on these measurements, we calculated an upper-bound to the focusing errors that incorporate the sum of all uncorrelated system resolution errors that affect resolution performance. Coupling these upper-bound estimates with the in-band diffraction limits, surface scattering errors and payload pointing jitter, we demonstrate that eleven of nineteen MSSTA II telescopes - having negligible figures of focus errors in comparison to the corresponding visible diffraction limits - performed at sub arc-second resolution at their operation FUV/EUV/XUV wavelengths during flight. We estimate the in-band performance down to 0.14 +/- 0.08 second of arc.
High‐resolution Observations of the Shock Wave Behavior for Sunspot Oscillations with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
(2014-05) Tian, Hui; DeLuca, E.E.; Reeves, Kathy K.; McKillop, Sean; De Pontieu, Bart; Martínez-Sykora, J.; Carlsson, Mats; Hansteen, Viggo H.; Kleint, Lucia; Cheung, M.; Golub, Leon; Saar, Steven; Testa, Paola; Weber, Mark A.; Lemen, James; Title, Alan M.; Boerner, P.; Hurlburt, Neal E.; Tarbell, Ted D.; Wülser, Jean-Pierre; Kankelborg, Charles; Jaeggli, Sarah; McIntosh, Scott W.
We present the first results of sunspot oscillations from observations by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. The strongly nonlinear oscillation is identified in both the slitjaw images and the spectra of several emission lines formed in the transition region and chromosphere. We first apply a single Gaussian fit to the profiles of the Mg II 2796.35 Å, C II 1335.71 Å, and Si IV 1393.76 Å lines in the sunspot. The intensity change is ~30%. The Doppler shift oscillation reveals a sawtooth pattern with an amplitude of ~10 km s1 in Si IV. The Si IV oscillation lags those of C II and Mg II by ~3 and ~12 s, respectively. The line width suddenly increases as the Doppler shift changes from redshift to blueshift. However, we demonstrate that this increase is caused by the superposition of two emission components. We then perform detailed analysis of the line profiles at a few selected locations on the slit. The temporal evolution of the line core is dominated by the following behavior: a rapid excursion to the blue side, accompanied by an intensity increase, followed by a linear decrease of the velocity to the red side. The maximum intensity slightly lags the maximum blueshift in Si IV, whereas the intensity enhancement slightly precedes the maximum blueshift in Mg II. We find a positive correlation between the maximum velocity and deceleration, a result that is consistent with numerical simulations of upward propagating magnetoacoustic shock waves.
Homologous Helical Jets: Observations By IRIS, SDO, and Hinode and Magnetic Modeling With Data‐Driven
(2015-03-05) Cheung, Mark C.M.; De Pontieu, B.; Tarbell, Ted D.; Fu, Y.; Tian, Hui; Testa, Paola; Reeves, Kathy K.; Martínez-Sykora, J.; Boerner, B.; Wülser, J.P.; Lemen, James; Title, Alan M.; Hurlburt, Neal E.; Kleint, Lucia; Kankelborg, Charles; Jaeggli, Sarah; Golub, Leon; McKillop, Sean; Saar, Steven; Carlsson, Mats; Hansteen, Viggo H.
We report on observations of recurrent jets by instruments on board the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and Hinode spacecraft. Over a 4 hr period on 2013 July 21, recurrent coronal jets were observed to emanate from NOAA Active Region 11793. Far-ultraviolet spectra probing plasma at transition region temperatures show evidence of oppositely directed flows with components reaching Doppler velocities of ±100 km s−1. Raster Doppler maps using a Si iv transition region line show all four jets to have helical motion of the same sense. Simultaneous observations of the region by SDO and Hinode show that the jets emanate from a source region comprising a pore embedded in the interior of a supergranule. The parasitic pore has opposite polarity flux compared to the surrounding network field. This leads to a spine-fan magnetic topology in the coronal field that is amenable to jet formation. Time-dependent data-driven simulations are used to investigate the underlying drivers for the jets. These numerical experiments show that the emergence of current-carrying magnetic field in the vicinity of the pore supplies the magnetic twist needed for recurrent helical jet formation.
Hot Explosions in the Cool Atmoshere of the Sun
(2014-10) Peter, H.; Tian, Hui; Curdt, W.; Schmidt, D.; Innes, D.; De Pontieu, Bart; Lemen, James; Title, Alan M.; Boerner, P.; Hurlburt, Neal E.; Tarbell, Ted D.; Wuelser, Jean-Pierre; Martinez-Sykora, J.; Kleint, Lucia; Golub, Leon; McKillop, Sean; Reeves, Kathy K.; Saar, Steven; Testa, Paola; Kankelborg, Charles; Jaeggli, Sarah; Carlsson, Mats; Hansteen, Viggo H.
The solar atmosphere was traditionally represented with a simple one-dimensional model. Over the past few decades, this paradigm shifted for the chromosphere and corona that constitute the outer atmosphere, which is now considered a dynamic structured envelope. Recent observations by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveal that it is difficult to determine what is up and down, even in the cool 6000-kelvin photosphere just above the solar surface: This region hosts pockets of hot plasma transiently heated to almost 100,000 kelvin. The energy to heat and accelerate the plasma requires a considerable fraction of the energy from flares, the largest solar disruptions. These IRIS observations not only confirm that the photosphere is more complex than conventionally thought, but also provide insight into the energy conversion in the process of magnetic reconnection.
Instrument Calibration of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) Mission
(2018-11) Wulser, J. P.; Jaeggli, Sarah A.; De Pontieu, Bart; Tarbell, Ted D.; Boerner, P.; Freeland, S.; Liu, W.; Timmons, R.; Brannon, Sean R.; Kankelborg, Charles; Madsen, C.; McKillop, Sean; Prchlik, J.; Saar, Steven; Schanche, N.; Bryans, P.; Wiesmann, M.
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is a NASA small explorer mission that provides high-resolution spectra and images of the Sun in the 133-141nm and 278-283nm wavelength bands. The IRIS data are archived in calibrated form and made available to the public within seven days of observing. The calibrations applied to the data include dark correction, scattered light and background correction, flat fielding, geometric distortion correction, and wavelength calibration. In addition, the IRIS team has calibrated the IRIS absolute throughput as a function of wavelength and has been tracking throughput changes over the course of the mission. As a resource for the IRIS data user, this article describes the details of these calibrations as they have evolved over the first few years of the mission. References to online documentation provide access to additional information and future updates.
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)
(2014-02) De Pontieu, Bart; Title, Alan M.; Lemen, James; Kushner, G.D.; Akin, D.J.; Allard, A.; Berger, T.; Boerner, P.; Cheung, M.; Chou, C.; Drake, J.F.; Duncan, D.W.; Freeland, S.; Heyman, G.F.; Hoffman, C.; Hurlburt, Neal E.; Lindgren, R.W.; Mathur, D.; Rehse, R.; Sabolish, D.; Seguin, R.; Schrijver, C.J.; Tarbell, Ted D.; Wülser, J.P.; Wolfson, C.J.; Yanari, C.; Mudge, J.; Nguyen-Phuc, N.; Timmons, R.; van Bezooijen, R.; Weingrod, I.; Brookner, R.; Butcher, G.; Dougherty, B.; Eder, J.; Knagenhjelm, V.; Larsen, S.; Mansir, D.; Phan, L.; Boyle, P.; Cheimets, P.N.; DeLuca, E.E.; Golub, Leon; Gates, R.; Hertz, E.; McKillop, Sean; Park, Saehan; Perry, T.; Podgorski, W.A.; Reeves, Kathy K.; Saar, Steven; Testa, Paola; Tian, Hui; Weber, Mark A.; Dunn, C.; Eccles, S.; Jaeggli, Sarah; Kankelborg, Charles; Mashburn, K.; Pust, Nathan J.; Springer, Larry
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) small explorer spacecraft provides simultaneous spectra and images of the photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona with 0.33 0.4 arcsec spatial resolution, twosecond temporal resolution, and 1 km s1 velocity resolution over a fieldofview of up to 175 arcsec × 175 arcsec. IRIS was launched into a Sunsynchronous orbit on 27 June 2013 using a PegasusXL rocket and consists of a 19cm UV telescope that feeds a slitbased dualbandpass imaging spectrograph. IRIS obtains spectra in passbands from 1332 1358 Å, 1389 1407 Å, and 2783 2834 Å, including bright spectral lines formed in the chromosphere (Mg ii h 2803 Å and Mg ii k 2796 Å) and transition region (C ii 1334/1335 Å and Si iv 1394/1403 Å). Slitjaw images in four different passbands (C ii 1330, Si iv 1400, Mg ii k 2796, and Mg ii wing 2830 Å) can be taken simultaneously with spectral rasters that sample regions up to 130 arcsec × 175 arcsec at a variety of spatial samplings (from 0.33 arcsec and up). IRIS is sensitive to emission from plasma at temperatures between 5000 K and 10 MK and will advance our understanding of the flow of mass and energy through an interface region, formed by the chromosphere and transition region, between the photosphere and corona. This highly structured and dynamic region not only acts as the conduit of all mass and energy feeding into the corona and solar wind, it also requires an order of magnitude more energy to heat than the corona and solar wind combined. The IRIS investigation includes a strong numerical modeling component based on advanced radiativeMHD codes to facilitate interpretation of observations of this complex region. Approximately eight Gbytes of data (after compression) are acquired by IRIS each day and made available for unrestricted use within a few days of the observation.
Internetwork Chromospheric Bright Grains Observed with IRIS and SST
(2015-04) Martínez-Sykora, Juan; van der Voort, Luc Rouppe; Carlsson, Mats; De Pontieu, Bart; Pereira, Tiago M. D.; Boerner, P.; Hurlburt, Neal E.; Kleint, Lucia; Lemen, James; Tarbell, Ted D.; Title, Alan M.; Wuelser, Jean-Pierre; Hansteen, Viggo H.; Golub, Leon; McKillop, Sean; Reeves, Kathy K.; Saar, Steven; Testa, Paola; Tian, Hui; Jaeggli, Sarah; Kankelborg, Charles
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveals small-scale rapid brightenings in the form of bright grains all over coronal holes and the quiet Sun. These bright grains are seen with the IRIS 1330, 1400, and 2796 Ã… slit-jaw filters. We combine coordinated observations with IRIS and from the ground with the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope (SST) which allows us to have chromospheric (Ca ii 8542 Ã…, Ca ii H 3968 Ã…, HÎ±, and Mg ii k 2796 Ã…) and transition region (C ii 1334 Ã…, Si iv 1403 Ã…) spectral imaging, and single-wavelength Stokes maps in Fe i 6302 Ã… at high spatial ($0\\buildrel{\\prime\\prime}\\over{.} 33$), temporal, and spectral resolution. We conclude that the IRIS slit-jaw grains are the counterpart of so-called acoustic grains, i.e., resulting from chromospheric acoustic waves in a non-magnetic environment. We compare slit-jaw images (SJIs) with spectra from the IRIS spectrograph. We conclude that the grain intensity in the 2796 Ã… slit-jaw filter comes from both the Mg ii k core and wings. The signal in the C ii and Si iv lines is too weak to explain the presence of grains in the 1300 and 1400 Ã… SJIs and we conclude that the grain signal in these passbands comes mostly from the continuum. Although weak, the characteristic shock signatures of acoustic grains can often be detected in IRIS C ii spectra. For some grains, a spectral signature can be found in IRIS Si iv. This suggests that upward propagating acoustic waves sometimes reach all the way up to the transition region.
Multi‐Spectral Solar Telescope Array VIII: the second flight
(1995-06-20) Walker, Arthur B.C. II; Allen, Maxwell; DeForest, Craig; Kankelborg, Charles; Martinez-Galarce, Dennis S.; Plummer, James E.; Hoover, Richard B.; Barbee, Troy W. Jr.; Gore, David B.
The Multi Spectral Solar Telescope Array (MSSTA) is a rocket borne observatory that utilizes an array of multi-layer and interference film coated telescopes to observe the solar atmosphere from the chromosphere to the corona, over a broad spectral range (VUV - soft x rays). The MSSTA is continuously evolved to incorporate new instruments, and to improve its ability to investigate specific topics related to the structure and dynamics of the solar atmosphere. We describe chromospheric and coronal observations recorded during the second flight of the MSSTA on November 3, 1994 at 1915 UT.
Narrow‐band EUV multilayer coating for the MOSES sounding rocket
(2005-09-08) Owens, Scott M.; Gum, Jeffery S.; Tarrio, Charles; Grantham, Steven; Dvorak, Joseph; Kjornrattanawanich, Benjawan; Keski-Kuha, Ritva; Thomas, Roger J.; Kankelborg, Charles
The Multiorder Solar EUV Spectrograph (MOSES) is a slitless spectrograph designed to study solar He II emission at 303.8 Å (1 Å = 0.1 nm), to be launched on a sounding rocket payload. One difference between MOSES and other slitless spectrographs is that the images are recorded simultaneously at three spectral orders, m = 1, 0, +1. Another is the addition of a narrowband multilayer coating on both the grating and the fold flat, which will reject outofband lines that normally contaminate the image of a slitless instrument. The primary metrics for the coating were high peak reflectivity and suppression of Fe XV and XVI emission lines at 284 Å and 335 Å, respectively. We chose B4C/Mg2Si for our material combination since it provides excellent peak reflectivity and rejection of outofband wavelengths. Measurements of witness flats at NIST indicate the peak reflectivity at 303.8 is 39.0% for a 15 bilayer stack, while suppression ranges from 7.5x to 12.9x at 284 Å and from 3.4x to 15.1x at 335 Å for the individual reflections in the optical path. We present the results of coating the MOSES flight gratings and fold flat, including the spectral response of the fold flat and grating as measured at NIST's SURF III and Brookhaven's X24C beamline, respectively.
National Student Solar Spectrograph Competition overview
(2012-10) Larimer, Randal M.; Des Jardins, Angela; Shaw, Joseph A.; Kankelborg, Charles; Palmer, Christopher; Springer, Larry; Key, Joey S.
The yearly National Student Solar Spectrograph Competition (NSSSC) is Montana Space Grant Consortium's Education and Public Outreach (EP/O) Program for NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission. The NSSSC is designed to give schools with less aerospace activity such as Minority Serving Institutions and Community Colleges an opportunity for hands on real world research experience. The NSSSC provides students from across the country the opportunity to work as part of an undergraduate interdisciplinary team to design, build and test a ground based solar spectrograph. Over the course of nine months, teams come up with their own science goals and then build an instrument to collect data in support of their goals. Teams then travel to Bozeman, MT to demonstrate their instruments and present their results in a competitive science fair environment. This paper and poster will discuss the 2011-2012 competition along with results as well as provide information on the 2012 -2013 competition opportunities.
On the prevalence of small-scale twist in the solar chromosphere and transition region
(De Pontieu, B., L. Rouppe van der Voort, S. W. McIntosh, T. M. D. Pereira, M. Carlsson, V. Hansteen, H. Skogsrud, et al. “On the Prevalence of Small-Scale Twist in the Solar Chromosphere and Transition Region.” Science 346, no. 6207 (October 16, 2014): 1255732–1255732. doi:10.1126/science.1255732., 2014-10) De Pontieu, Bart; Rouppe van der Voort, L.; McIntosh, Scott W.; Pereira, Tiago M. D.; Carlsson, Mats; Hansteen, Viggo H.; Skogsrud, H.; Lemen, James; Title, Alan M.; Boerner, P.; Hurlburt, Neal E.; Tarbell, Ted D.; Wuelser, Jean-Pierre; DeLuca, E.E.; Golub, Leon; McKillop, Sean; Reeves, Kathy K.; Saar, Steven; Testa, Paola; Tian, Hui; Kankelborg, Charles; Jaeggli, Sarah; Kleint, Lucia; Martinez-Sykora, J.
The solar chromosphere and transition region (TR) form an interface between the Sun’s surface and its hot outer atmosphere. There, most of the nonthermal energy that powers the solar atmosphere is transformed into heat, although the detailed mechanism remains elusive. High-resolution (0.33–arc second) observations with NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) reveal a chromosphere and TR that are replete with twist or torsional motions on sub–arc second scales, occurring in active regions, quiet Sun regions, and coronal holes alike. We coordinated observations with the Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope (SST) to quantify these twisting motions and their association with rapid heating to at least TR temperatures. This view of the interface region provides insight into what heats the low solar atmosphere.