The flare genesis project
Abstract
The feasibility of a balloon-borne experiment to understand how the magnetic fields at the solar surface emerge, coalesce, unravel and erupt in solar flares was studied. A key component of the Flare Genesis instrument will be a solar telescope with an 0.8-meter-diameter lightweight mirror. Effects of pendulation and jitter, gravity and temperature on the images formed by the telescope were studied to determine whether it will maintain the desired resolution of ~0.2 sec of arc at float altitude. The principal conclusions of the study are that (1)sufficient image stability can be maintained at the focal plane; (2) polarization sensitivity of 2 × 10-4 is achievable; and (3) the data system can store ~ 2000 magnetograms on-board in the course of a 10-to-14-day Antarctic flight.
- Publication:
-
Advances in Space Research
- Pub Date:
- February 1994
- DOI:
- 10.1016/0273-1177(94)90072-8
- Bibcode:
- 1994AdSpR..14b..89R
- Keywords:
-
- Balloon Flight;
- Balloon-Borne Instruments;
- Solar Flares;
- Solar Magnetic Field;
- Focal Plane Devices;
- Image Motion Compensation;
- Magnetic Signatures;
- Optical Polarization;
- Solar Physics