COSMO: A Facility Dedicated to the Measurement of Coronal Magnetic Fields
Abstract
Measurements of coronal and chromospheric magnetic fields are arguably the most important observables required for advances in our understanding of the emergence of magnetic flux into the solar atmosphere and the processes responsible for the production of solar activity, coronal heating and coronal dynamics. The COronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO) is a proposed ground-based suite of instruments designed for routine study of coronal and chromospheric magnetic fields and their environment. This new facility will be operated by the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (HAO/NCAR) in collaboration with the University of Hawaii. It will replace the current NCAR Mauna Loa Solar Observatory which has been collecting synoptic coronal data for over 40 years (http://mlso.hao.ucar.edu). COSMO will enhance the value of existing and new observatories on the ground (SOLIS, ATST, and FASR) and in space (e.g. SDO, STEREO, Hinode, SOHO, GOES, SP+, SO) by providing unique and crucial observations of the global coronal and chromospheric magnetic field and its evolution.
- Publication:
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Solar Heliospheric and INterplanetary Environment (SHINE 2012)
- Pub Date:
- June 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012shin.confE.100K