Wide-Field Imager (WFI) for the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH)
Abstract
The Wide-Field Imager (WFI) is one of three polarizing heliospheric imagers designed as part of Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) to providing the first complete, photometric, high-resolution views of the corona/solar wind transition. The PUNCH payload also includes a Narrow-Field Imager (NFI) provided by The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Together, these instruments form a single "virtual instrument" covering the entire inner solar system continuously from 6 to 180 R⊙(1.5°-45° solar elongation, ɛ). Each instrument will be hosted on a 1+3 microsatellite constellation deployed into Sun-synchronous LEO. WFI implements a high heritage planar/corral hybrid baffle design to observe the inner heliosphere from 5°-45° in ɛ. As each WFI orbits Earth, it scans the entire range of solar azimuths once per orbit. WFI achieves the PUNCH required performance within the microsatellite mission concept with a high sunlight attenuation factor of 10-16 based on heritage designs of the STEREO/HI and SoloHI heliospheric imagers. SwRI has developed, tested, and environmentally qualified a WFI prototype instrument, confirming the expected performance of the baffle and optics as designed for PUNCH.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFMSH41E3299L
- Keywords:
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- 2494 Instruments and techniques;
- IONOSPHERE;
- 2794 Instruments and techniques;
- MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS;
- 7594 Instruments and techniques;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY;
- 7894 Instruments and techniques;
- SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS