Jeffrey Scott Newmark

EUVI: the STEREO-SECCHI extreme ultraviolet imager

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI) is part of the SECCHI instrument suite currently being developed for the NASA STEREO mission. Identical EUVI telescopes on the two STEREO spacecraft will study the structure and evolution of the solar corona in three dimensions, and specifically focus on the initiation and early evolution of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The EUVI telescope is being developed at the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Lab. The SECCHI investigation is led by the Naval Research Lab. The EUVI’s 2048 x 2048 pixel detectors have a field of view out to 1.7 solar radii, and observe in four spectral channels that span the 0.1 to 20 MK temperature range. In addition to its view from two vantage points, the EUVI will provide a substantial improvement in image resolution and image cadence over its predecessor SOHO-EIT, while complying with the more restricted mass, power, and volume allocations on the STEREO mission.

Three-dimensional Stereoscopic Analysis of Solar Active Region Loops. I. SOHO/EIT Observations at Temperatures of (1.0-1.5) × 106 K

The three-dimensional structure of solar active region NOAA 7986 observed on 1996 August 30 with the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is analyzed. We develop a new method of dynamic stereoscopy to reconstruct the three-dimensional geometry of dynamically changing loops, which allows us to determine the orientation of the mean loop plane with respect to the line of sight, a prerequisite to correct properly for projection effects in three-dimensional loop models. With this method and the filter-ratio technique applied to EIT 171 and 195 A images we determine the three-dimensional coordinates [x(s), y(s), z(s)], the loop width w(s), the electron density ne(s), and the electron temperature Te(s) as a function of the loop length s for 30 loop segments. Fitting the loop densities with an exponential density model ne(h) we find that the mean of inferred scale height temperatures, Tλe=1.22 ± 0.23 MK, matches closely that of EIT filter-ratio temperatures, TEITe=1.21 ± 0.06 MK. We conclude that these cool and rather large-scale loops (with heights of h≈30-225 Mm) are in hydrostatic equilibrium. Most of the loops show no significant thickness variation w(s), but we measure for most of them a positive temperature gradient (dT/ds>0) across the first scale height above the footpoint. Based on these temperature gradients we find that the conductive loss rate is about 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the radiative loss rate, which is in strong contrast to hot active region loops seen in soft X-rays. We infer a mean radiative loss time of τrad≈40 minutes at the loop base. Because thermal conduction is negligible in these cool EUV loops, they are not in steady state, and radiative loss has entirely to be balanced by the heating function. A statistical heating model with recurrent heating events distributed along the entire loop can explain the observed temperature gradients if the mean recurrence time is 10 minutes. We computed also a potential field model (from SOHO/MDI magnetograms) and found a reasonable match with the traced EIT loops. With the magnetic field model we determined also the height dependence of the magnetic field B(h), the plasma parameter β(h), and the Alfven velocity vA(h). No correlation was found between the heating rate requirement EH0 and the magnetic field Bfoot at the loop footpoints.

Heliospheric Images of the Solar Wind at Earth

During relatively quiet solar conditions throughout the spring and summer of 2007, the SECCHI HI2 white-light telescope on the STEREO B solar-orbiting spacecraft observed a succession of wave fronts sweeping past Earth. We have compared these heliospheric images with in situ plasma and magnetic field measurements obtained by near-Earth spacecraft, and we have found a near perfect association between the occurrence of these waves and the arrival of density enhancements at the leading edges of high-speed solar wind streams. Virtually all of the strong corotating interaction regions are accompanied by large-scale waves, and the low-density regions between them lack such waves. Because the Sun was dominated by long-lived coronal holes and recurrent solar wind streams during this interval, there is little doubt that we have been observing the compression regions that are formed at low latitude as solar rotation causes the high-speed wind from coronal holes to run into lower speed wind ahead of it.

A Study of External Galaxies Detected by the COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment

A comparison of the COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) all-sky survey with the locations of known galaxies in the IRAS Catalog of Extragalactic Objects and the Center for Astrophysics Catalog of Galaxies led to the detection of as many as 57 galaxies. In this paper, we present the photometric data for these galaxies and an analysis of the seven galaxies that were detected at λ > 100 μm. Estimates of the ratio of the mass of the cold dust (CD) component detected at Td = 20-30 K to a very cold dust (VCD) component with Td ≈ 10-15 K suggest that between 2%-100% of the cirrus-like CD mass can also exist in many of these galaxies as VCD. In one galaxy, M33, the DIRBE photometry at 240 μm suggests as much as 26 times as much VCD may be present as compared to the cirrus-like component. Further submillimeter measurements of this galaxy are required to verify such a large population of VCD. We also present 10 galaxies that were detected in the sky region not previously surveyed by IRAS and that can be used to construct a flux-limited all-sky catalog of galaxies brighter than 1000 Jy with a modest completeness limit of about 65%.

The Heliospheric HeII 30.4 nm Solar Flux During Cycle 23

Because of the orbit characteristics of the vast majority of spacecraft, the solar flux has predominantly been measured at Earth or at least in the plane of the ecliptic. Therefore, the existing data do not directly demonstrate the fact that the latitudinal distribution of the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) solar flux is largely anisotropic. Indeed, in the EUV the nonuniform distribution of very contrasted bright features (i.e., active regions) and dark features (i.e., coronal holes) at the surface of the Sun produces both the obvious rotational (or longitudinal) modulation of the flux and also a strong latitudinal anisotropy. Although largely ignored up to now, the latitudinal anisotropy affects the physical conditions in the corona and heliosphere and should therefore be taken into account in several solar and heliospheric physics applications. We describe in this paper a technique for computing the He II 30.4 nm flux at an arbitrary position in the heliosphere from Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT) images. This procedure was used to produce daily all-sky maps of the 30.4 nm flux from 1996 January to 2003 August, covering the first 8 yr of solar cycle 23. As could be expected from the examination of the EIT images, the 30.4 nm flux was found to be strongly anisotropic. The anisotropy Ipol/Ieq between the fluxes computed for viewpoints located above the solar poles and within the solar equatorial plane ranges from 0.9 at solar minimum to 0.6 at solar maximum. A 20% difference was also discovered between the north and south polar fluxes. The generalization of this technique to other lines of the EUV and far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectrum is discussed.

Measurements of Three-dimensional Coronal Magnetic Fields from Coordinated Extreme-Ultraviolet and Radio Observations of a Solar Active Region Sunspot

We observed NOAA Active Region 8108 around 1940 UT on 1997 November 18 with the Very Large Array and with three instruments aboard the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory satellite, including the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer, the EUV Imaging Telescope, and the Michelson Doppler Imager. We used the right-hand and left-hand circularly polarized components of the radio observing frequencies, along with the coordinated EUV observations, to derive the three-dimensional coronal magnetic field above the regions sunspot and its immediate surroundings. This was done by placing the largest possible harmonic (which corresponds to the smallest possible magnetic field strength) for each component of each radio frequency into appropriate atmospheric temperature intervals such that the calculated radio brightness temperatures at each spatial location match the corresponding observed values. The temperature dependence of the derived coronal magnetic field, B(x,y,T), is insensitive to uncertainties on the observed parameters and yields field strengths in excess of 580 G at 2 × 106 K and in excess of 1500 G at 1 × 106 K. The height dependence of the derived coronal magnetic field, B(x,y,h), varies significantly with our choice of magnetic scale height LB. Based on LB = 3.8 × 109 cm derived from the relative displacements of the observed radio centroids, we find magnetic field strengths in excess of 1500 G at heights of 15,000 km and as great as 1000 G at 25,000 km. By observing a given target region on several successive days, we would obtain observations at a variety of projection angles, thus enabling a better determination of LB and, ultimately, B(x,y,h). We compare coronal magnetic fields derived from our method with those derived from a potential extrapolation and find that the magnitudes of the potential field strengths are factors of 2 or more smaller than those derived from our method. This indicates that the sunspot field is not potential and that currents must be present in the corona. Alfven speeds between 25,000 and 57,000 km s-1 are derived for the 1 × 106 K plasma at the centroids of the radio observing frequencies. Filling factors between 0.003 and 0.1 are derived for the 1 × 106 K plasma at the centroids of the radio observing frequencies.

Reconciling Extreme-Ultraviolet and Radio Observations of the Sun's Corona

The Suns corona, which is composed of plasma at a temperature of a few millions of degrees, can be best viewed in two electromagnetic domains, one from wavelengths of a few angstroms to hundreds of angstroms (in the soft X-ray and EUV domain), the other from wavelengths of a few centimeters to several tens of centimeters (in the radio domain). In this paper, we present a quantitative comparison of coronal observations made in these two domains with high spatial resolution over the full disk of the Sun. The EUV observations were taken with the EIT (Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) on board SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), and the radio observations were taken with the VLA (Very Large Array). The two sets of images show very similar morphologies, indicating that the different wavelengths originate from common solar features. We predict radio fluxes using the temperature and emission measure of the corona calculated from EIT observations, adopting Meyers table of coronal abundances for the calculations. In each of the seven observations investigated, there always exists a good linear correlation in the pixel-by-pixel correlation plot between the predicted and the observed radio flux for coronal features over a wide range of flux variation. Nevertheless, the predicted radio flux is systematically larger than that observed by a factor of 2.0 ± 0.2, on average. We attribute the difference to the underestimation of the abundance of Fe relative to H in the abundances adopted by Meyer. On this basis, we place the absolute Fe abundance in the corona at 7.8 × 10-5, which has an enrichment factor of 2.4 relative to the accepted photospheric Fe abundance.

POLAR investigation of the Sun—POLARIS

The POLAR Investigation of the Sun (POLARIS) mission uses a combination of a gravity assist and solar sail propulsion to place a spacecraft in a 0.48 AU circular orbit around the Sun with an inclination of 75° with respect to solar equator. This challenging orbit is made possible by the challenging development of solar sail propulsion. This first extended view of the high-latitude regions of the Sun will enable crucial observations not possible from the ecliptic viewpoint or from Solar Orbiter. While Solar Orbiter would give the first glimpse of the high latitude magnetic field and flows to probe the solar dynamo, it does not have sufficient viewing of the polar regions to achieve POLARIS’s primary objective: determining the relation between the magnetism and dynamics of the Sun’s polar regions and the solar cycle.

HECOR: a HElium CORonagraphy aboard the Herschel sounding rocket

HECOR (HElium CORonagraph) is a coronagraph designed to observe the solar corona at 30.4 nm between 1.2 and 4 solar radii. The instrument is part of the Herschel sounding rocket payload to be flown from White Sands Missile Range in December 2007. Much like for neutral hydrogen, the residual singly ionized helium present in the corona can be detected because it resonantly scatters the intense underlying chromospheric radiation. Combined with the simultaneous measurements of the neutral hydrogen corona made by SCORE, the other coronagraph of the Herschel payload, the HECOR observations will provide novel diagnostics of the solar wind outflow. HECOR is an externally occulted coronagraph of very simple design. It uses a triple-disc external occulting system, a single off axis multilayer coated mirror and a CCD camera. We present measurements of the EUV mirror roughness and reflectivity, tests of the image quality, and measurements of the stray light rejection performance. The mirror uses a novel multilayer design with three components that give HECOR a high throughput.

METIS, the Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy: An instrument proposed for the solar orbiter mission

METIS, the Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy, is an instrument proposed to the European Space Agency to be part of the payload of the Solar Orbiter mission. The instrument design has been conceived for performing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectroscopy both on the solar disk and off-limb, and near-Sun coronagraphy and spectroscopy. The proposed instrument suite consists of three different interconnected elements, COR, EUS and SOCS, sharing the same optical bench, electronics, and S/C heat shield aperture. COR is a visible-EUV multiband coronagraph based on a classical externally occulted design. EUS is the component of the METIS EUV disk spectrometer which includes the telescope and all the related mechanisms. Finally, SOCS is the METIS spectroscopic component including the dispersive system and the detectors. The capability of inserting a small telescope collecting coronal light has been added to perform also EUV coronal spectroscopy. METIS can simultaneously image the visible and ultraviolet emission of the solar corona and diagnose, with unprecedented temporal coverage and space resolution the structure and dynamics of the full corona in the range from 1.2 to 3.0 (1.6 to 4.1) solar radii (R⊙, measured from Sun centre) at minimum (maximum) perihelion during the nominal mission. It can also perform spectroscopic observations of the solar disk and out to 1.4 R⊙ within the 50-150 nm spectral region, and of the geo-effective coronal region 1.7-2.7 R⊙ within the 30-125 nm spectral band.