Joan Burkepile

HAO flew observers to MLSO to observe the Sun during the solar eclipse

whawkins — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:35:55 +0000

HAO flew observers to MLSO to observe the Sun during the solar eclipse whawkins Tue, 03/12/2024 - 11:35

Author:

whawkins

Mar 12, 2024

Helicopter flying in batteries and solar panels to MLSO located at 11,200 feet on Mauna Loa. The observatory domes are visible at left.

On April 8, 2024, the day of the total solar eclipse, HAO observers Ben Berkey (site manager) and Lisa Perez-Gonzalez flew by helicopter (the road is still closed due to the volcanic eruption of 2022) to the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) located at 11,200 feet on the north face of Mauna Loa to observe the Sun’s corona using the MLSO coronagraphs. During an eclipse the moon blocks out the bright disk of the Sun making the faint pearly corona visible. Coronagraphs are instruments that create ‘artificial’ eclipse images, using a disk inside the telescope to block the bright disk of the Sun. Unfortunately, clouds prevented observations on April 8, but Ben and Lisa were able to return on April 9 to capture beautiful observations of the corona with both coronagraphs.

The Corona on April 9, 2024

An image of the corona from the MLSO K-Coronagraph (K-Cor) in ‘white light’, similar to what is visible with the naked eye.

The MLSO UCoMP coronagraph image of the iron emission line of Fe XIII at a wavelength of 1074.7 nm. This emission line captures plasma with temperatures of ~1.6 million degrees. That is hot enough to strip 12 of the electrons from these iron atoms.

About 4 hours of coronal observations were acquired on April 9 with K-Cor and UCoMP. There are different types of data products available online from UCoMP and from K-Cor.

The Solar Cycle

Royal Observatory of Belgium

The April 8, 2024 eclipse occurred very close to solar maximum activity, when the corona tends to be at its brightest. This plot above shows the ’11-year sunspot cycle’. The Sun goes through peaks and lulls in solar activity that last ~11 years. The plot shows the rise and fall in the number of sunspots. Sunspots are regions of very strong magnetic field. Solar activity, such as flares and explosive events known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), derive their energy from the Sun’s magnetic field. Solar activity rises, on average, with the number of sunspots.

Don Kolinski

The April 8, 2024 eclipse showed a beautiful ‘solar maximum’ corona, with bright structures all around the Sun. Cool, dense structures known as prominences were also visible during the eclipse. This is a photo of the April 8th eclipse by HAO’s Don Kolinski. The reddish-colored structures seen around the corona are prominences. These are often seen erupting as part of a CME. The best chance to see a prominence during an eclipse is at solar maximum.

By contrast, the solar corona during solar minimum activity looks very different, as shown in this image, taken by the MLSO K-Cor instrument in 2019 when sunspots were near zero. There are very few bright prominences present at solar minimum.

Scientists are using the April 2024 observations of the corona from MLSO, eclipse experiments, and other ground- and space-based data to study the coronal magnetic field and plasma conditions during solar maximum.

For information on the MLSO observing plan and other eclipse-day experiments and modeling efforts please see the WHPI 2024 eclipse campaign.

International UCoMP Users Workshop

whawkins — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 19:23:33 +0000

International UCoMP Users Workshop whawkins Thu, 09/07/2023 - 13:23

Author:

whawkins

Sep 7, 2023

Steve displaying slides at UCoMP users workshop.

HAO director Holly Gilbert comments: "There was great energy around the UCoMP Users Workshop last week, with many visitors coming from around the world to participate. Thanks to those who made it a success, including many early career folks!"

The first-ever UCoMP Data User’s Workshop was held the week of August 29 and was a great success. The purpose was to introduce UCoMP to the community and to organize working groups to collaborate on UCoMP first results to be published in a topical issue of Solar Physics. The workshop combined tutorial-type presentations from the UCoMP team, discussions between the UCoMP team and users, user presentations, and hands-on activities for attendees. There were 41 attendees: 23 in-person and 18 remote. Recordings of the presentations can be found on the UCoMP Youtube channel.

Coronal spectral diagnostics: The Coronal Solar Magnetic Observatory (COSMO)

whawkins — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 17:59:57 +0000

Coronal spectral diagnostics: The Coronal Solar Magnetic Observatory (COSMO) whawkins Thu, 12/15/2022 - 10:59

Author:

whawkins

Dec 15, 2022

Example of UCOMP daily temperature map obtained with the superposition of daily average images of Fe XV 706 nm (red), Fe XIII 1074 nm (green) and 789 nm (blue) of the solar corona; on the disk, an SDO/AIA multi-channel image has been inserted.

Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences: Enrico Landi, Sarah E. Gibson, Steven Tomczyk, Joan Burkepile, Giuliana de Toma, Jie Zhang, Tom Schad, Therese A. Kucera, Katharine K. Reeves, Hebe Cremades in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science emphasize THE NEED: Understanding and predicting the major phenomena taking place in the solar corona, such as flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), the heating and evolution of the solar atmosphere, and the acceleration of the solar wind, are fundamental challenges to predict our own star. These challenges are related to the solar magnetism and to the physical properties of solar plasmas: meeting them requires two types of measurements: (A) Spectrally resolved, simultaneous observations of the entire corona in multiple spectral lines emitted by chromospheric to hot coronal plasmas at high spatial resolution and cadence for long periods of time; and (B) Coronal magnetic field measurements. THE PROBLEM: The current fleet of space instruments suffers from three main limitations: (A) EUV narrow-band imagers provide simultaneous 2D images of the corona, but lack adequate plasma diagnostic capabilities; (B) High-resolution EUV spectrometers have the required diagnostic potential, but their narrow field of view prevents a continuous and simultaneous coverage of the entire corona. (C) No current instrument can measure the global coronal magnetic field. THE SOLUTION: Visible to near-IR coronagraphs coupled to tunable filters combine the strengths of both EUV high resolution spectrometers and EUV imagers in one single instrument by (1) providing 2D images of the whole field of view at a single wavelength; (2) spectrally resolving individual lines near-simultaneously across the entire field of view, and (3) measuring the magnetic field through polarimetry. The proposed Coronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO) visible to near-IR coronagraph would allow the measurement of: (A) simultaneous plasma thermal structure of the whole solar corona and CMEs; (B) plasma velocity vector; and (C) coronal magnetic field. The technology behind visible/near-IR coronagraphs coupled to tunable filters is mature; ground-based implementation of such instruments would provide long-term, easily-upgradable data sets.

HAO Outreach: 2020 Little Shop of Physics

kolinski — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 19:26:26 +0000

HAO Outreach: 2020 Little Shop of Physics kolinski Mon, 12/20/2021 - 12:26

Author:

kolinski

Dec 20, 2021

High Altitude Observatory (HAO) staff was invited by UCAR Science Education to present “Space Weather” to the public at the Little Shop of Physics 29th Annual Open House at the Colorado State University in Fort Collins. It was the biggest and brightest open house they have had yet, which was attended by approximately 10,000 visitors. This was HAO’s first participation in this event and it was a lot of fun.

HAO scientists and engineers presented a variety of hands-on activities that highlighted various properties of light using an infrared camera, ultraviolet and optical emission lamps; numerous hands-on experiments for learning about magnetism and how it plays a fundamental role in the Sun and for the production of space weather. Kids and adults could learn how light and magnetism are used to study the Sun, the Earth and the Universe.

Photograph of children at 2020 Little Shop of Physics with hands-on activities.

Astrid Maute (left) instructing children at 2020 Little Shop of Physics with hands-on activities.

Andrew Carlile (left) instructing children at 2020 Little Shop of Physics with hands-on activities (Ricky Egeland in background).

Ricky Egeland (left) mentoring children at 2020 Little Shop of Physics with hands-on activities.

Thanks a lot to Joan Burkepile for organizing the HAO table and to UCAR Science Education.

Joan Burkepile Mentors Middle-School Girls for Over a Decade

kolinski — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 18:43:17 +0000

Joan Burkepile Mentors Middle-School Girls for Over a Decade kolinski Fri, 12/17/2021 - 11:43

Author:

kolinski

Dec 17, 2021

For over a decade, Joan Burkepile has participated in the STEM conference for middle school girls called “Expanding Your Horizons,” at CU Boulder. These one-day hands-on workshops are led by women professionals and are designed to be fun and exploratory.

Joan Burkepile (HAO) leading her hands-on workshop “Beyond the Rainbow: What Light Teaches us About our Sun, the Stars and the Universe”

Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) is a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) conference for middle school girls held at the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder. EYH is organized by the Boulder Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and supported by HAO/NCAR and Seagate. The mission of EYH is to introduce girls in grades 6 through 8 to career opportunities in mathematics, science, engineering, computer science, and technology. During the 1–day conference, each middle school girl attends 3 different 50-min hands-on workshops given by women with STEM careers. HAO support of EYH provides young women with the opportunity to meet and interact with positive STEM women role models, involves young women with limited opportunities for success in positive STEM experiences, increases interest in science by providing exciting and fun hands-on learning experiences, and fosters awareness of science career opportunities.

Astrid Maute was one of the co-organizers of the girls STEM conference. This year, 2017, over 280 middle school girls from the whole Front Range area attended EYH. The yearly workshop is located at the CU Engineering Center.

http://www.eyhn.org/girls

A New Coronagraph for Mauna Loa

kolinski — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 21:36:31 +0000

A New Coronagraph for Mauna Loa kolinski Wed, 12/01/2021 - 14:36

Author:

kolinski

Dec 1, 2021

NCAR's High Altitude Observatory (HAO) will be installing a new white light coronagraph at the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) in Hawaii in August of this year (2013). A coronagraph is an instrument designed to mimic a total solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon completely occults the solar disk. The new coronagraph, known as K-cor, was designed by HAO engineers and scientists, along with two engineering consultants. K-cor will replace the 1-D scanning coronameter at Mauna Loa known as the Mk4. K-cor will provide a factor of ten improvement in speed and signal-to-noise as well as significant advancements in calibration accuracy and reliability.

It is specially designed to acquire images of the lowest region of the very faint, hot solar atmosphere known as the corona. With a field-of-view of 1.05 to 3.0 solar radii, and a time cadence of 15 seconds, the K-cor will provide unprecedented white light imaging for studying the birth and evolution of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). CMEs are dramatic eruptions in the solar atmosphere that hurl millions of tons of magnetized plasma into the solar wind that can create severe space weather at Earth and throughout the heliosphere. High time cadence images of the low corona provide crucial observations for understanding the formation of CMEs and CME-driven shocks in the solar wind.

A sequence of coronal images from Mk4 showing a CME erupting through the corona in May 2001.

Electrical engineer, Brandon Larson, and Technician Rob Graves install the K-cor center section onto the solar spar at the NCAR Mesa Lab in Boulder.

K-cor has been successfully deployed to the HAO solar spar in Boulder, Colorado. The deployment required careful alignment of the optical systems beginning with the installation of the primary objective lens near the front of the telescope. The objective lens is bombarded by light from the solar surface, which is a million times brighter than the faint corona. The lens must be nearly free of scratches, striations and any blemishes that will cause light to scatter and overwhelm the faint signal coming from the corona.

K-cor occulter

The back end of the K-cor instrument contains the occulter, filters, polarization modulator, lenses and cameras. The system is carefully designed to filter out all unwanted light and capture the all-important polarized light scattered by the electrons in the Sun’s corona. If the corona were not polarized it would not be possible with current technologies to observe it in white light from the ground except during a total solar eclipse. The white object at center left in the image is the K-cor occulter, illuminated by, and blocking, the bright light from the solar surface.

K-cor system testing at the Mesa spar by project manager Scott Sewell and electrical engineer Brandon Larson.

K-cor is undergoing spar testing before it is fully deployed to the Mauna Loa spar in August. The pristine skies at MLSO provide the ideal sky conditions needed to observe the faint corona. HAO engineers and scientists will work with the Mauna Loa observers (Allen Stueben, Ben Berkey, Greg Rose and Lisa Waters) to complete the installation at MLSO by September.

K-cor instrument scientist Alfred de Wijn inspects the calibration optics at the Mesa spar in Boulder.

Following installation at the Mauna Loa spar, K-cor will begin routine observations of the corona. Final checks on data calibration by HAO scientists, led by Alfred deWijn (pictured at left,) will be completed and cross-checked to space-based coronagraph observations to ensure the community receives highest quality dataset. All K-cor observations will be provided via the Mauna Loa website.

K-Cor H-alpha image

An image of the solar corona taken with the K-cor in a neutral emission line of hydrogen known as H-alpha. The dark circle is the projection of the occulter obscuring the solar disk. The two bright features are dense, cool objects known as prominences which may play a key role in the dynamical processes that result in CME formation.

AAS Nova Features a Recent Publication by Philip Judge

kolinski — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 19:36:28 +0000

AAS Nova Features a Recent Publication by Philip Judge kolinski Thu, 11/18/2021 - 12:36

Author:

kolinski

Nov 18, 2021

Understanding the magnitude and occurrence of solar storms is key to predicting events that can be harmful to thousands of Earth-orbiting satellites and the welfare of astronauts. A recent paper by Philip Judge et al was highlighted in AAS Nova in a their featured article entitled, "A Better Space Weather Forecasting Tool."

Images to highlight the corrugated surfaces at which the centers of UV lines are formed (close to τ = 1) in MURaM calculations of the upper solar chromosphere. The calculations are from a numerical experiment where a magnetic flux system is emerging from beneath the solar atmosphere. The emergent fields carry with them plasma, which is revealed by the extended heights of the τ = 1 surfaces, which can exceed 10 Mm. Typically the Doppler line shifts in the lower transition region are smaller than the line widths (Athay & Dere 1991). Therefore the τ = 1 surfaces were computed without taking into account Doppler shifts, at the centers of lines of Mg ii k, and several lines of Fe ii. The x–y images of height of formation are plotted in order of decreasing opacity from Mg ii to Fe ii 2769.75 Å. In the bottom right panel, slices of these τ = 1 surfaces are shown, taken along the black line in the five other panels. But the black lines in this final panel are magnetic lines of force in the y–z plane. Evidently, a combination of these and other lines of iron with a wide range of opacities spans the ranges of excursions of the surfaces away from a horizontal plane.

Link to paper: Measuring the Magnetic Origins of Solar Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections, and Space Weather

Joan Burkepile

HAO flew observers to MLSO to observe the Sun during the solar eclipse

Recent News

International UCoMP Users Workshop

Recent News

Coronal spectral diagnostics: The Coronal Solar Magnetic Observatory (COSMO)

Recent News

HAO Outreach: 2020 Little Shop of Physics

Recent News

Joan Burkepile Mentors Middle-School Girls for Over a Decade

Recent News

A New Coronagraph for Mauna Loa

Recent News

AAS Nova Features a Recent Publication by Philip Judge

Recent News