For an objective that has simply entered its primary science phase, Solar Orbiter has currently produced many amazing outcomes. Released on December 14, 2021, an unique issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics combines a wealth of studies and observations gotten during the missions cruise stage. Of the 56 short articles released, 25 are based on information from the Radio & & Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument (Maksimovic et al., A&A, 2020).
The RPW instrument, which measures electric and magnetic waves in the inner heliosphere, was created and developed by an international consortium led by Milan Maksimovic (LESIA, Paris Observatory). After more than 10 years of work, RPW was introduced with 9 other instruments and telescopes in February 2020 on board the European Solar Orbiter probe towards the Sun.
After a 21-month journey of nearly 2 billion kilometres, the probe went through a last gravitational assist from Earth on November 27, prior to starting the nominal phase of its objective with a very first pass at 0.3 au at the end of March 2022.
The documents produced with the observations acquired throughout the cruise stage cover a really vast array of scientific goals. RPW has therefore acquired the very first observations of solar type III radio emission with 4 different probes, consisting of Solar Orbiter (Musset et al., A&A, 2021 see Figure 1). These radio emissions are produced by energetic electrons injected in the heliosphere throughout solar flares.
Figure 1: First observations of a type III solar radio emission with 4 different radio probes, including Solar Orbiter. The left panel reveals the vibrant spectrum of radio fluxes observed by the 4 probes (from leading to bottom: Solar Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe, Stereo-A and WIND) for the July 11, 2020 event at about 2:30 am. The top right panel reveals the particular positions of the four probes and the bottom ideal panel shows the light curves at 634 kHz (Musset et al., A&A 2021).
RPW was also able to measure the waves associated with the tail of the comet ATLAS (Matteini et al., 2021), as well as with the magnetosphere of Venus (Hadid et al., 2021), both come across during the Solar Orbiter journey around the Sun. The latter could be studied in more detail by combining the RPW information with those of the energetic particle detectors of the EPD instrument (Gómez-Herrero et al., 2021; Kollhoff et al. 2021).
Lastly, the cruise stage allowed to fine-tune the calibration of RPW, carried out in the SimEnOm vessel at LESIA in 2016. The efficiencies are close to those anticipated (Maksimovic et al.,2021). In spite of numerous electro-magnetic disturbances that impact the instrument, the data it offers are of enough quality to attain most of the clinical goals that have actually been assumed.
We are confident that RPW will satisfy its science objectives which it will continue to offer excellent information.
Based upon a current paper: Maksimovic et al, First observations and performance of the RPW instrument on board the Solar Orbiter objective, Astronomy & & Astrophysics, 656, A41 (2021) DOI: 10.1051/ 0004-6361/2021 41271.
Referrals:.
Gómez-Herrero R. et al., A&A, 656 L3 (2021 ).
Hadid L. Z. et al., A&A, 656, A18 (2021 ).
Maksimovic M. et al., A&A, 656, A41 (2021 ).
Matteini L. et al., A&A, 656 A39 (2021 ).
Musset S. et al., A&A, 656, A34 (2021 ).
Kollhoff A.et al., A&A 656 A20 (2021 ).
Zaslavsky A. et al., A&A, 656, A30 (2021 ).
RPW has thus gotten the very first observations of solar type III radio emission with four various probes, including Solar Orbiter (Musset et al., A&A, 2021 see Figure 1). The top right panel shows the particular positions of the 4 probes and the bottom right panel shows the light curves at 634 kHz (Musset et al., A&A 2021).
(Zaslavsky et al., 2021). RPW was likewise able to determine the waves associated with the tail of the comet ATLAS (Matteini et al., 2021), as well as with the magnetosphere of Venus (Hadid et al., 2021), both come across throughout the Solar Orbiter journey around the Sun. The latter could be studied in more information by combining the RPW data with those of the energetic particle detectors of the EPD instrument (Gómez-Herrero et al., 2021; Kollhoff et al. 2021).