Utilizing a distinct mode of operation, researchers have actually been able to use the Solar Orbiters EUI camera to image parts of the Suns environment formerly hard to capture. Solar Orbiters Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) returns high-resolution images of the structures in the Suns environment. The image of the Suns disc has actually been taken by NASAs STEREO objective, which occurred to be looking at the Sun from practically the very same direction as Solar Orbiter at the same time, so the functions on the surface have a good connection to the functions in the corona.
The movie shows an ultraviolet image of the Suns corona taken utilizing the EUI occulter. The image of the Suns disc has been taken by NASAs STEREO mission, which happened to be looking at the Sun from nearly the exact same direction as Solar Orbiter at the exact same time, so the functions on the surface area have an excellent connection to the functions in the corona.
Utilizing a special modus operandi, scientists have been able to utilize the Solar Orbiters EUI cam to image parts of the Suns environment previously challenging to capture. This was achieved through a last-minute modification to the electronic camera, which is expected to influence future solar instrument designs. The enhancement enables deeper insights into the Suns environment, bridging the gap in between classical EUV imagers and standard coronagraphs.
Researchers have utilized Solar Orbiters EUI video camera in a brand-new modus operandi to tape-record part of the Suns atmosphere at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths that has been practically impossible to image previously. This new modus operandi was enabled with a last-minute hack to the camera and will likely affect brand-new solar instruments for future objectives.
A Closer Look at the Modification
Solar Orbiters Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) returns high-resolution images of the structures in the Suns atmosphere. Researchers call this area the corona. During EUIs building, a last-minute modification to the safety door on the front of the instrument has permitted it to see deeper into its target area than originally specified.
” It was truly a hack,” says Frédéric Auchère, Institut dAstrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Sud, and a member of the EUI team. “I had the concept to simply do it and see if it would work. It is in fact a really basic modification to the instrument.”
It involved including a small, protruding thumb, weighing a few grams, to the door of the instrument. As the door slides out of the method to let the light into the electronic camera, if it is stopped midway, the thumb covers the Suns intense disc, and EUI can identify the million times fainter ultraviolet light coming from the surrounding corona.
This motion picture reveals an ultraviolet picture of the Suns corona taken using the EUI occulter. An ultraviolet picture of the Suns disc has been superimposed in the middle, in the location left blank by the occulter. The image of the Suns disc has been taken by NASAs STEREO mission, which took place to be looking at the Sun from practically the same instructions as Solar Orbiter at the exact same time, so the functions on the surface have a good connection to the functions in the corona.
The grid pattern is an artifact brought on by the mesh that is holding the 150 nm thick front filter. It is invisible in regular images however present (as expected) in occulter mode. The WOW-enhanced label next to the time counter in the lower left corner represent the Wavelets Optimized Whitening algorithm which improves the visual appearance of the motion picture.
Credit: ESA & & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team; F. Auchère et al (2023 ); Solar disc: NASA/STEREO
Developments in Solar Imaging
The team describes this as the occulter modus operandi. Tests with the EUI occulter have actually been continuous given that 2021. Now the team is positive in its successful operation and has actually written a paper (published in Astronomy & & Astrophysics )and published a video (see above) showing the results.
The motion picture reveals an ultraviolet image of the Suns corona taken utilizing the EUI occulter. An ultraviolet image of the Suns disc has been superimposed in the middle, in the location left blank by the occulter. The image of the Suns disc has been taken by NASAs STEREO mission, which happened to be taking a look at the Sun from nearly the exact same direction as Solar Orbiter at the very same time, so the functions on the surface area have an excellent connection to the functions in the corona.
In the past, pictures of the Suns corona have been taken with devoted instruments called coronagraphs. Solar Orbiters coronagraph is called Metis. The value of this brand-new technique is that the video camera and the coronagraph can be consisted of in the exact same instrument.
” Weve shown that this works so well that you can now think about a new type of instrument that can do both imaging of the Sun and the corona around it,” says Daniel Müller, ESAs Project Scientist for Solar Orbiter.
Implications for Solar Research
Even before those brand-new instruments, there is a great deal of new science to come from EUI. The occulter mode makes it possible for researchers to see deeper into the Suns atmosphere. This is the area that lies beyond the field of vision of classical EUV imagers however it is normally obscured by conventional coronagraphs. Now, however, EUIs occulter can image this little-explored area easily.
” Physics is altering there, the magnetic structures are changing there, and we never ever actually had a good take a look at it in the past. There should be some tricks in there that we can now find,” says David Berghmans, Royal Observatory of Belgium, and the EUI Principal Investigator.
Recommendation: “Beyond the disk: EUV coronagraphic observations of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on board Solar Orbiter” by F. Auchère, D. Berghmans, C. Dumesnil, J.-P. Halain, R. Mercier, P. Rochus, F. Delmotte, S. François, A. Hermans, V. Hervier, E. Kraaikamp, E. Meltchakov, G. Morinaud, A. Philippon, P. J. Smith, K. Stegen, C. Verbeeck, X. Zhang, V. Andretta, L. Abbo, E. Buchlin, F. Frassati, S. Gissot, M. Gyo, L. Harra, G. Jerse, F. Landini, M. Mierla B. Nicula, S. Parenti, E. Renotte, M. Romoli, G. Russano, C. Sasso, U. Schühle, W. Schmutz, E. Soubrié, R. Susino, L. Teriaca, M. West and A. N. Zhukov, 13 June 2023, Astronomy & & Astrophysics.DOI: 10.1051/ 0004-6361/2023 46039.
Solar Orbiter is an area mission of worldwide collaboration in between ESA and NASA, operated by ESA.
