The SUNRISE UV spectropolarimeter and imager for SUNRISE III

Alex Feller*, Achim Gandorfer, Francisco A. Iglesias, Andreas Lagg, Tino L. Riethmüller, Sami K. Solanki, Yukio Katsukawa, Masahito Kubo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference article in proceedingsScientificpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sunrise is a balloon-borne solar observatory dedicated to the investigation of key processes of the magnetic field and the plasma flows in the lower solar atmosphere. The observatory operates in the stratosphere at an altitude of around 37 km in order to avoid image degradation due to turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere and to access the UV range. The third science flight of Sunrise will carry new instrumentation which samples the solar spectrum over a broad wavelength domain from the UV to the near IR and covers an extended height range in the solar atmosphere. A key feature of the Sunrise UV Spectropolarimeter and Imager (SUSI) operating between 309 nm and 417 nm, is its capability to simultaneously record a large number of spectral lines. By combining the spectral and polarization information of many individual lines with different formation heights and sensitivities, the accuracy and the height resolution of the inferred atmospheric parameters can be significantly increased. The spectral bands of SUSI are selected one at a time by rotating a diffraction grating with respect to a fixed polarimetry unit. The spatial and spectral field of view on the 2k x 2k cameras is 59” and 2.0 - 2.3 nm, respectively. A further innovation is the numerical restoration of the spectrograph scans by means of synchronized 2D context imaging, a technique that has recently produced impressive results at ground-based solar observatories.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGround-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII
EditorsChristopher J. Evans, Julia J. Bryant, Kentaro Motohara
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Electronic)9781510636811
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
MoE publication typeA4 Conference publication
EventGround-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy - Virtual, Online, United States
Duration: 14 Dec 202022 Dec 2020
Conference number: 8

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume11447
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

ConferenceGround-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, Online
Period14/12/202022/12/2020

Keywords

  • Astrophysics
  • Scientific ballooning
  • Sun: chromosphere
  • Sun: magnetic fields
  • Sun: photosphere
  • Techniques: polarimetric
  • Techniques: spectroscopic

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The SUNRISE UV spectropolarimeter and imager for SUNRISE III'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this