Report on new mission concept study: Stereo X-Ray Corona Imager mission

Paulett C. Liewer; John M. Davis; E. M. De Jong; G. Allen Gary; James A. Klimchuk; Richard P. Reinert

doi:10.1117/12.330264

2 November 1998 Report on new mission concept study: Stereo X-Ray Corona Imager mission

Paulett C. Liewer, John M. Davis, E. M. De Jong, G. Allen Gary, James A. Klimchuk, Richard P. Reinert

Proceedings Volume 3442, Missions to the Sun II; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.330264
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1998, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

Studies of the 3D structure and dynamics of the solar corona have been severely limited by the constraint of single viewpoint observations. The Stereo X-Ray Coronal Imager (SXCI) mission will send a single instrument, an X-ray telescope, into deep space expressly to record stereoscopic images of the solar corona. The SXCI spacecraft will be inserted into an approximately 1 ZAU heliocentric orbit leading Earth by approximately 25 degrees at the end of nine months. The SXCI x-ray telescope forms one element of a stereo pair, the second element being an identical x-ray telescope in Earth orbit placed there as part of the NOAA GOES program. X-ray emission is a powerful diagnostic of the corona and its magnetic fields, and 3D information on the coronal magnetic structure would be obtained by combining the data from the two x-ray telescopes. This information can be used to address the major solar physics questions of (1) what causes explosive coronal events such as coronal mass ejections, eruptive flares and prominence eruptions and (2) what causes the transient heating of coronal loops. Stereoscopic views of the optically thin corona will resolve some ambiguities inherent in single line-of-sight observations. Triangulation gives 3D solar coordinates of features which can be seen in the simultaneous images form both telescopes. As part of this study, tools were developed for determining the 3D geometry of coronal features using triangulation. Advanced technologies for visualization and analysis of stereo images were tested. Results of mission and spacecraft studies are also reported.

Citation Download Citation

Paulett C. Liewer, John M. Davis, E. M. De Jong, G. Allen Gary, James A. Klimchuk, and Richard P. Reinert "Report on new mission concept study: Stereo X-Ray Corona Imager mission", Proc. SPIE 3442, Missions to the Sun II, (2 November 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.330264

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