AURA Management and Operation of the National Solar Observatory

Association Of Universities For Research In Astronomy, Inc., Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Under terms of this Cooperative Agreement, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. will manage and operate the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and its associated facilities on behalf of the National Science Foundation and the national solar and space physics research communities. The mission of the NSO is to advance human knowledge of the Sun, both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on the Earth. The NSO operates the world's largest collection of ground-based optical and infrared solar telescopes and associated instrumentation allowing solar physicists to probe all aspects of the Sun, from the deep solar interior, to the photosphere and chromosphere, to the outer corona and its interface with the interplanetary medium. These same assets also provide data to space weather researchers in their efforts to understand solar eruptions and their effect upon the Earth, and to apply that knowledge to the protection of satellites, astronauts, land-based power systems, and Earth's climate. The mission of the observatory includes the operation of cutting-edge facilities, the continued development of advanced instrumentation, the conduct of solar research, and outreach to the general public. The NSO provides scientific and technical leadership in helioseismology, synoptic observations of solar variability, and high-resolution studies of the Sun at visible and infrared wavelengths. The NSO leads a vigorous program in education for public visitors to its facilities, undergraduates interested in solar physics, graduate students conducting dissertation research on the Sun, and postdoctoral researchers needing access to its facilities. With the construction of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), AURA and the NSO will lead a transformation of current U.S. ground-based solar capabilities into a new era. When it becomes operational, the DKIST facility will be the largest and most powerful solar observatory in the world providing the unprecedented sensitivity and resolution to allow solar scientists to answer some of the fundamental questions in the field, namely: Why does the Sun have a magnetic field? How does the Sun produce cycles of varying activity? What causes sunspots? How does the Sun produce violent explosions? While the DKIST facility will provide the high-resolution means to study the smallest details of the Sun, the NSO’s synoptic program provides the long-term, full-disk, monitoring capability necessary to place DKIST observations in context to allow transformative research in solar and space physics.