MRI: Development of an Airborne Coronal Emission Surveyor (ACES)

Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The Airborne Coronal Emission Surveyor (ACES) will be developed as a new imaging Fourier transform spectrometer to observe the solar corona from the NSF Gulfstream V during the 2024 total solar eclipse across North America. ACES will observe the 1-4 micron wavelength region to understand the coronal magnetic field and coronal plasma at large solar radii. Additionally, the project will engage undergraduate students in research. The team will also conduct English-Spanish bilingual outreach events in conjunction with the 2024 total solar eclipse. ACES is a new focal plane instrument enabled by the Airborne Stabilized Platform for InfraRed Experiments (ASPIRE). ACES will survey the corona in a new wavelength region as a function of solar conditions and radius, expanding the team’s successful mid-infrared coronal program. It will observe neutral helium as well as 18 forbidden lines of ionized magnesium, silicon, sulfur, argon, calcium, and iron, and will search for weaker lines as further diagnostics. Half of the ACES coronal lines have not been observed before. These measurements will allow for improved atomic physics modeling of the solar corona. ACES will provide unprecedented infrared plasma diagnostics in the inner and mid-corona. The coronal lines cover a temperature range of 0.4 to 3.2 MK, including four density-sensitive line pairs at different temperatures. ACES will also make a precise measurement of the continuum, allowing for measurement of coronal abundance of high-FIP (sulfur and argon) vs. low FIP-elements. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.