| NSF Org: |
AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 3, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | January 31, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1822314 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Ilia Roussev
AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | May 15, 2018 |
| End Date: | April 30, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $472,085.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $566,487.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2019 = $83,130.00 FY 2020 = $11,272.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
60 GARDEN ST CAMBRIDGE MA US 02138-1516 (617)496-7923 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
60 Garden Street Cambridge MA US 02138-1516 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002021DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): | |
| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
The 2017 eclipse observations by the Airborne InfraRed Spectrometer (AIR-Spec) demonstrated that thermal infrared (IR) imaging spectroscopy is possible from the NCAR's HIAPER GV platform. This opened a new window of opportunity for high resolutions thermal IR spectroscopy of the Sun's corona on a platform that avoids the vast majority of the atmospheric absorption. The 2017 AIR-Spec eclipse observations revealed all of the target coronal emission lines at several coronal positions, showed Hydrogen lines in the prominence observations and captured the chromospheric flash spectrum.
This three-year project is intended to re-fly the AIR-Spec instrument during the 2019 July 2 total solar eclipse in the south Pacific off the coast of Chile. During this project, the AIR-Spec will be upgraded to have an improved sensitivity, image stability, and automation of the data collection process. The goal is to characterize the thermal IR emission of Sun's corona, including an investigation of numerous coronal IR emission lines, across a variety of solar structures (coronal holes, plumes, prominences, etc.) on an otherwise almost unexplored physical regime. The project's primary personnel are two very early-career women (one scientist, one engineer), and additional REU students will be involved -- including for the flight preparations themselves. The project team is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion while training the next generation of instrumentation scientists and engineers in the U.S.
The first AIR-Spec flight succeeded in measuring all targeted five infrared (IR) coronal emission lines, including the first-of-its-kind measurement of the coronal Fe IX line at 2.845 microns. The re-flight of AIR-Spec during the 2019 solar eclipse will allow the project team to focus on the detailed characterization of various emission lines in different conditions of the Sun's corona. The upcoming AIR-Spec experiment will exercise a different capability of the NCAR's GV aircraft. Namely, the IR transmissive window will be mounted on a side portal adjacent to the optical bench. In doing so, the project team will demonstrate the flexibility of the design, simplify the operations and verify their ability to observe eclipses anywhere in the world. Developing the ability for coordinated observations of the Sun's corona with the future DKIST will be greatly beneficial for the calibration of DKIST observations, and it will motivate future solar instrumentation. The research and EPO agenda of this project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.
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.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Intellectual Merit
- Upgrades to the AIR-Spec 2017 instrument improved the pointing stability and reduced the thermal background.
- The 2019 eclipse ight resulted in seven minutes of observations, duringwhich the instrument measured all four of its target emission lines: S XI 1.393 μm, Si X 1.431 μm,S XI 1.921 μm, and Fe IX 2.853 μm.
- The 1.393 μm line, half of a density-sensitive S XI line pair, wasdetected for the first time.
- The 2017 AIR-Spec detection of Fe IX was confirmed and the first observations were made of the Fe IX intensity as a function of solar radius.
Broader Impacts
- Coordination with the US Embassy Lima was excellent. The Embassy provided critical transportation to and from the hotel as well as a facilitator/translator who was indispensable in addressing issues from passport control to cryogen delivery. The facilities at Grupo 8 were fully adequate for our needs.
- Outreach to Peruvian engineering students was arranged by the US Embassy in Lima. The program went very well and included a lecture in Spanish, given by an NSF-supported REU student, as well as a tour of the plane and instrument for local press, Peruvian science agency staff, and university professors.
- The REU strudent and instrument lead were interviewed by local press in Peru.
Last Modified: 08/28/2021
Modified by: Edward E Deluca
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