Bolometric Solar Imaging

该提案旨在于 2006 年至 2007 年南方夏季在麦克默多的长时气球 (LDB) 上设计、建造和发射太阳辐射热成像仪 (SBI) 和多光谱成像仪 (MSI)。这些仪器将提供太阳的辐射热（即波长积分光）和色温图像，旨在更好地了解太阳辐照度变化的来源以及对全球陆地气候变化的相应影响。目前的观点是，在11年的太阳黑子周期中，太阳总辐照度的变化与太阳局部磁场的变化成比例。在即将到来的太阳黑子极小期（2007 年），SBI 观测将能够探测是否存在其他太阳辐照度变化来源，同时磁场信号的干扰最少。 SBI 是一种新仪器，是研究太阳物理学基本问题之一的新方法。该成像仪使用直径为 30 厘米的 F/12 Dall-Kirkham 望远镜，配有未镀膜的镜子和中性密度滤光片，可提供宽带（测辐射热）灵敏度，在 0.28 至 2.6 微米的波长范围内，灵敏度仅变化 /-7%。 SBI 传感器具有独特的功能，可以以平坦的光度响应记录太阳光球层的图像。该传感器是由 320 x 240 红外敏感钛酸锶钡 (BST) 铁电元件组成的阵列，表面有一层金黑色薄膜。该薄膜会将所有吸收的太阳辐射均匀地转换为底层 BST 阵列可检测到的热发射。 MSI 将提供太阳磁和热结构的诊断，而 SBI 将评估其辐射率。 SBI 和 MSI 的每一帧都将经过精确校准。同一场景的 60 至 120 帧突发将被共同注册并求和，以提高信噪比。这些场景将被镶嵌以形成整个太阳的 5 角秒分辨率的图像。将从 MSI 图像中识别出太阳黑子、光斑和磁场网络。 MSI 图像的声波过滤将隔离振荡信号。该信号将用于消除 SBI 平均值的振荡，以减少太阳噪声。校准后的镶嵌 SBI 图像将用于导出数据产品，例如强度对比与太阳中心距离和磁通量的 3D 图。图像和数据产品将通过网络公开提供。 SBI/MSI 望远镜将由先前南极计划中使用的气球吊舱运送到平流层。科学气球是一种理想的教育工具，因为它相对便宜且能快速产生结果。科学团队将包括经验丰富的实验员和一名博士后助理、至少一名研究生和几名实习生。该活动将涉及来自多个国家的许多地面观测站和卫星辐射计。

This proposal is to design, build, and launch the Solar Bolometric Imager (SBI) and a Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) on the Long Duration Balloon (LDB) from McMurdo during the austral summer of 2006-2007. The instruments will provide bolometric (i.e., wavelength-integrated light) and color temperature images of the Sun, which will be aimed to understand better sources of the solar irradiance variation and the corresponding effects on global terrestrial climate change. The current view is that during the 11-year sunspot cycle the total solar irradiance varies in proportion to the changes of Sun's local magnetic fields. At the upcoming sunspot minimum (2007), SBI observations will be able to detect if there are other sources of solar irradiance variation with the least confusion by signals from the magnetic fields. The SBI is a new instrument, a new approach to studying one of the fundamental problems in solar physics. The imager uses a 30-cm diameter F/12 Dall-Kirkham telescope with uncoated mirrors, and neutral density filters to provide broadband (bolometric) sensitivity that varies only by +/-7 percent over the wavelengths from 0.28 to 2.6 microns The SBI sensor has the unique capability to record images of the solar photosphere with a flat photometric response. The sensor is an array of 320 x 240 infrared-sensitive barium strontium titanate (BST) ferroelectric elements, with a film of gold black on the surface. The film will uniformly convert all absorbed solar radiation into thermal emission detectable by the underlying BST array. MSI will provide diagnostics of solar magnetic and thermal structures while SBI assesses their radiance. Each frame from the SBI and MSI will be precisely calibrated. Bursts of 60 to 120 frames of the same scene will be co-registered and summed to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. The scenes will be mosaicked to form images with 5-arcsec resolutions over the entire Sun. Sunspots, faculae, and magnetic filed network will be identified from the MSI images. Sonic filtering of the MSI images will isolate the oscillatory signal. That signal will be used to remove oscillations from SBI averages to reduce the solar noise. The calibrated, mosaicked SBI images will be used to derive data products such as 3D plots of intensity contrast versus distance from Sun center and magnetic flux. The images and data products will be openly available via the Web. The SBI/MSI telescopes will be carried into the stratosphere by a balloon-borne gondola used in previous Antarctic programs. Scientific ballooning is an ideal educational tool because it is relatively inexpensive and quick to produce results. The science team will include experienced experimentalists and a post-doctoral associate, at least one graduate student, and several student interns. The campaign will involve many ground-based observatories and satellite-borne radiometers from several countries.