MRI: Instrument Development of the South Pole, Antarctica, Solar Radio Telescope (SPASRT): Advancing Our Understanding of the Solar-Terrestrial Environment

拟建的SPASRT望远镜的主要目的是从一个地点对太阳进行24小时不间断的无线电覆盖，这将为太阳物理和日地环境的潜在转化研究提供独特的数据。南极大陆，特别是南极，提供了地球上唯一的实际位置，可以在每年近六个月的时间里全天候测量射电太阳。这种24小时不间断的研究，在广泛的频率范围内，将从根本上提高我们对太阳过程的认识，这些过程同时在地面和太空的x射线、紫外线和可见光谱区域观察到。该提案正在寻求资金，用于开发、建造、安装和测试南极0.5-18 GHz频段的SPASRT。射电望远镜的设计是成熟的，基于目前在加州欧文斯谷太阳能阵列的新泽西理工大学和韩国天文空间科学研究所使用的类似望远镜；所有这些都是由这个提议组建的团队建造的。SPASRT天线支架将允许2.1米的太阳无线电天线，安装在一个Radom，旋转380度跟随太阳，每天，随机确定，“打开”时间为60秒或更短。整个系统旨在承受南极的恶劣操作条件，并在南方夏季自主运行。SPARTS的建造和安装将能够立即研究(a)太阳射电爆发，以及(b)对通过太阳大气层传播的p模活动的敏感搜索。太阳射电暴可以极大地影响地球和太空中的技术系统，既可以作为一个大来源和随之而来的日冕物质抛射（CME）的间接后果，也可以作为无线电系统（如GPS、手机和卫星接收器）的一个大“噪声”来源。对爆发易发活跃区域的全天候覆盖将产生重要的新知识。连续的无线电数据流将解决太阳模式（如p模式）如何在太阳大气中“传播”，并可能与太阳风耦合，然后导致近地空间天气事件的问题。SPASRT系统被设想为一个社区范围的工具，具有开放的数据访问。SPASRT将为空间气象界进行连续的太阳辐射测量，并将为其他非极地太阳望远镜设施提供免费的观测支持。该项目将把本科教育与技术和仪器开发、实地观察和科学分析结合起来，继续为培养下一代科学家作出重大贡献。

The primary purpose of the proposed SPASRT telescope is uninterrupted 24-hour radio coverage of the Sun from a single location that would provide unique data for potential transformational studies in solar physics and solar-terrestrial environment. The Antarctic continent, and specifically the South Pole, provides the only practical location on Earth to measure the radio Sun 24/7 for nearly six months of every year. Such continuous 24-hour studies of the radio-emitting Sun, across a wide range of frequencies, would fundamentally advance our knowledge of solar processes that are concurrently observed in the X-ray, UV, and visible regions of the spectrum from both ground and space. This proposal is seeking funds for the development, construction, installation, and testing of SPASRT at South Pole across the 0.5-18 GHz frequency band. The radio telescope design is mature and based on similar telescopes currently in use by the NJIT at the Owens Valley Solar Array in California and by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in South Korea; all built by the assembled team on this proposal. The SPASRT antenna mount would allow for the 2.1-m solar radio dish, housed in a Radom, to turn 380-deg around to follow the Sun, with a daily, randomly determined, "unwrapping" period of 60-sec or less. The entire system is designed to withstand the difficult operating conditions of the South Pole and to operate autonomously during the austral summer season. The SPARTS construction and installation will enable immediate studies of (a) solar radio bursts, and (b) a sensitive search for p-mode activity transmitted through the solar atmosphere. Solar radio bursts can dramatically impact technological systems on Earth and in space, both as an indirect consequence of a large source and consequent Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), or as a large source of "noise" in radio systems such as GPS, cell phones, and satellite receivers. 24/7 coverage of burst-prone active regions will yield significant new knowledge. Continuous radio data streams will address the issue of how solar modes, such as p-modes, "propagate" through the solar atmosphere and, potentially, couple into the solar wind, and then cause near-Earth space weather events. The SPASRT system is envisioned as a community-wide instrument with the open data access. SPASRT will make continuous solar radiation measurements for the space weather community and will provide complimentary observing support for other non-polar solar telescope facilities. The project will continue contributing significantly to the training of next generation of scientists by integrating undergraduate education with technology and instrumentation development, field observations, and scientific analysis.