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

MRI：南极、南极洲的仪器开发、太阳射电望远镜 (SPASRT)：增进我们对日地环境的了解

• 批准号: 1229286
• 负责人: Andrew Gerrard
• 金额: $ 78.81万
• 依托单位: New Jersey Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-15 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1229286&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Instrument; Development; South; Pole

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.

拟议的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，为太阳物理学和日地环境的潜在转型研究提供独特的数据。南极大陆，特别是南极，是地球上唯一一个可以在每年近六个月的时间里全天候测量太阳射电的地方。这种对太阳无线电发射的连续24小时研究，跨越广泛的频率范围，将从根本上提高我们对太阳过程的认识，这些过程在X射线，紫外线和可见光谱区域同时从地面和空间观察到。该提案正在寻求资金，用于在0.5-18 GHz频段上在南极开发、建设、安装和测试SPASRT。射电望远镜的设计是成熟的，并以加州欧文斯谷太阳能阵列的NJIT和韩国的韩国天文学和空间科学研究所目前使用的类似望远镜为基础;所有这些望远镜都是由该提案的集合团队建造的。SPASRT天线安装将允许安装在拉多姆中的2.1米太阳射电碟形天线围绕太阳旋转380度，每天随机确定60秒或更短的“展开”周期。整个系统的设计可以承受南极的困难工作条件，并在南半球夏季自主运行。SPARTS的建造和安装将能够立即研究（a）太阳射电爆发，和（B）对通过太阳大气层传播的p型活动进行灵敏的搜索。太阳射电爆发可以极大地影响地球和太空中的技术系统，无论是作为一个大的源和随之而来的日冕物质抛射（CME）的间接后果，还是作为无线电系统（如GPS，手机和卫星接收器）中的一个大的“噪声”源。24/7全天候覆盖易爆发活动区域将产生重要的新知识。连续的无线电数据流将解决太阳波模（如p波模）如何在太阳大气层中“传播”并有可能耦合到太阳风中，然后造成近地空间天气事件的问题。SPASRT系统被设想为具有开放数据访问的全社区工具。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观测支持。该项目将继续通过将本科教育与技术和仪器开发、实地观察和科学分析相结合，为培养下一代科学家做出重大贡献。