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

拟议的SPASRT望远镜的主要目的是从一个地点不间断地对太阳进行24小时无线电覆盖，这将为太阳物理和日地环境中潜在的转型研究提供独特的数据。南极大陆，特别是南极，是地球上唯一可以全天候测量太阳射电的地方，每年有近六个月的时间。这种对射电太阳辐射的连续24小时研究，在广泛的频率范围内，将从根本上促进我们对同时在地面和空间的X射线、紫外线和可见光光谱区域观察到的太阳过程的了解。该提案正在寻求资金，用于开发、建设、安装和测试南极0.5-18 GHz频段的SPASRT。射电望远镜的设计已经成熟，并基于NJIT目前在加利福尼亚州欧文斯山谷太阳能阵列和韩国天文和空间科学研究所使用的类似望远镜；所有这些都是由根据这一提议组装的团队建造的。SPASRT天线架将允许2.1米长的太阳能无线电天线盘在一个随机确定的每日60秒或更短的时间内绕转380度，跟随太阳。整个系统设计成能够承受南极的艰苦运行条件，并在南极洲的夏季自主运行。SParts的建造和安装将使人们能够立即研究(A)太阳射电爆发，以及(B)敏感地搜索通过太阳大气传播的p模活动。太阳射电爆发可以极大地影响地球和太空中的技术系统，这既是作为大源和随之而来的日冕物质抛射(CME)的间接结果，也是作为GPS、手机和卫星接收器等无线电系统中的一个大噪声来源。全天候覆盖易突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模式，如P模式，如何通过太阳大气“传播”，并可能耦合到太阳风，然后引起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社区范围的工具。空间应用研究中心将为空间气象界进行持续的太阳辐射测量，并将为其他非极地太阳望远镜设施提供免费观测支助。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.