The Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) Data- Space Weather and All-Sky Image Analysis

PI开发了一种层析成像技术来研究日光层和太阳风的三维空间。这项工作将根据太阳物质抛射成像仪（SMEI）的数据提供测光天空图，并继续更新所需的数据处理技术，以便SMEI数据可用于绘制三维太阳风结构图。如果足够准确，这些天空图可以用于预报和许多其他空间天气项目，PI的团队将帮助向用户提供校准数据。智力优势：拟议的基础研究工作将涉及分析显示日光层等离子体密度的中小企业指数数据（接近真实的时间）。目前正在运行的USAF-UCSD-Birmingham UK太阳质量抛射成像仪（SMEI）在每个轨道上提供这些数据。PI的主要目标是真实的时间三维重建和可视化，使用层析成像方法，等离子体结构与地球相互作用。这些重建将有助于回答有关地球空间中太阳风结构的形状及其与周围太阳风等离子体相互作用的问题。然而，要做到这一点，PI必须开发新的分析技术来处理SMEI图像帧数据。这些图像帧必须组合成合成的天空地图图像，以用于光度测量。通过这样做，PI将确定天空背景的亮度，以SMEI轨道数据采集节奏前所未有的准确度。这项拟议的努力要求提供资金，以便向希望使用这些数据的人提供这些数据。 更广泛的影响：这项工作将对日地物理学和天文学产生广泛的影响。这项SMEI的努力将使太阳和地球之间的区域变得可见，这在以前是非常难以描绘和研究的。在接近真实的时间产生的合成图像可以直接被那些不属于太阳物理学领域的人理解，从而改善了公众宣传。这些图像将提供一个宝贵的教育工具，以及日光层预报能力和研究行星际日冕物质抛射、同向旋转等离子体结构和太阳风相互作用的全球性质的手段。PI将使整个日光层和空间天气社区都可以使用数据存档（3D体积，合成图像和操作它们所需的软件）。鉴于SMEI目前对地球周围的太阳大气层进行成像，这项工作将开创一个新时代，将地球视为嵌入日光层的行星，并为建模和理解日地联系开辟一个新时代。SMEI数据可以提供地球周围恒星天空的全球和光度视图，以前所未有的精度提供恒星，星系和星星星团的点源测量。该数据集还可用于研究黄道尘云的亮度变化、异常结构和长期稳定性，这对天文学家和设计天基光学传感器的人来说具有内在的兴趣。PI的团队将为学术、研究和非营利目的提供SMEI数据访问。

The PI has developed a tomographic technique to study the heliosphere and solar wind in three dimensions. This effort would provide photometric sky maps from Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) data and continue to update the required data processing techniques, so that the SMEI data could be used to map solar wind structures in three dimensions. These sky maps, if sufficiently accurate, could be used for forecasting and many other space weather projects, and the PI's team would help provide calibrated data to users. Intellectual Merit: The proposed basic research effort would involve the analysis of SMEI data (available in near real time) that indicates the density of heliospheric plasma. The now operational USAF-UCSD-Birmingham UK Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) provides these data every orbit. The PI's primary goal is the real time three-dimensional reconstruction and visualization, using tomographic methods, of plasma structures interacting with the Earth. These reconstructions would help answer questions concerning the shape of solar wind structures in geospace and their interaction with the ambient solar wind plasma. However, to do this, the PI must develop new analysis techniques to deal with the SMEI image frame data. These image frames must be combined into composite sky map images for use photometrically. By doing this, the PI would determine the brightness of the sky background to a never-before achieved accuracy at the SMEI orbital data-taking cadence. This proposed effort requests funds to make these data available to those who wish to use them. Broader Impact: This work would have a broad impact on solar-terrestrial physics and astronomy. This SMEI effort would render visible the region between Sun and Earth that has previously been exceedingly difficult to depict and study. The composite images produced in near real time could be directly understood by those not in the field of solar physics, improving public outreach. These images would provide a valuable educational tool, as well as a heliospheric forecast capability and a means to study the global properties of interplanetary CMEs, co-rotating plasma structures, and solar wind interactions. The PI would make the data archive (3D volumes, composite images, and software needed to manipulate them) available to the entire heliospheric and space weather community. Given that SMEI currently images the solar atmosphere all around the Earth, this work would usher in a new era for viewing space from Earth as a planet embedded within the heliosphere, and for modeling and understanding solar-terrestrial connections. SMEI data allow views of the sidereal sky around the Earth globally and photometrically, providing point-source measurements of stars, galaxies, and star clusters with unprecedented precision. The data set could also be used to study the brightness changes, anomalous structure, and long-term stability of the zodiacal dust cloud, which is of intrinsic interest to astronomers and particular interest to those designing space-based optical sensors. The PI's team would provide SMEI data access for academic, research, and non-profit purposes.