A Support Facility for ROSA operations in the UK

核聚变在太阳中心产生的能量流向太阳表面，随后加热大气的各个组成部分，包括光球层、色球和日冕。大气的加热常常导致在不同大气区域形成的谱线强度的快速变化。因此，观测和模拟这种通常发生在很短的时间尺度(不到1秒)的快速变化，对于正确理解太阳的能量外流和大气是如何加热的是至关重要的。然而，不幸的是，很少有仪器能够以足够高的节奏观测太阳，以便可靠地探测大气中的快速变化。特别是，由于遥测的限制，基于卫星的仪器无法以非常高的节奏观测太阳。然而，在2006年，我们从STFC和我们的主办机构贝尔法斯特女王大学(QUB)获得了资金，以建造一台最先进的成像器--太阳大气中的快速振荡(ROSA)。这是一种6-CCD系统，能够以高达200赫兹的节奏在多个波段同时观测太阳。去年，美国国家太阳天文台(NSO)萨克拉门托峰的邓恩太阳望远镜(DST)成功地发射了ROSA。它将很快作为通用仪器交付，并在DST上提供，最初为期3年，从2009年夏天开始。作为我们与NSO协议的一部分，英国将在这3年内获得每年至少20天的DST观测时间保证。重要的是，英国太阳物理界从STFC对ROSA的投资中受益，并充分利用DST上保证的时间分配。ROSA提供了前所未有的时间分辨率(5毫秒)和空间分辨率，因为我们已经开发出图像重建技术，允许在DST上使用ROSA获得极其清晰的太阳图像。事实上，我们可以在距离地球1.5亿公里的太阳表面上分辨出尺寸小于100公里的结构。这相当于解析一个直径小于1厘米的15公里外的物体。此外，ROSA的多个波段允许同时观测太阳大气的6个区域。因此，可以有效地将从低光球到上色球的整个大气作为一个耦合系统进行观测和分析。特别是，ROSA将能够以前所未有的详细程度调查振荡和瞬变现象，无论是作为独立仪器还是与STFC支持的卫星飞行任务相结合。在这项提案中，我们寻求STFC的适度资金，以建立一个支持ROSA在英国运营的基金，总部设在昆士兰。这将为联合王国社区开展的与ROSA观测计划有关的所有活动提供支持，包括(I)编写提案，(Ii)在DST提供观测支持，(Iii)数据减少，包括图像重建的应用，(Iv)建立和维护ROSA档案。

Energy generated at the centre of the Sun by nuclear fusion flows out to the surface, and subsequently heats the various components of the atmosphere, including the photosphere, chromosphere and corona. The heating of the atmosphere often leads to rapid changes in the intensities of spectral lines which are formed in different atmospheric regions. Observing and modelling such rapid changes, which often take place on very short timescales (less than 1 second) are hence vital in order to properly understand energy outflow in the Sun and how the atmosphere is heated. Unfortunately however, there are few instruments capable of observing the Sun at sufficiently high cadence in order to reliably detect rapid changes in the atmosphere. In particular, satellite-based instrumentation has not been able to observe the Sun at very high cadence due to telemetry restrictions. However, in 2006 we obtained funding from both the STFC and our host institute, Queen's University Belfast (QUB), to construct a state-of-the-art imager - Rapid Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere (ROSA). This is a 6-CCD system capable of observing the Sun simultaneously in multiple wavebands at a cadence of up to 200 Hz. ROSA was successfully commissioned last year on the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) Sacramento Peak in the USA. It will shortly be delivered as a common-user instrument and be available on the DST for an initial 3-year period from Summer 2009. As part of our agreement with the NSO, the UK will receive a guaranteed minimum of 20 days per year observing time on the DST during this 3-year period. It is important that the UK solar physics community benefits from the STFC investment in ROSA, and fully exploits the guaranteed time allocation on the DST. ROSA provides both unprecedented time resolution (5 milliseconds) and spatial resolution, as we have developed image reconstruction techniques that allow extremely sharp images of the Sun to be obtained with ROSA on the DST. Indeed, we can resolve structures smaller than 100 km in size on the solar surface, which lies at a distance of 150 million km from Earth. This is equivalent to resolving an object less than 1 cm across which is 15 km away. Additionally, the multiple wavebands of ROSA permit up to 6 regions of the solar atmosphere to be observed simultaneously. Hence effectively the whole atmosphere from the low photosphere to the upper chromosphere can be observed and analysed as one coupled system. In particular, ROSA will allow the investigation of oscillatory and transitory phenomena at an unprecedented level of detail, either as a standalone instrument or in conjunction with STFC-supported satellite missions. In this proposal we seek modest STFC funding to establish a Support Facility for ROSA operations in the UK, to be based at QUB. This will provide support for all activities associated with ROSA observing programmes by the UK community, including (i) proposal preparation, (ii) observing support at the DST, (iii) data reduction, including the application of image reconstruction, (iv) development and maintenance of a ROSA archive.