The HySICS Principal Investigator is University of Colorado at Boulder’s Dr.
Greg Kopp and the Co-PI is Dr. Peter Pilewskie.
8.1.2 Solar
Solar Influence
The Sun’s influence on the habitability of Earth is incredibly complex, providing
radiation which, depending on the amount, can be either a boon or hazard to the
development of life. Along with the magnetic fields which the Sun produces this
radiation is intense and dynamic. It is capable of imparting changes in the “space
weather” around us and interferes with spacecraft and communications systems.
The Sun’s activity and conditions vary on almost every timescale, ranging from
tiny changes that happen over milliseconds, to solar eruptions which last hours or
days, to its 27 day rotation. The magnetic field cycles through a complete change
in direction and back about every 22 years, which in turn gives rise to the roughly
11 year cycle in sunspot activity. As the magnetic field becomes more complex it
releases energy near the solar surface. These solar eruptions can take the form of
solar flares, coronal mass ejections, or bursts of charged particles that race away
from the Sun at nearly the speed of light.
NASA watches the Sun nearly 24/7 with a fleet of solar observatories, studying
everything from the tenuous outer atmosphere to its roiling surface, and it even
peers inside by using magnetic and helioseismic instruments. The BITSE solar
coronagraph was discussed in Section 7.3. The following are two examples of
balloon-borne solar experiments.
High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES)
The HEROES project is an advanced version of NASA’s successful High Energy
Replicated Optics (HERO) telescope. That was first flown on a balloon in 2001 by
the Marshall Space Flight Center in order to observe celestial X-ray sources. The
advanced HEROES payload was designed to observe solar flares with 100 times
greater sensitivity and 50 times greater dynamic range than the best solar observations to date. In various forms the instrument was flown six times, most recently
in 2013. It also provided new views of hard X-ray astrophysical targets with
improved angular resolution and sensitivity.
The HEROES payload comprised eight optics modules, each consisting of
13-14 nickel replicated optics shells and eight matching Xenon-filled positionsensitive proportional counter detectors sensitive across the range 20-75 keV.
It was launched on a 1.12 million m
3
(39.57 million ft
3
) Raven Aerostar ZPB as
flight 645N from Fort Sumner, NM on September 21, 2013, lasted 26 hours, and
was recovered not too far away in Santa Rosa, NM. Its targets included the Sun,
178 Accomplishments
Greg Kopp and the Co-PI is Dr. Peter Pilewskie.
8.1.2 Solar
Solar Influence
The Sun’s influence on the habitability of Earth is incredibly complex, providing
radiation which, depending on the amount, can be either a boon or hazard to the
development of life. Along with the magnetic fields which the Sun produces this
radiation is intense and dynamic. It is capable of imparting changes in the “space
weather” around us and interferes with spacecraft and communications systems.
The Sun’s activity and conditions vary on almost every timescale, ranging from
tiny changes that happen over milliseconds, to solar eruptions which last hours or
days, to its 27 day rotation. The magnetic field cycles through a complete change
in direction and back about every 22 years, which in turn gives rise to the roughly
11 year cycle in sunspot activity. As the magnetic field becomes more complex it
releases energy near the solar surface. These solar eruptions can take the form of
solar flares, coronal mass ejections, or bursts of charged particles that race away
from the Sun at nearly the speed of light.
NASA watches the Sun nearly 24/7 with a fleet of solar observatories, studying
everything from the tenuous outer atmosphere to its roiling surface, and it even
peers inside by using magnetic and helioseismic instruments. The BITSE solar
coronagraph was discussed in Section 7.3. The following are two examples of
balloon-borne solar experiments.
High Energy Replicated Optics to Explore the Sun (HEROES)
The HEROES project is an advanced version of NASA’s successful High Energy
Replicated Optics (HERO) telescope. That was first flown on a balloon in 2001 by
the Marshall Space Flight Center in order to observe celestial X-ray sources. The
advanced HEROES payload was designed to observe solar flares with 100 times
greater sensitivity and 50 times greater dynamic range than the best solar observations to date. In various forms the instrument was flown six times, most recently
in 2013. It also provided new views of hard X-ray astrophysical targets with
improved angular resolution and sensitivity.
The HEROES payload comprised eight optics modules, each consisting of
13-14 nickel replicated optics shells and eight matching Xenon-filled positionsensitive proportional counter detectors sensitive across the range 20-75 keV.
It was launched on a 1.12 million m
3
(39.57 million ft
3
) Raven Aerostar ZPB as
flight 645N from Fort Sumner, NM on September 21, 2013, lasted 26 hours, and
was recovered not too far away in Santa Rosa, NM. Its targets included the Sun,
178 Accomplishments