Engineering topics

Bruner, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Bruner, M..

13 records

NASA NTRS1995

The transition region and coronal explorer (TRACE)

The transition region and coronal explorer (TRACE) NASA small explorer mission and instrument are presented. The TRACE scientific investigation explores the relationships between fine-scale magnetic fields and the associated solar plasma structures. The instrument collects images of solar plasmas at temperatures from 10(exp 4) to 10(exp 7) K with one arcsec spatial resolution. The design specifications of the trace instrument are presented.

Title, Alan↗

NASA NTRS1994

The Transition Region And Coronal Explorer (TRACE)

The objectives and the characteristics of TRACE, selected as a NASA small explorer mission for development and flight in late 1997, is presented. The TRACE science investigation explores the connections between fine-scale magnetic fields and the associated plasma structures on the sun. The instrument collects images of solar plasmas at temperatures from 10(exp 4) to 10(exp 7) K, with an arc second spatial resolution and good temporal resolution and continuum. TRACE and SOHO will gather simultaneous, digital measurements of all temperature regimes of the solar atmospheric, in both high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy, and magnetogram to photosphere. The 30 cm aperture TRACE telescope uses three normal-incidence coatings for the extreme ultraviolet and one for the ultraviolet on quadrants of the primary and secondary mirrors. Interference filters isolate five different ultraviolet bands. The images are aligned and internally stabilized against spacecraft jitter. TRACE will be launched into a sun-synchronous orbit, allowing continuous observing for eight months of the baseline one-year mission. It will be operated in coordination with the SOHO experiment operations facility.

Tarbell, T. D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The Yohkoh mission for high-energy solar physics

Data on solar flare mechanisms and the sun's corona will be generated by Japan's Yohkoh satellite's X-ray imaging sensors and X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers. It is noted that the X-ray corona above active regions expands, in some cases almost continually, in contradiction of the widely accepted model of magnetohydrostatic equilibrium in such regions. Flaring X-ray bright points have been discovered to often involve ejecta into an adjacent, much larger and fainter magnetic loop, which brightens along its length at speeds up to 1000 km/sec.

Acton, L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The soft X-ray telescope for the SOLAR-A mission

The Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) of the SOLAR-A mission is designed to produce X-ray movies of flares with excellent angular and time resolution as well as full-disk X-ray images for general studies. A selection of thin metal filters provide a measure of temperature discrimination and aid in obtaining the wide dynamic range required for solar observing. The co-aligned SXT aspect telescope will yield optical images for aspect reference, white-light flare and sunspot studies, and, possibly, helioseismology. This paper describes the capabilities and characteristics of the SXT for scientific observing.

Tsuneta, S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

The Solar-A soft X-ray telescope experiment

The Japanese Solar-A mission for the study of high energy solar physics is timed to observe the sun during the next activity maximum. This small spacecraft includes a carefully coordinated complement of instruments for flare studies. In particular, the soft X-ray telescope (SXT) will provide X-ray images of flares with higher sensitivity and time resolution than have been available before. This paper describes the scientific capabilities of the SXT and illustrates its application to the study of an impulsive compact flare.

Acton, L.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Very high resolution UV and X-ray spectroscopy and imagery of solar active regions

A scientific investigation of the physics of the solar atmosphere, which uses the techniques of high resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy and high resolution UV imagery, is described. The experiments were conducted during a series of three sounding rocket flights. All three flights yielded excellent images in the UV range, showing unprecedented spatial resolution. The second flight recorded the X-ray spectrum of a solar flare, and the third that of an active region. A normal incidence multi-layer mirror was used during the third flight to make the first astronomical X-ray observations using this new technique.

Bruner, M.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Solar High-energy Astrophysical Plasmas Explorer (SHAPE). Volume 1: Proposed concept, statement of work and cost plan

The concept of the Solar High-Energy Astrophysical Plasmas Explorer (SHAPE) is studied. The primary goal is to understand the impulsive release of energy, efficient acceleration of particles to high energies, and rapid transport of energy. Solar flare studies are the centerpieces of the investigation because in flares these high energy processes can be studied in unmatched detail at most wavelenth regions of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as in energetic charged particles and neutrons.

Dennis, Brian R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

New high-resolution rocket-ultraviolet filtergrams of the solar disc

A rocket-borne solar ultraviolet telescope named Transition Region Camera was launched successfully for the third on July 13, 1982. High quality calibrated photographic images of the sun were obtained at Lyman alpha and in the continuum at 160 nm and 220 nm. The angular resolution achieved is better than one arcsec. A flare, active regions, sunspots, the 8 Mm mesostructure, the chromospheric network, bright UV grains and coronal loops were observed during the flight. The results are presented and the evolution with height in the solar atmosphere of the various structures observed is followed from one wavelength to the other, showing distinct differences. The value of the field's intensity of magnetic flux tubes is deduced from the observations.

Foing, B.↗

NASA NTRS1985

The X-ray signature of solar coronal mass

The coronal response to six solar X-ray flares has been investigated. At a time coincident with the projected onset of the white-light coronal mass ejection associated with each flare, there is a small, discrete soft X-ray enhancement. These enhancements (precursors) precede by typically about 20 m the impulsive phase of the solar flare which is dominant by the time the coronal mass ejection has reached an altitude above 0.5 solar radii. Motions of hot X-ray emitting plasma, during the precursors, which may well be a signature of the mass ejection onsets, are identified. Further investigations have also revealed a second class of X-ray coronal transient, during the main phase of the flare. These appear to be associated with magnetic reconnection above post-flare loop systems.

Harrison, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Vertical gradients of sunspot magnetic fields

The results of a Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) guest investigation to determine the vertical gradients of sunspot magnetic fields for the first time from coordinated observations of photospheric and transition-region fields are described. Descriptions are given of both the photospheric vector field of a sunspot, derived from observations using the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center vector magnetograph, and of the line-of-sight component in the transition region, obtained from the SMM Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter instrument. On the basis of these data, vertical gradients of the line-of-sight magnetic field component are calculated using three methods. It is found that the vertical gradient of Bz is lower than values from previous studies and that the transition-region field occurs at a height of approximately 4000-6000 km above the photosphere.

Hagyard, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Observations of the longitudinal magnetic field in the transition region and photosphere of a sunspot

The Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter on the Solar Maximum Mission spacraft has observed for the first time the longitudinal component of the magnetic field by means of the Zeeman effect in the transition region above a sunspot. The data presented here were obtained on three days in one sunspot, have spatial resolutions of 10 arcsec and 3 arcsec, and yield maximum field strengths greater than 1000 G above the umbrae in the spot. The method of analysis, including a line-width calibration feature used during some of the observations, is described in some detail in an appendix; the line width is required for the determination of the longitudinal magnetic field from the observed circular polarization. The transition region data for one day are compared with photospheric magnetograms from the Marshall Space Flight Center. Vertical gradients of the magnetic field are compared from the two sets of data; the maximum gradients of 0.41 to 0.62 G/km occur above the umbra and agree with or are smaller than values observed previously in the photosphere and low chromosphere.

Henze, W., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Rocket photographs of fine structure and wave patterns in the solar temperature minimum

A new series of high resolution pictures of the sun has been obtained during the second flight of the Transition Region Camera which occurred on September 23, 1980. The qualitative analysis of the results indicates that a substantial portion of the solar surface at the temperature minimum radiates in non-magnetic regions and from features below 1 arcsec in size. Wave patterns are observed on the 160 nm temperature minimum pictures. They are absent on the Lyman alpha pictures. Their physical characteristics are compatible with those of gravitational and acoustic waves generated by exploding granules.

Bonnet, R. M.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Bright point study

Transition region and coronal observations of bright points by instruments aboard the Solar Maximum Mission and high resolution photospheric magnetograph observations on September 11, 1980 are presented. A total of 31 bipolar ephemeral regions were found in the photosphere from birth in 9.3 hours of combined magnetograph observations from three observatories. Two of the three ephemeral regions present in the field of view of the Ultraviolet Spectrometer-Polarimeter were observed in the C IV 1548 line. The unobserved ephemeral region was determined to be the shortest-lived (2.5 hr) and lowest in magnetic flux density (13G) of the three regions. The Flat Crystal Spectrometer observed only low level signals in the O VIII 18.969 A line, which were not statistically significant to be positively identified with any of the 16 ephemeral regions detected in the photosphere. In addition, the data indicate that at any given time there lacked a one-to-one correspondence between observable bright points and photospheric ephemeral regions, while more ephemeral regions were observed than their counterparts in the transition region and the corona.

Tang, F.↗