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NASA NTRS1980

The Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter on the Solar Maximum Mission

The Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter (UVSP) on the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft is described, including the experiment objectives, system design, performance, and modes of operation. The instrument operates in the wavelength range 1150-3600 A with better than 2 arcsec spatial resolution, raster range 256 x 256 sq arcsec, and 20 mA spectral resolution in second order. Observations can be made with specific sets of four lines simultaneously, or with both sides of two lines simultaneously for velocity and polarization. A rotatable retarder can be inserted into the spectrometer beam for measurement of Zeeman splitting and linear polarization in the transition region and chromosphere.

Woodgate, B. E.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Performance and design of the ultraviolet spectrometer and polarimeter on the solar maximum mission

The instrument observes spectral line intensity, Doppler motions, and polarization parameters. First Dopplergrams of the sun showing mass motion of prominences have been obtained. The instrument consists of a telescope, a spectrometer, a polarimeter, and five detectors. Spectral range extends from 1150 to 3600 Angstroms. The telescope is an alphanatic Gregorian capable of scanning a 256 x 256 arcsecond raster. The spectrometer is an Ebert-Fastie mount with exchangeable slits for intensity measurements and spectroscopy. Detectors are photomultipliers operating in the pulse-counting mode.

Sterk, A. A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Preliminary observations and results obtained with the ultraviolet spectrometer and polarimeter

New observation with the Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter (UVSP) of a number of manifestations of solar activity obtained during the first three months of Solar Maximum Mission operations are presented. Attention is given to polarimetry in sunspots, oscillations above sunspots, density diagnostics of transition-zone plasmas in active regions, and the eruptive prominence - coronal transient link.

Tandberg-Hassen, E.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Observations of the 1980 April 30 limb flare by the ultraviolet spectrometer and polarimeter on the Solar Maximum Mission

Observations of the M2 limb flare of 1980 April 30 by the ultraviolet spectrometer and polarimeter in the C IV 1548 A line are described and compared with observations from other SMM instruments and with ground-based H-alpha data. Events observed during the 18 minutes leading up to the flare impulsive phase include the filling of a small loop with material moving at about 20 km/s, followed by a rapid brightening in C IV, H-alpha, and hard X-rays, with a subsequent brightening of a higher set of loops. The rapid brightening appears to be at the junction of the small loop with the overlying magnetic structures, which suggests the flare may be caused by their interaction.

Woodgate, B. E.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Data reduction and analysis for the graphite crystal X-ray spectrometer and polarimeter experiment flown aboard OSO-8 spacecraft

The documentation and software programs developed for the reception, initial processing (quickbook), and production analysis of data obtained by solar X-ray spectroscopy, stellar spectroscopy, and X-ray polarimetry experiments on OSO-8 are listed. The effectiveness and sensitivity of the Bragg crystal scattering instruments used are assessed. The polarization data polarimetric data obtained shows that some X-ray sources are polarized and that a larger polarimeter of this type is required to perform the measurements necessary to fully understand the physics of X-ray sources. The scanning Bragg crystal spectrometer was ideally suited for studying rapidly changing solar conditions. Observations of the Crab Nebula and pulsar, Cyg X-1, Cyg X-2, Cyg X-3, Sco X-1, Cen X-3, and Her X-1 are discussed as well as of 4U1656-53 and 4U1820-30. Evidence was obtained for iron line emission from Cyg X-3.

Novick, R.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Radar cross calibration investigation TAMU radar polarimeter calibration measurements

A short pulse, 20 MHz bandwidth, three frequency radar polarimeter system (RPS) operates at center frequencies of 10.003 GHz, 4.75 GHz, and 1.6 GHz and utilizes dual polarized transmit and receive antennas for each frequency. The basic lay-out of the RPS is different from other truck mounted systems in that it uses a pulse compression IF section common to all three RF heads. Separate transmit and receive antennas are used to improve the cross-polarization isolation at each particular frequency. The receive is a digitally controlled gain modulated subsystem and is interfaced directly with a microprocesser computer for control and data manipulation. Antenna focusing distance, focusing each antenna pair, rf head stability, and polarization characteristics of RPS antennas are discussed. Platform and data acquisition procedures are described.

Blanchard, A. J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Research in solar physics: Some techniques for analyzing data from the ultraviolet spectrometer and polarimeter

Useful information for certain aspects of the analysis of data obtained by the Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter (UVSP) on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) are contained. The meaning of the UVSPCO-ordinate system and the SMM roll, pitch, and yaw are described and the process for overlaying UVSP images is explained. The various computer programs that calculate the line of sight component of the SMM spacecraft velocity from the spacecraft to the Sun is described. The spacecraft velocity is used to correct or interpret the signal observed in USVP dopplergrams. A method of using the spacecraft velocity to calibrate UVSP dopplergrams and magnetograms, i.e., determine the width of the observed emission line is applied. The UVSP polarization analysis procedures are described and the expressions for the statistical uncertainties in various quantities obtained from UVSP measurements are given.

Henze, W., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Development and characterization analysis of a radar polarimeter

The interaction of electromagnetic waves with natural earth surface was of interest for many years. A particular area of interest in controlled remote sensing experiments is the phenomena of depolarization. The development stages of the radar system are documented. Also included are the laboratory procedures which provides some information about the specifications of the system. The radar system developed is termed the Radar Polarimeter System. A better insight of the operation of the RPS in terms of the newly developed technique--synthetic aperture radar system is provided. System performance in tems of radar cross section, in terms of power, and in terms of signal to noise ratio are also provided. In summary, an overview of the RPS in terms of its operation and design as well as how it will perform in the field is provided.

Bong, S.↗

NASA NTRS1985

The San Fernando Observatory video Stokes polarimeter

A study was conducted to determine the suitability of the San Fernando Observatory's 61 cm (24 inch) aperture vacuum solar telescope and 3 m (118 inch) focal length vacuum spectroheliograph for Stokes Polarimetry measurements. The polarization characteristics of these two instruments was measured by determining their Mueller matrices as a function of telescope orientation, field angle, wavelength, grating type, and position of the measuring beam in the telescope entrance window. In general, the polarizing and depolarizing properties are small so that inversion of the system Mueller matrix will permit the accurate measurement of Stokes profiles for vector magnetic field determination. A proposed polarimeter design based on the use of a TV camera system to simultaneously scan six different polarization components of a given line profile is described. This design, which uses no rotating optics or electronic modulators and makes efficient use of the available irradiance, promises to yield high quality vector magnetograms.

Richter, P. H.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Results from the Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter Non-flare investigations

A brief review is given of non-flare investigations using data obtained by the Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter on the Solar Maximum Mission. The major topics described are sunspot research including magnetic field measurements, oscillations, and models; mass motions in quiet and active regions including steady flows and acoustic waves; and prominence research including physical conditions, dynamics, and mass motions around prominences. Also discussed are studies of UV bursts, the formation of the Cl I line at 1351 A, ozone in the terrestrial atmosphere, and active regions using correlated observations from other instruments on the spacecraft or on the ground.

Tandberg-Hanssen, E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

White light sunspot observations from the Solar Optical Universal Polarimeter on Spacelab-2

The flight of the Solar Optical Universal Polarimeter on Spacelab-2 provided the opportunity for the collection of time sequences of diffraction-limited (0.5 arcsec) solar images with excellent pointing stability (0.003 arcsec) and with freedom from the distortion that plagues ground-based images. A series of white-light images of active region 4682 were obtained on August 5, 1985, and the area containing the sunspot has been analyzed. These data have been digitally processed to remove noise and to separate waves from low-velocity material motions. The results include: (1) proper motion measurements of a radial outflow in the photospheric granulation pattern just outside the penumbra; (2) discovery of occasional bright structures ('streakers') that appear to be ejected outward from the penumbra; (3) broad dark 'clouds' moving outward in the penumbra, in addition to the well-known bright penumbral grains moving inward; (4) apparent extensions and contractions of penumbral filaments over the photosphere; and (5) observation of a faint bubble or looplike structure that seems to expand from two bright penumbral filaments into the photosphere.

Shine, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Radar polarimeter measures orientation of calibration corner reflectors

Radar polarimeter signals from a set of trihedral corner reflectors located in the Goldstone Dry Lake in California were analyzed, and three types of scattering behavior were observed: (1) Bragg-like slightly rough surface scattering that represents the background signal from the dry lake, (2) trihedral corner reflector scattering that returns the incident polarization, and (3) two-bounce corner reflector scattering resulting from a particular alignment of a trihedral reflector. A radar calibration approach using trihedral corner reflectors should be designed such that precise alignment of the reflectors is ensured, as three-bounce and two-bounce geometries lead to very different cross sections and hence very different inferred calibration factors.

Zebker, Howard A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Phase calibration of imaging radar polarimeter Stokes matrices

It is shown that the Stokes matrices measured by an imaging radar polarimeter provide enough information for the accurate phase calibration of the observed polarimetric characteristics of a surface. This is important because it allows the data to be reduced in volume in an operational synthetic aperture radar correlator with no prior knowledge of the conditions at the surface, and the end user can later select the particular region where he or she is comfortable with making an assumption regarding the relative phases of the hh and vv signals. No ground calibration equipment is necessary, as all important parameters are derived from the data themselves.

Zebker, Howard A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Off-axis effects on the performance of a scattering polarimeter at the focus of an X-ray telescope

Scattering from bound electrons in a suitable material placed at the focus of an X-ray telescope can be exploited to measure the linear polarization of radiation emitted from cosmic X-ray sources. Among the factors that affect the performance of such an instrument is a spurious polarization signal from unpolarized sources that lie within the field of view but are offset from the telescope pointing direction. This paper presents the results of analytical and Monte Carlo studies of this effect and provides means of evaluating its impact on realistic polarimeters for X-ray astronomy.

Elsner, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Millipol, a millimeter/submillimeter wavelength polarimeter - Instrument, operation, and calibration

An instrument capable of measuring the polarization characteristics of weakly polarized, cold dust at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths is presented in detail. The operation and calibration of this polarimeter at a wavelength of 1300 microns, configured for the NRAO 12-meter telescope, are discussed. Deep observations of Jupiter using this instrument revealed a main-beam instrumental polarization at, or below, the 0.2 percent level. Lunar limb observations revealed a sidelobe polarization sensitivity, in the range 0.25 percent - 1.0 percent. Further, through these efforts the nonthermal polarized flux from Jupiter at a level of about 0.04 percent of the thermal flux has been detected. Astronomical polarization measurements to 0.03 percent are possible, limited by the uncertainties in the instrumental polarization. This instrument has been primarily employed to measure and map magnetic-field directions in the very optically opaque cores of massive molecular clouds.

Clemens, Dan P.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Investigation of solar active regions at high resolution by balloon flights of the solar optical universal polarimeter, definition phase

The definition phase of a scientific study of active regions on the sun by balloon flight of a former Spacelab instrument, the Solar Optical Universal Polarimeter (SOUP) is described. SOUP is an optical telescope with image stabilization, tunable filter and various cameras. After the flight phase of the program was cancelled due to budgetary problems, scientific and engineering studies relevant to future balloon experiments of this type were completed. High resolution observations of the sun were obtained using SOUP components at the Swedish Solar Observatory in the Canary Islands. These were analyzed and published in studies of solar magnetic fields and active regions. In addition, testing of low-voltage piezoelectric transducers was performed, which showed they were appropriate for use in image stabilization on a balloon.

Tarbell, Theodore D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A solar magnetic and velocity field measurement system for Spacelab 2: The Solar Optical Universal Polarimeter (SOUP)

The Solar Optical Universal Polarimeter (SOUP) flew on the shuttle mission Spacelab 2 (STS-51F) in August, 1985, and collected historic solar observations. SOUP is the only solar telescope on either a spacecraft or balloon which has delivered long sequences of diffraction-limited images. These movies led to several discoveries about the solar atmosphere which were published in the scientific journals. After Spacelab 2, reflights were planned on the shuttle Sunlab mission, which was cancelled after the Challenger disaster, and on a balloon flights, which were also cancelled for funding reasons. In the meantime, the instrument was used in a productive program of ground-based observing, which collected excellent scientific data and served as instrument tests. Given here is an overview of the history of the SOUP program, the scientific discoveries, and the instrument design and performance.

Tarbell, Theodore D.↗

NASA NTRS1991

First ultraviolet spectropolarimetry of Be stars from the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment

The first UV spectropolarimetric observations of Be stars are presented. They were obtained with the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) aboard the Astro-1 mission. WUPPE data on the Be stars Zeta Tau and Pi Aqr, along with near-simultaneous optical data obtained at the Pine Bluff Observatory (PBO). Combined WUPPE and PBO data give polarization as a function of wavelength across a very broad spectral region, from 1400 to 7600 A. Existing Be star models predicted increasing polarization toward shorter wavelengths in the UV, but this is not supported by the WUPPE observations. Instead, the observations show a constant or slightly declining continuum polarization shortward of the Balmer jump, and broad UV polarization dips around 1700 and 1900 A, which may be a result of Fe-line-attenuation effects on the polarized flux. Supporting evidence for this conclusion comes from the optical data, in which decreases in polarization across Fe II lines in Zeta Tau were discovered.

Bjorkman, K. S.↗