Solar Telescopes Around the World

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The Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) exploits the excellent climatic conditions of Big Bear Lake to study the Sun, source of life on Earth. The observatory is located in the middle of Big Bear Lake to reduce the image distortion which usually occurs when the Sun heats the ground and produces convection in the air just above the ground. Turbulent motions in the air near the observatory are also reduced by the smooth flow of the wind across the lake instead of the turbulent flow that occurs over mountain peaks and forests. These conditions, combined with the usually cloudless skies over Big Bear Lake and the clarity of the air at 2,000 meters (6,750 feet) elevation, make the observatory a premier site for solar observations. The observatory was built by the California Institute of Technology in 1969. Management of the observatory, and an array of solar radio telescopes at Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) in Owens Valley, California, was transferred to the New Jersey Institute of Technology on July 1, 1997. Funding for the operation of the observatory is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the United States Air Force, the United States Navy and other agencies.
BBSO
The Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) exploits the excellent climatic conditions of Big Bear Lake to study the Sun, source of life on Earth. The observatory is located in the middle of Big Bear Lake to reduce the image distortion which usually occurs when the Sun heats the ground and produces convection in the air just above the ground. Turbulent motions in the air near the observatory are also reduced by the smooth flow of the wind across the lake instead of the turbulent flow that occurs over mountain peaks and forests. These conditions, combined with the usually cloudless skies over Big Bear Lake and the clarity of the air at 2,000 meters (6,750 feet) elevation, make the observatory a premier site for solar observations. The observatory was built by the California Institute of Technology in 1969. Management of the observatory, and an array of solar radio telescopes at Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) in Owens Valley, California, was transferred to the New Jersey Institute of Technology on July 1, 1997. Funding for the operation of the observatory is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the United States Air Force, the United States Navy and other agencies.
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CALLISTO: Our newest instrument! 50 MHz to 850 MHz. Compound Astronomical Low-cost Low-frequency Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory ARGOS: Heterodyne fft radio spectrometer. PHOENIX-2: A fully computer-controlled instrument, in operation since 1998, covering the frequency range 0.1 to 4 GHz. PHOENIX: A fully computer-controlled instrument, in operation since 1988, covering the frequency range 0.1 to 3 GHz with 2000 measurements per second. IKARUS: The predecessor of PHOENIX, in operation between 1978 and 1985, that covered the frequency band 0.11 to 1 GHz in steps of 1 MHz, with a rate of 2000 measurements per second. DAEDALUS: This broadband analog solar radiospectrograph covers the frequency range 100-1000 MHz in one continuous, linear sweep. It was in operation between 1972 and 1993. The successor of IKARUS.
ETH
CALLISTO: Our newest instrument! 50 MHz to 850 MHz. Compound Astronomical Low-cost Low-frequency Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory ARGOS: Heterodyne fft radio spectrometer. PHOENIX-2: A fully computer-controlled instrument, in operation since 1998, covering the frequency range 0.1 to 4 GHz. PHOENIX: A fully computer-controlled instrument, in operation since 1988, covering the frequency range 0.1 to 3 GHz with 2000 measurements per second. IKARUS: The predecessor of PHOENIX, in operation between 1978 and 1985, that covered the frequency band 0.11 to 1 GHz in steps of 1 MHz, with a rate of 2000 measurements per second. DAEDALUS: This broadband analog solar radiospectrograph covers the frequency range 100-1000 MHz in one continuous, linear sweep. It was in operation between 1972 and 1993. The successor of IKARUS.
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At HAO's Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO), the PSPT observes every day of the year for about 6-8 hours, weather permitting. The PSPT produces seeing-limited full disk digital (2048x2048) images in CaIIK (393.5+/-0.12 nm), and blue (409.4+/-0.11 nm) and red (607.1+/-0.22 nm) continuum, at an unprecedented ~0.1% photometric precision per pixel. The observing sequence is time-averaged and interlaced to produce photometric images which are averages of 30 exposures taken over approximately 5-6 minutes. Each image is processed (see below) and made available in FITS format with extensive header information.
HAO
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The Wilcox Solar Observatory began daily observations of the Sun's global magnetic field in May 1975, with the goal of understanding changes in the Sun and how those changes affect the Earth; this is now called space weather. Now low-resolution maps are also made of the Sun's magnetic field each day, as are observations of solar surface motions. The observatory is located in the foothills just west of the Stanford University campus. Current staff research topics include space weather, helioseismology, and the solar cycle; The staff are closely associated with the Solar Oscillations Investigation that uses the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) instrument on the SOHO spacecraft to observe the inside of the Sun.
Wilcox
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The Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) belongs to the Kiepenheuer Institute of Solar Physics of Friburgo (Germany). Its primary mirror is 70 cm in diameter and it has an 15 m long vertical spectrograph for the study of the dynamics, structure and chemical composition of the solar atmosphere, as well as incorporating such problems as the temporal evolution of solar granulation with respect to turbulent convection in the Sun´s photosphere. These kinds of observations demand high spatial resolution and the telescope has at its disposal the "Solar Correlator correlation tracker", a unique instrument of its class developed at the IAC.
KIS
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The solar observatory Kanzelhöhe is the only one in Austria and is part of the Institute of Geophysics, Astrophysics and Meteorology of the University Graz. The site consists of the main-building and three domes. The main-building holds all supporting facilities. Two more domes at the top of the Gerlitzen are currently used for other tasks. Together with the astronomers and geophysicists in Graz a broad international collaboration with solar physicists all over the world has been established.
Kanzelhöhe
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Antenna of RATAN radio telescope consist of 576-m circle of 895 elements (2 x 11.5 m), which could use as 4 independent sectors (225 elements) of that reflector (named: North, South, West and East). There are tree different feed-cabines (N1,2,3) with secondary mirrors. With central rail-way rotation circle the feed-cabines could move in any of 12 fixed azimiths. The RATAN-600 can be used for observations in four different modes; these modes are illustrated by the diagram. (1) It is possible to simultaneously carry out independent observing programs using individual sectors at various discrete azimuths and secondary mirrors on corresponding railway tracks. Each of these secondary mirrors is a parabolic cylinder with a horizontal axis, 5.5 m x 8 m in size; the horizontal angle over which the main mirror is illuminated is 100 110o . The position of the secondary mirror (the focus) on the railway tracks depends on the elevation above the horizon, which can vary between 0 and 100o and is calculated by a computer at the same time that the coordinates of the elements included in the sector are calculated. Usually, observations using a single sector are carried out at a fixed azimuth (i.e., the source passes through a fixed directivity pattern, with changes from source to source according to the source elevations (20 40 changes per day). In the process, a one-dimensional image of a source is obtained in each observation. (2) Two-dimensional images of sources can be synthesized by combining the one-dimensional images obtained from a series of successive observations of the same source at different azimuths. (3) The southern sector can operate in combination with the flat periscope reflector; it then forms a Kraus-type system like those at the University of Ohio or Nansay, France. It will be possible to track a source by moving the secondary mirror along the arc-shaped railway tracks after the work associated with automation is completed. (4) Finally, using a special conical secondary mirror installed at the center of the RATAN, it is possible to collect radiation from the entire ring while observing near the zenith; the maximum collecting area and resolving power is obtained in this case.
RATAN-600
Antenna of RATAN radio telescope consist of 576-m circle of 895 elements (2 x 11.5 m), which could use as 4 independent sectors (225 elements) of that reflector (named: North, South, West and East). There are tree different feed-cabines (N1,2,3) with secondary mirrors. With central rail-way rotation circle the feed-cabines could move in any of 12 fixed azimiths. The RATAN-600 can be used for observations in four different modes; these modes are illustrated by the diagram. (1) It is possible to simultaneously carry out independent observing programs using individual sectors at various discrete azimuths and secondary mirrors on corresponding railway tracks. Each of these secondary mirrors is a parabolic cylinder with a horizontal axis, 5.5 m x 8 m in size; the horizontal angle over which the main mirror is illuminated is 100 110o . The position of the secondary mirror (the focus) on the railway tracks depends on the elevation above the horizon, which can vary between 0 and 100o and is calculated by a computer at the same time that the coordinates of the elements included in the sector are calculated. Usually, observations using a single sector are carried out at a fixed azimuth (i.e., the source passes through a fixed directivity pattern, with changes from source to source according to the source elevations (20 40 changes per day). In the process, a one-dimensional image of a source is obtained in each observation. (2) Two-dimensional images of sources can be synthesized by combining the one-dimensional images obtained from a series of successive observations of the same source at different azimuths. (3) The southern sector can operate in combination with the flat periscope reflector; it then forms a Kraus-type system like those at the University of Ohio or Nansay, France. It will be possible to track a source by moving the secondary mirror along the arc-shaped railway tracks after the work associated with automation is completed. (4) Finally, using a special conical secondary mirror installed at the center of the RATAN, it is possible to collect radiation from the entire ring while observing near the zenith; the maximum collecting area and resolving power is obtained in this case.
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