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Solar Orbiter (SolO) is an ESA space probe that is part of the Cosmic Vision program. SolO is going to be launched in 2017. Its mission is to explore the Sun - our nearest star - with unprecedented resolution at wavelength ranges that cover visible, extreme ultra violet, and X-rays. SolO will boldly perform in-situ measurements that no other probe has done before.
SolO will approach the Sun up to a perihelion distance of about 60 solar radii (0.28 astronomical units, i.e., it will be almost three quators closer to the Sun than the Earth is). After each gravity assist maneuver with Venus, that SolO's will perform every third orbit around the Sun, its inclination will increasing up to more than 30° with respect to the solar equator.
Therefore it will permit close-up and high-latitude sutdies of the Sun. |
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SolO will be equipped with a set of in-situ and a set of remote sensing instruments.
The in-situ instruments are designed to measure and observe the environmental conditions in the immediate vicinity of the spacecraft, whereas the remote sensing instruments will observe the Sun's surface and atmosphere in great detail. |
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The Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam takes part in the development of two instruments aboard SolO, namely the remote sensing instrument STIX and the united in-situ instrument constituted by EPD/HET and EPD/EPT.
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Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) |
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STIX is a state to the art Imaging X-ray telescope. It provides imaging spectroscopy of solar thermal and non-thermal X-ray emission. STIX will provide imaging spectroscopy measurements at the highest ever spatial resolution and sensitvity. |
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The two main parts (i.e., the imager and the electronics box) of STIX are mounted independently on
the spacecraft.
The imager consists of 32 pairs of X-ray opacque grids mounted in front of
32 solid-state Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) X-ray detectors which are located on the electronics box
and make up the spectrometer.
STIX will cover the energy range between 4 keV and 150 keV with an energy dependent resolution of 1 keV to 15 keV.
Its finest angular resolution and temporal resolution are 7 arcsec and 0.1 seconds, respectively.
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During the SolO mission STIX will address scientific topics such as, timing, location, intensity, and spectra of accelerated electrons as well as of high temperature thermal plasmas, mostly associated with flares and/or micro flares. Thus STIX will provide the high-energy link between surface and in-situ observations. |
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Electron Particle Detector (EPD) |
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The EPD suite contains five different sensors to measure the composition, timing, and distribution functions of suprathermal and energetic particles, such as, electrons and protons.
The Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam contribuites to the development of two of these sensors: Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) and High Energy Telescope (HET). |
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EPT consists of two dual double-ended telescopes: EPT1 points in the ecliptic plane along the Parker spiral in both the solar and anti-solar directions; EPT2 points 45° out of the ecliptic plane. Each sensor unit consists of a dual double-ended magnet/foil solid state detector particle telescope. One of the major scientific goals of SolO will be the investigation of particle acceleration and propagation at the Sun. Electrons, as measured by the EPT, play a crucial role in the study of energetic processes on the Sun as they provide a direct link to the sites of particle acceleration. Due to the high sensitivity of the EPT it will measure small energetic particle events and even nano flare particles. |
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HET covers the high-energy particle range for protons (up to 100 MeV) and heavier ions, thus providing information on the largest solar energetic particle events, which can produce high energy, damaging interplanetary radiation levels. HET has two oppositely directed field of views with 50° full angle and resolves 3Helium and multiple heavy ion species. HET's large collecting power allows fast cadence for high-energy heavy ions. During the study phase, the possibility of obtaining limited information on the neutron flux intensity from HET will be investigated. |
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Further references |
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