Spherical occulter coronagraph cubesat

Abstract

The present invention relates to a space-based instrument which provides continuous coronal electron temperature and velocity images, for a predetermined period of time, thereby improving the understanding of coronal evolution and how the solar wind and Coronal Mass Ejection transients evolve from the low solar atmosphere through the heliosphere for an entire solar rotation. Specifically, the present invention relates to using a 6U spherical occulter coronagraph CubeSat, and a relative navigational system (RNS) that controls the position of the spacecraft relative to the occulting sphere. The present invention innovatively deploys a free-flying spherical occulter, and after deployment, the actively controlled CubeSat will provide an inertial formation flying with the spherical occulter and Sun.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention[0001]The present invention relates to a space-based instrument which can provide continuous coronal electron temperature and velocity images, for a predetermined period of time, thereby improving the understanding of coronal evolution and how the solar wind and coronal mass ejection (CME) transients evolve from the low solar atmosphere through the heliosphere for an entire solar rotation. Specifically, the present invention relates to using a spherical occulter coronagraph CubeSat, and a relative navigational system that controls the position of the spacecraft relative to the occulting sphere.2. Description of the Related Art[0002]Conventional solar coronagraphs measure visible photospheric light Thomson-scattered by coronal electrons, imaging the seemingly static solar corona including transients, such as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), as they disrupt the overlying magnetic field.[0003]However, the resolution of the images in the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to a space-based instrument that can provide continuous, high-resolution coronal electron temperature and velocity images. This is useful for understanding how the solar wind and CME transients evolve from the low solar atmosphere through the heliosphere for an entire solar rotation. The invention uses a spherical occulter coronagraph (SOC) CubeSat and a relative navigational system (RNS) that controls the position of the spacecraft relative to the occulting sphere. The SOC has a larger separation between the occulter and optics, which improves the signal-to-noise ratio due to reduced diffraction intensities off the occulter, and provides high-resolution images and plasma diagnostics down to small solar radii. The spherical occulter coronagraph CubeSat can be used in any Earth-escape orbit that will take it out of the influence of Earth's atmospheric density variations and changing gravitational forces. The spherical occulter is a formation flying, passive, free-flying occulter that reduces forward scattering noise.

Problems solved by technology

Traditional imagers use mechanical structures, such as tubes, to mount and align the occulter to the optics, and these structures limit this distance to ˜1 meter due to volume / mass limitations to get these instruments into space.

Images