TOP Application for National Solar Observatory’s McMath Pierce SolarTelescope (infrared spectroscopy and imaging), Spring 2008

The McMath Pierce Solar Telescope's Heliostat at Sunset

There will be two observing runs of 2 nights each on March 3-5 and March 5-7, 2008. Applications are due January 28, 2008.

Background Information on the Telescope and Instrumentation: The primary instrument is the McMath-Pierce Telescope, equipped with a near IR array camera (NAC).

Optional: See http://nsokp.nso.edu/mp/mp.html, for general information on the telescope, its instruments, its history and site information.

Required: For more specific information that pertains to this project, go to http://nsokp.nso.edu/mp/cphistory.html and read the following sections of that paper:

  1. The telescope schematic under 6.1 FINAL DESIGN
  2. 12.1 MAIN SPECTROGRAPH
  3. 15.1 A NEW INFRARED ARRAY DETECTOR
  4. 15.2 LOW ORDER ADAPTIVE OPTICS
  5. APPENDIX II (on Zeeman split lines)

Possible Projects: Here are possible projects you may want to consider. You may also propose your own, but be sure to give sufficient detail about that you hope to study, and how you will carry out the project.

  1. Magnetic Field Strengths of Sunspots using Infrared Zeeman Split Lines. These measurements can be compared with (for instance):
    • different sized sunspots
    • different latitudes
    • active longitudes
  2. Solar Rotation Rate (more of an activity than research)
  3. Resolving Penumbral Filaments of a Sunspot
  4. Evershed Flow Measurements (velocity flows across sunspots), and specifically Spectroheliograms (sunspot images at one wavelength)
  5. “Surface” Oscillation Periods via Doppler Shifted Lines
Teacher Team Member

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Student Team Members

(maximum two students plus teacher permitted at Kitt Peak. Students must be at least Juniors by fall 2005)

Student 1






Student 2






Questions

As a measure of your (students’) understanding of some astronomical concepts that are necessary for this observing project, please answer the following questions in your application. For those interested in doing any of the first four projects listed under “Possible Projects” above, answer all questions except #6. For those interested in doing the project on “Surface Oscillation Periods via Doppler Shifted Lines”, answer at least questions #3, 6 and 7.








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The Astronomy RBSE program is administered by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory with funds from the National Science Foundation.