Future high-latitude observations anticipated from the Solar Orbiter mission

Details Future high-latitude observations anticipated from the Solar Orbiter mission Future high-latitude observations anticipated from the Solar Orbiter mission

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufmsh44a..08w&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #SH44A-08

Physics

2169 Solar Wind Sources, 7511 Coronal Holes, 7524 Magnetic Fields

Scientific paper

As one of the cornerstones of the HELEX programme, the Solar Orbiter mission is currently scheduled for launch in 2015. After an initial cruise phase, Solar Orbiter will reach its science orbit in 2018. This orbit comprises initially a nearly Sun-synchronous phase at a distance of only 0.22 AU from Sun center. In a later stage, the orbital inclination will be raised, thus allowing Solar Orbiter to reach solar latitudes of about 35 degrees, and making it the first mission after Ulysses to study the Sun from a high-latitude vantage point. In contrast to Ulysses, however, Solar Orbiter will carry a complementary suite of both, in-situ and remote- sensing instruments, which will allow the study of the solar atmosphere to be extended to the largely unexplored polar regions of the Sun. The polar magnetic fields are responsible for the polar coronal holes driving the fast solar wind, but are poorly known. From its vantage point outside the ecliptic, Solar Orbiter will uncover the surface and sub-surface flows at the poles, the polar magnetic field structure and its evolution. It will provide new insights into the formation of the polar coronal holes, the nature of their boundaries and the acceleration of the fast solar wind emanating from the holes. The potential of Solar Orbiter for investigating the acceleration mechanism of the fast wind, the plumes and X-ray jets at the poles, and the high-latitude meridional circulation will be discussed.

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