Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
May 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agusm..sh61a11j&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract #SH61A-11
Physics
Optics
7513 Coronal Mass Ejections, 7594 Instruments And Techniques
Scientific paper
The Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) is a proof-of-concept experiment designed to detect and track coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as they propagate from the Sun through interplanetary space to the Earth and beyond. SMEI will Image CMEs by sensing sunlight scattered from the free electrons in these structures (Thomson scattering). SMEI will be launched by a Titan II rocket into a circular, sun-synchronous (830 km) orbit in 2002 as part of the Space Test Program's CORIOLIS mission. SMEI will image the entire sky once per spacecraft orbit over a mission lifetime of three years. The major subsystems of SMEI are three electronic camera assemblies and a data-handling unit. Each camera consists of a baffle, a radiator, a bright object sensor, an electronics box, and a strongbox containing a shutter, optics and a CCD. Each camera images a 3x60 degree field. Together, they view a 180-degree slice of sky, and sweep over the entire sky once per orbit. SMEI's basic data product will be a 100-minute cadence of all-sky maps of heliospheric brightness, with stars removed, having an angular resolution of about one degree and a photometric precision of about 0.1%. Successful operation of SMEI will represent a major step in improving space weather forecasts. When combined with in-situ solar wind measurements from upstream monitors such as WIND and ACE, SMEI will provide one- to three-day predictions of impending geomagnetic storms at the Earth. SMEI will complement missions such as SoHO, GOES SXI, Solar-B, and STEREO by providing data relating solar drivers to terrestrial effects. Other benefits of SMEI will include observations of variable stars, extra-Solar planetary transits, novae and supernovae, comets and asteroids. The SMEI experiment is being designed and constructed by a team of scientists and engineers from the Air Force Research Laboratory, the University of Birmingham (UB) in the United Kingdom, the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), and Boston University. The Air Force, NASA, and UB are providing financial support.
Johnston Janet C.
Radick Richard R.
Webb David F.
No associations
LandOfFree
Status of the Solar Mass Ejection Imager does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Status of the Solar Mass Ejection Imager, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Status of the Solar Mass Ejection Imager will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1276342