Page 1 PROGRESS REPORT THE SOLAR-A SOFT X-RAY TELESCOPE (SXT) PROGRAM (CONTRACT NAS8-40801) (for October 1997) OVERVIEW The YOHKOH Mission is a program of the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) with collaboration by the U. S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U. K. Science and Engineering Research Council. The YOHKOH satellite was launched on 30 August 1991 from Kagoshima Space Center (KSC) in Japan. The purpose of this mission is to study high energy phenomena in solar flares and the Sun's corona. Under an international cooperative agreement, Lockheed, under NASA contract, is providing a scientific investigation using the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT), one of the primary experiments of the mission. The SXT was developed at the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory in cooperation with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Tokyo. MAJOR PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES IN THE MONTH The RFP for FY98 operations and enhanced data analysis still has not yet been released. A preliminary budget is being prepared in order to be able to provide MSFC a quick turnaround. << Solar Activity >> In early October, solar activity was moderate. The birth of region 8092 was monitored; that region gave a small eruption and produced a CME on October 10 observed by SOHO/EIT and LASCO. In mid-October, solar activity continued to be moderate. A C-class flare occurred at approximately 23:20 UT on 13-Oct. An eruption was spotted on 16-Oct, which was accompanied by coronal dimming and probably by a CME. Another great eruption, NE limb, happened on 18-Oct ~20:00; this one had a huge double-barreled 304 eruption seen by EIT. In late October, solar activity returned to a low state, but there were at least two spectacular CME-launching events observed both by Yohkoh and by SOHO. One, on Oct. 21, had a striking C3.3 LDE flare; the other (Oct. 23) was only a small GOES event. We have put some info for the latter on ftp://isass0.solar.isas.ac.jp/pub/sxt_co. Page 2 << Campaigns >> SXT participated in several campaigns during October. The EIT calibration rocket flew on 16-Oct. To support this flight, we ran a standard set of tables to make full-disk observations and PFIs of the brightest active region. We have re-started the program to test the possible influence of shutter position on Al.1 straylight. The experiment involves an additional thin Aluminum dark frame in the QT/Med FFI table. During this second run, we have increased the DPE from 17 to 23. We began observations of the N pole looking for polar jets with a 4x1 observing region, with a cadence of about 5 min in AlMg 30-sec exposures for Hara_san. Later in the month, this campaign was paused because of the increased activity. << Science >> Lemen began to look at the effect that the Arnaud and Raymond ionization balances might have on the SXT contribution functions. Since Arnaud and Raymond's calculations mainly differ with Arnaud and Rothenflug at Fe XVI and XVII, this might make some effect on the temperatures derived with SXT filter ratio measurements. We also have the latest Mewe results and he plans to convolve them with SXT response curves. McKenzie, with data from SXT, was able to construct images that (more or less) clearly show that the outer part of the post-eruption arcade brightens after the inner part. Also with SXT data, he found hints of coronal dimming, and signatures that may have ramifications for tether-cutting. With data from Mitaka (H-alpha), he found evidence of sympathetic motion of a nearby filament. Nitta continued analysis of X-ray and optical data for the 17-AUG-92 flare (AR 7260) to understand how the filament field was involved. He discussed the data with P. Demoulin and G. Aulanier at Meudon to see if their model could be applicable. There is a possibility that the flare was connected with a remote eruptive event/arcade formation and that a global magnetic instability caused the both phenomena. << Public Use of SXT Images >> The American Institute of Physics chose an SXT image to advertise the 1997 APS Plasma Physics Meeting. The meeting announcement can be viewed at http://www.aip.org/physnews/preview/1997/dpp97/dpp97.htm Page 3 We are continuing to make Yohkoh/SXT images available for a variety of uses. Efforts continue to make selected images available on the Lockheed SXT WWW homepage (http://www.space.lockheed.com/SXT/). We receive requests for the Yohkoh posters (#2 and #3) by way of the form on the SXT homepage. Currently we receive requests via our homepage at the rate of 2 or 3 per day. The WEB access statistics in September were 49534 accesses and 1550 Mbytes transferred. << Yohkoh Operations and Health >> Yohkoh and the SXT continue to function very well. There has been no further increase in stray light since 25 August 1996. SXT experienced a normal level of Single Event Upset (SEU) events during the month: SXT SYNC1 error 22-Oct-97 Pass 1: 971022-0929 recovered in the 2nd pass. SXT wrm reset error 23-Oct-97 Pass 2: 971023-1030 recovered in the 3nd pass. SXT FIL HD error 23-Oct-97 Pass 5: 971023-1340 recovered 1st pass on 24-Oct. Page 4 << Data Flow >> Month Full Frame Images Observing Region Images Received Lost Received Lost Loss % QT FL Tot Thru Jul-95 312240 135164 1316467 349416 1665883 656197 28.02 Aug-95 7683 2597 26115 2181 28296 10537 27.13 Sep-95 6546 2853 22006 1753 23759 10433 30.51 Oct-95 6937 3502 22177 3853 26030 13044 33.38 Nov-95 5745 2944 21252 517 21769 12119 35.76 Dec-95 6163 2615 24059 901 24960 11652 31.83 Jan-96 6474 2530 27015 1708 28723 14151 33.01 Feb-96 6200 2581 21380 890 22270 10773 32.60 Mar-96 6908 2869 25437 1460 26897 12274 31.33 Apr-96 7172 2124 45445 671 46116 18848 29.01 May-96 6925 2426 30272 1089 31361 12367 28.28 Jun-96 7515 2723 31952 1536 33488 14521 30.25 Jul-96 5954 1995 29886 4769 34655 12427 26.39 Aug-96 7214 3010 21187 1607 22794 9887 30.25 Sep-96 6904 2618 29906 303 30209 12663 29.54 Oct-96 7405 2853 16463 1842 18305 8034 30.50 Nov-96 7001 2296 24292 5395 29687 9340 23.93 Dec-96 7144 2643 25331 2087 27418 10412 27.52 Jan-97 7186 2747 21126 1257 22383 9915 30.70 Feb-97 6016 2034 22097 1072 23169 8961 27.89 Mar-97 7152 1300 26991 1209 28200 6394 18.48 Apr-97 6018 1055 23639 3890 27529 5349 16.27 May-97 7703 1455 29574 3783 33357 7121 17.59 Jun-97 7706 1522 25786 1396 27182 7908 22.54 Jul-97 8614 1385 32503 431 32934 6559 16.61 Aug-97 7316 987 23136 3519 26655 4990 15.77 Sep-97 7051 1479 33646 9596 43242 8887 17.05 Oct-97 4386 431 16903 622 17525 2417 12.12 Nov-97 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Total 497278 194738 2016043 408753 2424796 928180 27.68 Number of Full Frame Images Received: 497278 Number of Observing Region Images Received: 2424796 Total: 2922074 Approximate Number of Shutter Moves/CCD Readouts: 5107158 NOTES: * The loss of images is mainly due to BDR overwrites, but there are also occasional DSN dumps which are lost. * It is common to have observing regions which contain more than 64 lines, which requires multiple exposures to make a single observing region image. This is why the number of shutter moves is larger than the number of images received plus those lost. Page 5 << Engineering Summary Table >> Month Avg Dark Level # of Dark Spikes CCD Warmings Front Optical (DN) (e/sec) Over 48 Over 64 High / # Support Trans Temp /Days Temp (%) Aug-95 49.72 720.4 114414 7101 19.5 N/A Sep-95 49.79 723.1 115165 7222 19.6 N/A Oct-95 50.29 741.9 126452 7911 20.2 N/A Nov-95 50.11 735.1 122163 7814 25.2 / 2 20.3 N/A Dec-95 50.19 737.9 123705 7927 22.6 N/A Jan-96 50.81 761.3 136197 8888 21.5 N/A Feb-96 50.67 755.8 133263 8705 22.5 / 2 21.5 N/A Mar-96 50.85 762.9 136982 8973 20.3 N/A Apr-96 51.14 773.6 142250 9500 19.9 N/A May-96 51.16 774.4 140697 10018 19.1 N/A Jun-96 51.56 789.2 147705 10634 20.7 N/A Jul-96 57.45 1010.2 146293 12228 19.8 N/A Aug-96 52.58 827.5 165676 12393 19.6 N/A Sep-96 52.47 823.3 162784 12350 20.0 N/A Oct-96 52.21 813.8 157689 12047 22.5 / 2 21.3 N/A Nov-96 52.45 822.9 161683 12534 21.9 N/A Dec-96 53.08 846.2 171224 13860 22.9 N/A Jan-97 52.35 818.9 164785 11354 23.8 / 7 23.3 N/A Feb-97 51.95 803.9 159426 10346 21.1 N/A Mar-97 55.99 955.6 158428 12190 21.2 N/A Apr-97 53.14 848.4 176207 13265 20.8 N/A May-97 52.96 841.7 172052 13094 20.7 N/A Jun-97 53.69 869.0 182460 14849 19.8 N/A Jul-97 54.44 897.3 184518 20173 22.5 / 2 21.1 N/A Aug-97 54.06 883.1 188485 15549 20.1 N/A Sep-97 54.77 909.7 196501 17757 21.0 N/A Oct-97 54.85 912.8 198352 17809 21.5 N/A Nov-97 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.0 N/A NOTES: * The dark current calculations are using full half resolution 2.668 sec images not taken in during the SAA. The dark current rate assumes a "fat zero" of 30.5 DN and a gain of 100 e/DN. * The entrance filter failure of 13-Nov-92 eliminated the capability of taking optical images, so the optical transmission is not available after Nov-92. It also caused an increase in the dark current signal, however some of the increase shown here is an increase in the readout noise and is not a function of exposure duration. Page 6 << Personnel Travel >> SXT Foreign Travel between 1-OCT-97 and 31-OCT-97 CANFIELD 25-OCT-97 31-OCT-97 * 7 (total of 7 days) HUDSON 1-OCT-97 * 31-OCT-97 * 31 (total of 31 days) LEMEN 1-OCT-97 * 9-OCT-97 9 (total of 9 days) MCKENZIE 1-OCT-97 * 31-OCT-97 * 31 (total of 31 days) SAVY 1-OCT-97 * 31-OCT-97 * 31 (total of 31 days) SLATER 2-OCT-97 31-OCT-97 * 30 (total of 30 days) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Grand Total of 139 days for 6 people NOTE: The "*" signifies travel that actually ends after 31-OCT-97 SXT Foreign Travel between 1-NOV-97 and 30-NOV-97 CANFIELD 1-NOV-97 * 7-NOV-97 7 (total of 7 days) HUDSON 1-NOV-97 * 4-NOV-97 4 17-NOV-97 30-NOV-97 * 14 (total of 18 days) MCKENZIE 1-NOV-97 * 24-NOV-97 24 (total of 24 days) NITTA 1-NOV-97 30-NOV-97 30 (total of 30 days) SAVY 1-NOV-97 * 30-NOV-97 * 30 (total of 30 days) SLATER 1-NOV-97 * 3-NOV-97 3 (total of 3 days) WEBER 20-NOV-97 30-NOV-97 * 11 (total of 11 days) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Grand Total of 123 days for 7 people NOTE: The "*" signifies travel that actually ends after 30-NOV-97 Respectfully submitted, Thomas R. Metcalf Frank Friedlaender Page 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE (IN LIEU OF NASA FORM 1626) --------------------|--------------------------|------------------------------- 1. REPORT NO. | 2. GOVERNMENT | 3. RECIPIENT'S DR-01 | ACCESSION NO. | CATALOG NO. --------------------|--------------------------|------------------------------- 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE | 5. REPORT DATE Monthly progress report - for the month of | 10 November 1997 October 1997 |------------------------------- | 6. PERFORMING ORG | CODE: O/H1-12 -----------------------------------------------|------------------------------- 7. AUTHOR(S) | 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZA- T. R. Metcalf | TION REPORT NO: F. M. Friedlaender | |------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------|10. WORK UNIT NO. 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS | Lockheed Palo Alto Research Labs B/252 |------------------------------- Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory O/H1-12 |11. CONTRACT OR GRANT NO. 3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto Ca. 94304 | NAS8 - 40801 -----------------------------------------------|------------------------------- 12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS |13. TYPE OF REPORT AND Marshall Space Flight Center (Explorer Program)| PERIOD COVERED Huntsville Alabama 35812 | Progress report for the month | of October 1997 |------------------------------- |14. SPONSORING AGENCY | CODE MSFC / AP32 -----------------------------------------------|------------------------------- 15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16. ABSTRACT The SOLAR-A Mission is a program of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the Japanese agency for scientific space activity. The SOLAR-A satellite was launched on August 30, 1991, to study high energy phenomena in solar flares. As an international cooperative agreement, Lockheed, under NASA contract, is providing a scientific investigation and has prepared the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT), one of the two primary experiments of the mission. --------------------------------------|---------------------------------------- 17. KEY WORDS (SUGGESTED BY | 18. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT AUTHOR(S)) Solar-A, X-ray, CCD, | Space Science, Solar Physics ------------------------|-------------|----------|-----------------|----------- 19. SECURITY CLASSIF. | 20. SECURITY CLASSIF. | 21. NO OF PAGES |22. PRICE (OF THIS REPORT) | (OF THIS PAGE) | | None | None | 7 | ------------------------|------------------------|-----------------|----------- For sale by: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office