PROGRESS REPORT THE SOLAR-A SOFT X-RAY TELESCOPE (SXT) PROGRAM (CONTRACT NAS8-00119) (for December 2002 - January 2003) 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 Martin, 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 Martin Solar and Astrophysics 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 program is in its final phase now. The data archiving is continuing and the work force is being reduced to meet the remaining resources. HIGHLIGHTS The effort to converge on the best possible algorithms for the most difficult stage of the calibration of the SXT image archive - that of removing the complex and variable pattern of stray light contamination present in the raw images - has resulted in the discovery of several previously unknown processing errors in both the Level 0 data archive and some of the fundamental calibration databases. Discovering the origin of these errors and attempting to correct them has been the primary focus of recent Galileo efforts. Although on the one hand the discovery of these errors has been frustrating and has to some extent slowed progress toward the goal of finalizing the archives and producing a best calibrated SXT image set, the rooting out and correction of such errors is an unavoidable and essential part of the process of achieving these goals. The final spacecraft attitude database involves the incorporation of several sources of attitude information. Calibration starts with the raw attitude telemetry database and then incorporates various additional information in several stages. Errors were recently discovered in the third stage database (known as the ATT database). In order to discover and correct these errors, the integrity of the first stage database was re-tested, and the second stage database was regenerated. No flaws were found in these first two stages. This means that the source of the remaining pointing errors arises from errors in the quality control of the process used to generate the ATT files. This process makes use of a set of software routines and parameter files. Inconsistencies in this database between versions stored at different sites has complicated the problem of resolving the remaining errors. We are currently in the process of regenerating the ATT file archive and redistributing it to all institutions. It is anticipated that this new set will eliminate the last of the processing errors. Following that, work on the ATT database will return to improving the calibration algorithms to reduce the final pointing uncertainties, which was interrupted when the errors were discovered. Work continued on the development of a Web-accessible Yohkoh Flare Database, combining observations from all instruments in a user-friendly format. A new 1 TB data server was brought on-line in Palo Alto to accommodate the newly generated archives. Development of distributed processing of large archives continued. It was found that with available Internet transfer bandwidths, it is probably easier to generate multiple copies of large archives locally using fewer processors than to spread the generation of the archives across multiple data centers, increasing the number of processors available but introducing a heavy burden in data mirroring time. Henceforth, local generation of archives will be used almost exclusively. The official 'master' site for the Yohkoh database was shifted from ISAS in Japan to Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, in Palo Alto. This shift will increase efficiency by removing the necessity to communicate so heavily with the ISAS site across a habitually slow Internet link PUBLIC USE OF SXT IMAGES We are continuing to make Yohkoh/SXT images available for a variety of uses. 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 December were 67,091 accesses and 5,686 Mbytes transferred for the SXT website and 114,665 accesses and 2,032 Mbytes transferred for the YPOP website. The WEB access statistics in January were 67,300 accesses and 5,547 Mbytes transferred for the SXT website and 167,504 accesses and 3,028 Mbytes transferred for the YPOP website. Respectfully submitted, Thomas R. Metcalf Frank Friedlaender Page 5 ====================================================================== Montana State Univ Activity Report for December 2002 - January 2003 ====================================================================== (A. Davey) Galileo ------- McKenzie worked hard on SXT CCD Gain for Galileo project. He developed code to estimate the CCD read noise from dark frames, and then to get the gain (electrons/DN, with error bars) from a set of 3 diffuser images. The job of measuring gain throughout duration of mission is not complete yet; there is still some uncertainty as to cause of change in read noise and apparent pedestal after 1992 entrance filter event and McKenzie is working with Acton on that. In early December Acton completed a trip to Lockheed Palo Alto for work on Galileo. In the course of Galileo plenty of things that needed fixing in the database have been uncovered. Jun Sato has almost finished making HXT/SXT images of 1291 solar flares. The printed images have been sent to ISAS for making into a booklet. After preparing additional sections with ISAS people, all materials will be sent to a publisher in the 3rd week of February. Jun Sato thinks that you'll receive the booklet ( The YOHKOH HXT/SXT Flare Catalogue) at the beginning of March. Jun Sato also helped out with WBS contributions to Galileo David McKenzie, working with grad student Trae Winter, has completed re-editing the web site of the Yohkoh Public Outreach Project to remove reliance on daily mirror jobs for data and imagery. The revised web site is undergoing final review by colleagues at Lockheed Martin and will soon be placed online. The classroom materials have been linked to NSTA textbook-support web sites, and will remain online for perpetuity in a static form. Acton and McKenzie participated in Galileo telecon between MSU, Chuck Holmes, Larry Hill, and Acton provide Chuck Holmes with and updated report on Galileo Other Science ------------- Both Piet Martens and Loren Acton have been working hard on MSU's SADE SMEX proposal. Loren performed a design study, which involved creating a parameterized IDL model of the SADE x-ray telescope that can be used for design tradeoffs of focal length, diameter, number of mirrors, arrangement of mirrors, mirror coating, detector, filters, etc., etc. After settling on a set of baseline telescope parameters Loren followed up on Piet's idea of simulating its use on solar type stars by observing the Sun -- but from a distance of one parsec. Of course Loren used the cycle-long measurements of coronal temperature and emission measure from SXT to generate the x-ray spectra to fold through the SADE instrument function. Outreach and Service -------------------- Trae Winter began a collaboration with Joshua Winter, a physics teacher at Starksville High School in Starksville, MS. Together they are working on a series of lessons plans for high school teachers instructing at the junior and senior class level. These lessons will concentrate on the magnetic energy release of solar flares. Observations of solar flares in SXT will be used throughout the lessons in order to emphasize certain points, such as magnitude of energy released, size of flaring region when compared to Earth's diameter, etc. This collaboration will also help to inform rural school teachers of free teaching materials available to them, such as YPOP, and methods of integrating them into their lessons. See also YPOP outreach in Galileo section. Robert Leamon refereed one paper for the COSPAR proceedings. Piet Martens reviewed a paper for ApJ and a proposal for NSF. Dave McKenzie refereed one paper for Astrophysical Journal and reviewed 13 proposals for NASA EPSCoR. Publications ------------ "What is the role of the kink instability in eruption of X-ray sigmoids?" by Robert Leamon, Dick Canfield, Zach Blehm and Alex Pevtsov. "YOHKOH-SXT OBSERVATIONS OF RECONNEXION", P.C.H. Martens, invited review, Advances in Space Research, submitted "SADE, THE STUDENT ASTROPHYSICAL DYNAMO EXPLORER", Martens, P.C.H.,Acton, L.W.A.,Klumpar, D., Kankelborg, C., Stern, R.A., Peres, G., and Culhane, J.L. Advances in Space Research, submitted "ANALYSIS OF A CORONAL LOOP ON THE LIMB", Cirtain, J.W.; Martens, P.C.H.; Winter, H.D., Advances in Space Research, submitted Jun Sato submitted a COSPAR proceedings for publication. Talks Given ----------- McKenzie gave a talk at CfA about "What have we learned about flares from Yohkoh/SoHO/TRACE?" Page 12 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 February 2003 December 2002 - January 2003 |------------------------------- | 6. PERFORMING ORG | CODE: O/L9-41 -----------------------------------------------|------------------------------- 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 Martin Missiles and Space |------------------------------- Advanced Technology Center, O/L9-41, B/252 |11. CONTRACT OR GRANT NO. 3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto Ca. 94304 | NAS8 - 00119 -----------------------------------------------|------------------------------- 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 Contact: Larry Hill | of December 2002 - January 2003 |------------------------------- |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. SXT data collection stopped on December 14, 2001. --------------------------------------|---------------------------------------- 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 | 5 | ------------------------|------------------------|-----------------|-----------