Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
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The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) investigation is a part
of the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission that is the lead mission
of the NASA Living With a Star program. The goal of the AIA investigation
is to further our understanding of the magnetic activity in the
Sun's atmosphere. This will lead towards a better capability for
predicting space weather.
AIA is a coordinated effort led by Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory
(LMSAL) with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)
as the major subcontractor; the CCD cameras for the AIA telescopes are
being provided by MSSL, RAL and E2V in the UK.
A key part of the AIA investigation is the development of the flight
instrument, which consists of four science telescopes, each
with its own guide telescope. AIA is designed to provide an unprecedented view of the solar corona,
taking images that span at least 1.3 solar diameters in multiple
wavelengths nearly simultaneously, at a resolution of <1.5 arcsec
and a cadence of 10 s or better. The primary goal of the AIA Science
Investigation is to use these data, together with data from other
SDO instruments and from other observatories, to significantly improve
our understanding of the physics behind the activity displayed by
the Sun's atmosphere, which drives space weather in the heliosphere
and in planetary environments. The AIA will produce data required
for quantitative studies of the evolving coronal magnetic field,
and the plasma that it holds, both in quiescent phases and during
flares and eruptions. The AIA science investigation aims to utilize
these data in a comprehensive research program to provide new understanding
of the observed processes and, ultimately, to guide development
of advanced forecasting tools needed by the user community of the
Living With a Star (LWS) program. The AIA is designed to provide,
for the first time, multiple near-simultaneous, highresolution images
of the corona covering a wide and continuous temperature range,
with the aim to resolve the fundamental observational ambiguity
between magnetic field evolution (evidenced by moving loops) and
thermal and density changes in adjacent loop atmospheres that outline
the magnetic field. [an error occurred while processing this directive] | ||||