The NRL Solar Physics Branch

The Solar Physics Branch is in the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) , Space Science Divison.

Researchers in the Solar Physics Branch have been involved in observational and theoretical studies of the solar atmosphere since the early years of the space age. Experiments developed at NRL have flown on NASA missions such as Skylab/ATM, the OSO satellite series, the Space Shuttle STS-3, Spacelab-2 and Atlas missions.

There are three active experimental programs in the Solar Physics Branch:

• The Large Angle Coronagraph-Spectrograph (LASCO) experiment is one experimental package aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint ESA/NASA mission, which was launched on December 2, 1995. LASCO is now producing coronal images using all three of its coronagraphs.

• The Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM) experiment begun in October 1991 aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) continues to measure the solar UV spectral irradiance.

• The High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) experiment has collected spectroscopic observations of the Sun while flying on suborbital rockets since its first flight in 1975.

The Branch also maintains two database projects:

• The Space Physics Data System's HRTS/SKYLAB database with solar data from the Solar Physics Baranch's spectrograph and spectroheliograph instruments flown as part of the HRTS , Spacelab 2 and SKYLAB missions. This database is the under sponsorship of NASA's Space Physics Data System.

• The CHIANTI database for the calculation of astrophysical spectra. This database contains the most recent atomic data for calculating a collisionally dominated spectrum and is maintained by an international consortium of scientists.

Late Breaking News and Other Items of Interest:

• Mission status of the recently launched SOHO.

• LASCO status summary.

• SUSIM UARS News, Team, or latest Data.

You can also visit the NRL Space Science Division home page.

Last revised 25 September 1996
For more information send mail to Ken Dere