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The Solar Optical Telescope for the Hinode Mission: An Overview
Ichimoto, K.; Tsuneta, S.; Suematsu, Y. +22 more
The Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) aboard the Hinode satellite (formerly called Solar-B) consists of the Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA) and the Focal Plane Package (FPP). The OTA is a 50-cm diffraction-limited Gregorian telescope, and the FPP includes the narrowband filtergraph (NFI) and the broadband filtergraph (BFI), plus the Stokes Spectro-Po…
The Horizontal Magnetic Flux of the Quiet-Sun Internetwork as Observed with the Hinode Spectro-Polarimeter
Kubo, M.; Lites, B. W.; Ichimoto, K. +11 more
Observations of very quiet Sun using the Solar Optical Telescope/Spectro-Polarimeter (SOT/SP) aboard the Hinode spacecraft reveal that the quiet internetwork regions are pervaded by horizontal magnetic flux. The spatial average horizontal apparent flux density derived from wavelength-integrated measures of Zeeman-induced linear polarization is B
The Solar Optical Telescope of Solar-B ( Hinode): The Optical Telescope Assembly
Kubo, M.; Ichimoto, K.; Tsuneta, S. +18 more
The Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) aboard the Solar-B satellite (Hinode) is designed to perform high-precision photometric and polarimetric observations of the Sun in visible light spectra (388 - 668 nm) with a spatial resolution of 0.2 - 0.3 arcsec. The SOT consists of two optically separable components: the Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA), consi…
Polarization Calibration of the Solar Optical Telescope onboard Hinode
Ichimoto, K.; Tsuneta, S.; Suematsu, Y. +17 more
The Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) onboard Hinode aims to obtain vector magnetic fields on the Sun through precise spectropolarimetry of solar spectral lines with a spatial resolution of 0.2 - 0.3 arcsec. A photometric accuracy of 10−3 is achieved and, after the polarization calibration, any artificial polarization from crosstalk among S…
Nonlinear Force-free Field Modeling of a Solar Active Region around the Time of a Major Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection
Aulanier, G.; Schrijver, C. J.; Amari, T. +14 more
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are associated with rapid changes in field connectivity and are powered by the partial dissipation of electrical currents in the solar atmosphere. A critical unanswered question is whether the currents involved are induced by the motion of preexisting atmospheric magnetic flux subject to surface plasma flows…
Image Stabilization System for Hinode (Solar-B) Solar Optical Telescope
Ichimoto, K.; Kobayashi, K.; Tsuneta, S. +16 more
The Hinode Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) is the first space-borne visible-light telescope that enables us to observe magnetic-field dynamics in the solar lower atmosphere with 0.2 - 0.3 arcsec spatial resolution under extremely stable (seeing-free) conditions. To achieve precise measurements of the polarization with diffraction-limited images, sta…
Hinode SOT Observations of Solar Quiescent Prominence Dynamics
Tsuneta, Saku; Shimizu, Toshifumi; Okamoto, Takenori J. +9 more
We report findings from multihour 0.2'' resolution movies of solar quiescent prominences (QPs) observed with the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on the Hinode satellite. The observations verify previous findings of filamentary downflows and vortices in QPs. SOT observations also verify large-scale transverse oscillations in QPs, with periods of 20-4…
Jets in Coronal Holes: Hinode Observations and Three-dimensional Computer Modeling
Galsgaard, K.; Moreno-Insertis, F.; Ugarte-Urra, I.
Recent observations of coronal hole areas with the XRT and EIS instruments on board the Hinode satellite have shown with unprecedented detail the launching of fast, hot jets away from the solar surface. In some cases these events coincide with episodes of flux emergence from beneath the photosphere. In this Letter we show results of a three-dimens…
Outflows at the Edges of Active Regions: Contribution to Solar Wind Formation?
Young, P. R.; Mandrini, C. H.; van Driel-Gesztelyi, L. +5 more
The formation of the slow solar wind has been debated for many years. In this Letter we show evidence of persistent outflow at the edges of an active region as measured by the EUV Imaging Spectrometer on board Hinode. The Doppler velocity ranged between 20 and 50 km s-1 and was consistent with a steady flow seen in the X-Ray Telescope. …
The Magnetic Landscape of the Sun's Polar Region
Lites, B. W.; Ichimoto, K.; Tsuneta, S. +11 more
We present observations of the magnetic landscape of the polar region of the Sun that are unprecedented in terms of spatial resolution, field of view, and polarimetric precision. They were carried out with the Solar Optical Telescope aboard Hinode. Using a Milne-Eddington inversion, we find many vertically oriented magnetic flux tubes with field s…