Published • loading... • Updated
Italian scientists ready new solar instrument for high-stakes eclipse test
The prototype could map the corona in a single photograph and may help future missions study solar effects on communications and power grids.
- On Wednesday, August 12, Italian scientists led by Principal Investigator Federico Landini will test the Circular Slit Spectrometer at Spain's Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory during a total solar eclipse, putting two-and-a-half years of work to the test.
- Conventional linear spectrometers like UVCS, which operated on the SOHO spacecraft from 1996 to 2013, required hours to map the corona line by line; the new prototype aims to capture the entire corona in one photograph.
- The prototype "has a circular slit and can capture the spectrum of the entire corona at a certain distance from the centre of the Sun in a single photograph," Landini said.
- Traveling by road on Friday, the team transported the instrument in a van to avoid disruption. "Given the situation with flights, which may well be cancelled at the last minute, it's best to make sure we actually get there," Landini said.
- Senior Researcher Paola Zuppella of the Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies in Padua said, "There is neither space nor time for the unexpected." Successful testing could lead to applying the optical principle to future space missions.
Insights by Ground AI
Podcasts & Opinions
15 Articles
15 Articles
Italian scientists ready new solar instrument for high-stakes eclipse test
Sheltered from the blazing summer sun, a group of scientists in the northern Italian city of Padua spent weeks in a laboratory finalising an instrument they say could transform the study of the solar corona, the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere.
·London, United Kingdom
Read Full ArticleCoverage Details
Total News Sources15
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 30%
C 50%
R 20%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
