Observatoire de Paris Institut national de recherche scientifique français Univerité Pierre et Marie Curie Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7

Exploring impulsive energy release in the solar atmosphere using focusing optics X-ray observations

mercredi 20 novembre 2019, par Sophie Musset (University of Minnesota, USA)

Jeudi 28 novembre 2019 à 14h00 , Lieu : Salle de rĂ©union du bâtiment 14

The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) is a sounding rocket experiment designed to demonstrate focusing imaging and spectroscopy of the solar hard X-ray emission, in order to study the fundamental processes of energy release in the solar corona. Previous solar-dedicated hard X-ray instruments have used indirect, Fourier-based imaging techniques with limited dynamic range and sensitivity. Due to recent technological advances, focusing optics for hard X-rays are now available and have been optimized and demonstrated for solar observations with the FOXSI sounding rocket experiment. This has made it possible to observe faint coronal sources of hard X-ray emission near sources of energy release. The FOXSI rockets flew three times in 2012, 2014 and 2018. I will present the FOXSI sounding rocket design and the technological achievements and scientific observations realized during the past three flights. I will then present the future missions proposing focusing optics for solar X-ray observations with a particular focus on the fourth flight of the FOXSI sounding rocket and the FIERCE Mid-Explorer mission which have been proposed to NASA this year, and the scientific return expected from these observations.