Publication detail

Low Earth Orbit determination in small satellite mission proposal for corona observation of close solar surface region

BARTONĚK, J. LAZAR, V. MALANÍK, P. RYDLO, Š. LÁZNIČKA, T. POPELA, R. DRUCKMÜLLER, M.

English title

Low Earth Orbit determination in small satellite mission proposal for corona observation of close solar surface region

Type

WoS Article

Language

en

Original abstract

A space-based observation of the solar corona is currently done in multiple wavelengths including visible, extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and x-ray. White light coronagraph observations are restricted to regions beyond 1 RꙨ above the solar surface, while EUV remains blind above 0.25 RꙨ. White light corona images close to the solar surface limb may be documented during terrestrial total eclipse observations. These occur once in one to two years and are burdened with light scattering background caused by Earth's atmosphere. In this document, we propose a space-based small satellite mission which would have the advantage of performing white light corona observations under 2 RꙨ. The observation is done from Low Earth Orbit, utilizing the lunar limb to occult the solar disc during the artificial orbit-determined total eclipse. We present a list of the potential observation orbits, each with a single, yet unique observation opportunity. We extend the concurrent terrestrial options by finding extra space-based total eclipses. Observation requirements show that such a challenging mission would be achievable with the relatively affordable 6U CubeSat spacecraft.

Keywords in English

Eclipses, Space mission, CubeSat, Orbital mechanics, Sun: corona

Released

2022-11-29

ISSN

0094-5765

Journal

ACTA ASTRONAUTICA

Volume

203

Number

Feb. 2023

Pages from–to

202–213

Pages count

12

BIBTEX


@article{BUT180427,
  author="Jaroslav {Bartoněk} and Václav {Lazar} and Petr {Malaník} and Štěpán {Rydlo} and Tomáš {Láznička} and Robert {Popela} and Miloslav {Druckmüller}",
  title="Low Earth Orbit determination in small satellite mission proposal for
corona observation of close solar surface region",
  journal="ACTA ASTRONAUTICA",
  year="2022",
  volume="203",
  number="Feb. 2023",
  pages="202--213",
  doi="10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.11.052",
  issn="0094-5765",
  url="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576522006592?dgcid=coauthor"
}