First Light Infrared Observations with the 1.6 Meter Solar Telescope in Big Bear: Origins of Space Weather Telescope

Abstract

Abstract : In early 2009 at Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), first light science observations were made with BBSO's New Solar Telescope (NST), which is a 1.6 m clear aperture, off-axis telescope. The NST is the first facility-class solar telescope built in the U.S. in a generation. Earlier AFOSR support was critical in bringing the telescope to fruition, as well AFOSR funding paid for much of the post-focus hardware for measuring magnetic fields. Such measurements are critical in our efforts to probe the origin of space weather events. Early in the summer observing season of 2010, light was brought to the Coude Lab on the floor beneath the telescope. There the new telescope feeds its light to its operational 97 actuator DM based AO system, which in turn feeds Halpha, white light, G-band, TiO and the infrared imaging magnetograph (IRIM). Halpha is for chromospheric studies, while G-band and TiO are for the study of small scale photospheric features. IRIM is a Fabry-Perot based system for measuring the magnetic field in near infrared (IR), as well as the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS). FISS is a dual channel spectrograph for scanning two spectral lines for altitude resolution.