Taiwan Oscillation Network and Small-Telescope Research at Tsing Hua University

Abstract

AbstractTwo projects, the Taiwan Oscillation Network (TON) project and the earthshine project, at Tsing Hua University will be discussed. The TON is a ground-based network to measure solar intensity oscillations to study the solar interior. Four telescopes have been installed in Tenerife (Spain), Big Bear (USA), Huairou (PRC), and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). The recent scientific results from the TON data will be briefly discussed. The earthshine project is to measure the brightness of the dark portion of the lunar disk to obtain the Earth’s global albedo. The dark portion of the Moon is lit by the sunlight reflected from the Earth. The global albedo is linked to the global temperature of the Earth. The long-term measurement of earthshine will provide information on the long-term variation of the global temperature. An automated earthshine telescope is being developed at Tsing Hua University. It will be installed at Lulin Mountain in central Taiwan. The ultimate goal is to build a ground-based global network to measure the long-term variation of earthshine to learn about the long-term variation of the global temperature.