Abstract
The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) is a ground-based observatory for observations of the solar atmosphere featuring an unprecedented entrance aperture of four meters. To address its demanding scientific goals, DKIST features innovative and state-of-the-art instrument subsystems that are fully integrated with the facility and designed to be capable of operating mostly simultaneously. An important component of DKIST’s first-light instrument suite is the Visible Broadband Imager (VBI). The VBI is an imaging instrument that aims to acquire images of the solar photosphere and chromosphere with high spatial resolution and high temporal cadence to investigate the to-date smallest detectable features and their dynamics in the solar atmosphere. VBI observations of unprecedented spatial resolution ultimately will be able to inform modern numerical models and thereby allow new insights into the physics of the plasma motion at the smallest scales measurable by DKIST. The VBI was designed to deliver images at various wavelengths and at the diffraction limit of DKIST. The diffraction limit is achieved by using adaptive optics in conjunction with post-facto image-reconstruction techniques to remove residual effects of the terrestrial atmosphere. The first images of the VBI demonstrate that DKIST’s optical system enables diffraction-limited imaging across a large field of view of various layers in the solar atmosphere. These images allow a first glimpse at the exciting scientific discoveries that will be possible with DKIST’s VBI.
Highlights
The Rapid Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere (ROSA) instrument at the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) in Sunspot, New Mexico, USA is an imaging instrument that employs multiple high-speed cameras, with the capability to operate at specific wavelengths that are fixed during the observation (Jess et al, 2010)
This is true even if one cycle has a different number of Data Set Parameters (DSP) units from the other. This means that each unit is waittime padded to match the longest DSP unit in both cycles. While this mode ensures the same cadence for all DSP units, which is beneficial for certain scientific use cases such as those related to measuring oscillations, it has the potential of significantly decreasing the Visible Broadband Imager (VBI)’s data-acquisition duty cycle
The VBI as part of the first-light instrument suite of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) project pushes the envelope of imaging instruments in several aspects, be it in regards to optical elements such as, e.g., 145 Page 20 of 25
Summary
Each of the two VBI channels is capable of switching to any one of four wavelengths within 3.2 seconds using a high-speed filter wheel, allowing the creation of time series of interleaved observations at different diagnostics of the solar atmosphere. This allows addressing many unanswered scientific questions related to details of the morphology of the plasma in the solar atmosphere and its dynamic behavior. The Rapid Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere (ROSA) instrument at the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) in Sunspot, New Mexico, USA is an imaging instrument that employs multiple high-speed cameras, with the capability to operate at specific wavelengths that are fixed during the observation (Jess et al, 2010). We describe examples of the scientific questions that the VBI intends to address, and we explain its design and operational features in more detail
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