FIRST IMAGES FROM THE FOCUSING OPTICS X-RAY SOLAR IMAGER
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)
- National Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka (Japan)
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL (United States)
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS)/JAXA, Sagamihara (Japan)
- Solar-Terrestial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Nagoya (Japan)
- Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan)
- Air Force Research Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) sounding rocket payload flew for the first time on 2012 November 2, producing the first focused images of the Sun above 5 keV. To enable hard X-ray (HXR) imaging spectroscopy via direct focusing, FOXSI makes use of grazing-incidence replicated optics combined with fine-pitch solid-state detectors. On its first flight, FOXSI observed several targets that included active regions, the quiet Sun, and a GOES-class B2.7 microflare. This Letter provides an introduction to the FOXSI instrument and presents its first solar image. These data demonstrate the superiority in sensitivity and dynamic range that is achievable with a direct HXR imager with respect to previous, indirect imaging methods, and illustrate the technological readiness for a spaceborne mission to observe HXRs from solar flares via direct focusing optics.
- OSTI ID:
- 22364961
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 793, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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