Investigation of the Physical Properties of Erupting Solar Prominences, Phase II.

摘要

The Prominence Magnetometer (ProMag) is a dual-channel, dual-beam spectro-polarimeter designed by the High Altitude Observatory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (HAO/NCAR) for the study of the magnetism of solar prominences and filaments with the ultimate goal of predicting prominence activation and eruptions. It was deployed in August 2009 at the 40-cm coronagraph of the Evans Solar Facility (ESF) of the National Solar Observatory on Sacramento Peak (NSO/SP). For two years HAO staff operated the instrument in campaign mode , in which a two week observing campaign ran once per quarter. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research funded a three-year program to run the instrument in synoptic mode , in which data is taken daily on many prominences. In this report we summarize progress towards the goals of this three-year program. Dr. J. Lewis Fox became the ProMag Observing Scientist in residence at Sacramento Peak, August 2011 as a postdoctoral research associate funded through the AFOSR program and employed by the National Solar Observatory. Since that time Dr. Fox has completed a redesign of the instrument. Data reduction software, including polarimetric calibration is now nearly complete. He has carried out two years of routine observations, resulting in the observation of hundreds of prominences and filaments and trained two observers to carry out ProMag observations independently.