my country's comprehensive solar exploration special satellite "Kuafu-1" - Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) was launched on October 9 at , a Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, to start a journey to detect the sun. How to explore the sun trip of
"Kuafu "? What are the abilities of this "explorer"? What information will be brought back to humanity? Let’s approach the chief scientist and development team of satellite together to unveil the five “identities” of “Kuafu-1”.
"Kuafu No. 1" diagram. (Photo provided by the satellite development team) How to explore
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"Kuafu No. 1" diagram. Photo provided by the satellite development team
What are the unique skills of "Kuafu-1"?
satellite chief scientist and researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Gan Weiqun introduced that "Kuafu-1" is equipped with three payloads, which have both combination advantages and their own characteristics and abilities. The all-day vector magnetograph equipped on
"Kuafu-1" can observe the sun's full-day vector magnetograph data, and its observation sensitivity and temporal resolution rank among the top among similar detectors in the world; the Lehmann Alpha solar telescope corresponds to the "new window" of solar observation, which may bring back brand new solar physical information; while the solar hard X-ray imager can image X-rays from 30 to 200keV energy segments, and its Fourier component is the highest among similar devices of spatial modulation.
"Kuafu-1" was launched in the early morning of October 9, 2022. Then the satellite and each stand-alone aircraft were started in sequence as planned, and then entered 4 to 6 months of in-orbit testing. During the testing period, various performance, functions, observation modes, etc. of the satellite platform and the three payloads must be tested, and in-orbit data calibration must be carried out. After the test is completed, the satellite will be officially delivered to the scientific application system management. At that time, the processed observation data and data analysis software will be opened to the public in real time, giving solar physicists around the world the opportunity to use the scientific data of "Kuafu-1" to carry out research.
"I hope that the combined observation of the three instruments can show its characteristics and skills and bring us new surprises." Gan Weiqun said.
What can "Kuafu No. 1" do?
The scientific goal of "Kuafu No. 1" is summarized as "one magnet and two storms". "One magnet" refers to solar magnetic field , and "two bursts" refer to the two most violent explosion phenomena on the sun, namely solar flare and coronal matter ejection. Understanding the connection between these three will not only help to understand how solar activity forms and evolves, but will also provide an important physical basis for predicting space weather.
In addition to doing scientific research, "Kuafu No. 1" also has the potential to become a space weather "forecaster" and "researcher" serving humans.
Broadly speaking, the flare non-thermal radiation data provided by the hard X-ray imager and the solar magnetic field information observed by the all-day vector magnetograph can provide basic data for medium- and long-term spatial weather forecast research.
"More directly speaking, the Lyman Alpha solar telescope mounted on the satellite can 'see' the scale, direction and speed of coronal mass ejection, and issue early warnings for disaster space weather events about 40 hours in advance." Gan Weiqun said.
"Kuafu No. 1" model photo. Photo provided by the development team
and " Xihe " join hands to explore the sun
In October 2021, my country has launched the first domestic solar exploration science and technology test satellite "Xihe". As both Sun Exploration satellites, what is the difference between "Kuafu-1" and "Xihe"?
Gan Weiqun explained that "Xihe" can be called the "pathfinder" of my country's Sun Explorer Project. After the successful launch, in addition to conducting ultra-high directional accuracy and ultra-high stability technical tests on the satellite platform, the main load "Hα imaging spectrometer" above has achieved the expected observation effect after a period of in-orbit debugging. Acquisition of full-day surface Hα spectral scanning imaging with high time resolution, observing and studying chromospheric dynamics, is the main feature of "Xihe".
and "Kuafu No. 1" is called the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory.It is my country's first comprehensive solar exploration special satellite, with three payloads and a total of 5 telescopes. Its main feature is to realize the combined observation of the sun's "one magnet and two storms" and multi-band and space expansion.
Two satellites work in orbit at the same time, which is very conducive to increasing the scientific output of satellites.
Why choose to embark on the journey of exploring the sun at this time?
Gan is the group introduction, and solar activity is a cycle of 11 years. The 25th solar activity cycle begins in the second half of 2020 and will continue until around 2031. The peak in this cycle is expected to occur from the second half of 2024 to the first half of 2025, when the sun's outbreaks were also the most frequent.
"Kuafu-1" was launched in 2022. It can record the process of solar activity from less to more, gradually becoming active until it reaches its peak, which is conducive to capturing more violent outbreaks.
Although human observations of the universe have now extended to 13 billion light years away, the sun is still the only star that we can study in detail so far. "Humans have a very shallow understanding of a series of activities on the sun. Space sun exploration is an important step in studying and understanding the sun, and it also has important practical significance for human beings' own survival." Gan Weiqun said.
What are the abilities of this "explorer"
Space "Attack Warden"
"The core scientific goal of 'Kuafu-1' is 'one magnet and two storms', that is, the solar magnetic field, and the two most violent explosion phenomena on the sun - solar flares and coronal matter ejection." Gan Weiqun, chief scientist of the "Kuafu-1" satellite and researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that he will take advantage of the peak year of the 25th week of solar activity (expected to be around 2024 to 2026) to observe and study the formation, interaction and relationship of "one magnet and two storms".
Gan Weiqun introduced this design not only to study the core physical phenomena of the sun more deeply, but also to be a good "early warning officer" for humans. Relying on detection in multiple bands, "Kuafu-1" can observe and track the entire process of the sun's outbreak more continuously, providing support for space disaster weather forecasts that affect human space and navigation and other high-tech activities.
On October 9, 2022, my country successfully launched the "Kuafu-1" satellite. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Wang Jiangbo)
magnetic field "scout"
magnetic field is called the "first observation measurement" in solar physics, and most of the solar activities are directly dominated by the solar magnetic field.
If the compass is placed on the sun, a very strange phenomenon will occur: in different areas, the compass points differently; even in the same area, the compass points differently at different times. The reason for this is that the solar magnetic field is much more complex than the earth magnetic field .
"When the sun bursts, the all-day vector magnetograph equipped on Kuafu One can perform high-precision imaging of the all-day magnetic field every 18 minutes, which helps to fully and accurately record the changes in the solar magnetic field, and then reconnaise and crack a series of mysteries of the release of solar energy." Zhang Haiying, chief designer of the all-day vector magnetograph load, said.
video "Exploring my country's comprehensive solar exploration satellite "Kuafu-1"" (Reporter: Lin Kai, Wang Jueyan, Reporter: Li Sitian, Zhang Kexin, Xinhua News Agency Audio and Video Department)
Observation "all-rounded"
When we imagine the sun, a yellow dazzling sphere will always appear in our minds. In fact, the sun's "face" is much richer, and it releases all wavelengths of light. In addition to visible light that can be seen by human eyes, there are gamma rays with shorter wavelengths, X-rays, ultraviolet rays, as well as infrared rays with longer wavelengths, radio waves, etc.
To see the "true face" of the sun clearly, you need to use telescopes of different bands. "Kuafu One" is a versatile player who observes the sun. It is equipped with a Lehman Alpha solar telescope and a solar hard X-ray imager, which can observe the sun from ultraviolet, visible light and X-ray bands. According to reports, the solar hard X-ray imager is like a precision "compound eye" that can accurately capture X-ray information from the sun; the Lyman Alpha solar telescope can simultaneously observe the Lyman Alpha light at the near corona within the full sun surface and 2.5 solar radius.
Metal tungsten grating of solar hard X-ray imager. Photo by Lin Kai, Xinhua News Agency reporter
Scientific research "workaholic"
From the earth, the sun rises and sets in the east, and only half of the time it takes to show its face. The "Kuafu-1" flying on the sun-synchronized morning and evening orbit about 720 kilometers high is in working condition for more than 96% of the year, which is a real "workaholic".
Usually, the load on the star is imaged every few seconds to minutes. During the solar explosion period, it can become imaged once in 1 second, and the entire process of solar activity is recorded in detail. According to Gan Weiqun, "Kuafu No. 1" can observe Japanese 24 hours a day during most of the year. From May to August every year alone, there will be a short period of time entering the shadow of the earth every day, and the longest day of "rest" does not exceed 18 minutes.
"Kuafu No. 1" Data Analysis Center. Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Kai, photographed by
. The data volume "Master"
. The total weight of "Kuafu-1" is about 859 kilograms. It is "medium" in solar detection satellites, but it is a "big eater" in throughput data. "Every day, it will accumulate and return about 500GB of data, which is equivalent to sending tens of thousands of 'high-definition large images' of the sun to the earth." Huang Yu, deputy chief chief of satellite science application systems, said that if processing and processing are included, the data produced every day will "fille" the hard drive of a home computer, which is also the "first echelon" among the global solar exploration satellites.
After these data are received and restored, they will be packaged and sent to the satellite data analysis center located at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The data accumulated by satellites in orbit in the next four years will be stored here and will be "translated" by scientific researchers to become images and materials for scientific research.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
