ESCAPE : a first step to high resolution solar coronagraphy in Antarctica

• Published in: EAS Publications Series
• Main Authors: Damé, Luc, Abe, L., Faurobert, M., Fineschi, S., Kuzin, S., Lamy, Philippe, Meftah, Mustapha, Vives, S.
• Other Authors: HELIOS - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino (OATo), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Laboratory for solar X-ray Astronomy of the Sun, P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow (LPI RAS), Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow (RAS)-Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow (RAS), Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR]; [PHYS.ASTR.SR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR]; Antarctic; Paul-Emile Victor; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00717398; https://doi.org/10.1051/eas/1255050

4th French-Chinese Meeting on Solar Physics Understanding Solar Activity: Advances and Challenges, 4th French-Chinese, Nice, France. International audience The Dome C high plateau is unique for coronagraphic observations: sky brightness is reduced, water vapour is low, seeing is excellent and continuity of observations on several weeks is possible. ESCAPE (the Extreme Solar Coronagraphy Antarctic Program Experiment) will perform 2-dimensional spectroscopy of the forbidden line of FeXIV at 530.285 nm: precise line profile analysis will allow the diagnostic of the nature of waves by simultaneous measurements of velocities and intensities in the corona. ESCAPE is proposed to Institut Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV) for a campaign in 2012-2013 at Dome C/Concordia since all subsystems are available in particular thanks to an ESA STARTIGER 2010 R&D "Toward a New Generation of Formation Flying Coronagraph". Using state-of-the-art technologies developed for Space missions (a Three Mirrors Anastigmat telescope, the TMA, a 4 stages Liquid Crystal Tunable-filter Polarimeter, the LCTP) allows us to propose an automated Coronal Green Line full-field Polarimeter for unique observations (waves nature and intensity to address coronal heating) with the best possible performances on Earth and for preparing and testing the technologies for the next steps in Space. No other site would allow such coronagraphic performances (the sky brightness is a factor 2 to 4 better than in Hawaï) and with high spatial resolution (better than an arcsec is possible).