Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The study of the solar corona is a prominent focus in the field of solar physics. However, conducting ground-based observations of the corona is a challenging task due to the interference caused by the diffused sky brightness, which obscures the faint coronal signal. As a result, such observations are primarily carried out during total solar eclipses. The requirement of a sky brightness level as low as 10−6 times the Sun disk brightness (B⊙) is met by few places on Earth, and currently the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii is the only site hosting a solar observatory that satisfies this criterion. Nevertheless, another candidate coronagraphic site was discovered in the Concordia Station at Dome C plateau, Antarctica (≃ 3300m a.s.l.). In this article, we show the last results of the Extreme Solar Coronagraphy Antarctic Program Experiment (ESCAPE) during the 38th summer campaign of the Italian Piano Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (PNRA). Here we report a model for estimating the air column, which allows for the first time to account for variations in the Sun’s altitude above the horizon during different observation periods, and we use it to comparethe obtained results with previous campaigns. Our results confirm that Dome C is an ideal coronagraphic site with the required sky brightness level, reaching 1.0 − 0.7 × 10−6B⊙ in optimal conditions
Source: Solar Physics
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,890
Awards: G2676722403, G3648211085, G830101876
OpenAlex ID: W4403425801