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Engineers have created a lens that will revolutionize solar flares.
Engineers have created an optical element of only six millimeters in size, which in terms of accuracy of measuring the magnetic fields of the Sun was able to compete with a large NASA satellite. The development could simplify space telescopes, reduce mission costs, and help track solar flares and plasma emissions faster than disrupt power grids, satellites and communications.
The device was developed by the team of the University of California at San Diego in conjunction with BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. At the heart is the metasurface - a flat optical component with nanostructures capable of controlling light in ways inaccessible to conventional lenses and mirrors. The component simultaneously separates and analyzes different polarization channels of light, so the telescope receives more data in one image.
Previously, such solutions were more often laboratory demonstrators. In preparation for space missions, the miniature lens was subjected to rigorous vibration tests and extreme temperatures. The inspections were completed successfully, after which the device was recognized as suitable for work in space.
Observing the Sun's magnetic fields helps predict coronal mass ejections and other dangerous cosmic weather phenomena. Modern space telescopes usually take a series of images, each time mechanically turning the optical element, and then combine frames programmatically. The approach works slowly, requires complex stabilization and does not tolerate even the weak vibrations of the device. According to one of the authors of Noah Rubin’s work, stabilization systems are often more expensive than the telescope itself.
The new metasurface removes movable parts from the circuit. The component simultaneously divides the incoming sunlight into several polarization channels and collects magnetic data in one frame. A higher shooting speed allows you to record the processes that previous devices did not have time to register.
To test the technology, the researchers built a metasurface into a homemade telescope and conducted observations at the Danna Solar Observatory in New Mexico. During the experiment, sunlight hit the mirror on top of the tower 136 feet high, passed 228 feet underground, reflected back to the surface and then walked through a six-millimeter component. The miniature lens has successfully constructed a map of magnetic fields inside active sunspots.
Scientists have compared the results with the data of the orbital Observatory Solar Dynamics Observatory NASA. The measurements were almost identical, so the six-millimeter component showed the level of a large scientific satellite. After five years of development and funding from NASA, the team applied for further study of the concept of the space mission. If approved, the compact device will be able to go into orbit and become part of a new generation of solar telescopes. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
Engineers have created an optical element of only six millimeters in size, which in terms of accuracy of measuring the magnetic fields of the Sun was able to compete with a large NASA satellite. The development could simplify space telescopes, reduce mission costs, and help track solar flares and plasma emissions faster than disrupt power grids, satellites and communications.
The device was developed by the team of the University of California at San Diego in conjunction with BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. At the heart is the metasurface - a flat optical component with nanostructures capable of controlling light in ways inaccessible to conventional lenses and mirrors. The component simultaneously separates and analyzes different polarization channels of light, so the telescope receives more data in one image.
Previously, such solutions were more often laboratory demonstrators. In preparation for space missions, the miniature lens was subjected to rigorous vibration tests and extreme temperatures. The inspections were completed successfully, after which the device was recognized as suitable for work in space.
Observing the Sun's magnetic fields helps predict coronal mass ejections and other dangerous cosmic weather phenomena. Modern space telescopes usually take a series of images, each time mechanically turning the optical element, and then combine frames programmatically. The approach works slowly, requires complex stabilization and does not tolerate even the weak vibrations of the device. According to one of the authors of Noah Rubin’s work, stabilization systems are often more expensive than the telescope itself.
The new metasurface removes movable parts from the circuit. The component simultaneously divides the incoming sunlight into several polarization channels and collects magnetic data in one frame. A higher shooting speed allows you to record the processes that previous devices did not have time to register.
To test the technology, the researchers built a metasurface into a homemade telescope and conducted observations at the Danna Solar Observatory in New Mexico. During the experiment, sunlight hit the mirror on top of the tower 136 feet high, passed 228 feet underground, reflected back to the surface and then walked through a six-millimeter component. The miniature lens has successfully constructed a map of magnetic fields inside active sunspots.
Scientists have compared the results with the data of the orbital Observatory Solar Dynamics Observatory NASA. The measurements were almost identical, so the six-millimeter component showed the level of a large scientific satellite. After five years of development and funding from NASA, the team applied for further study of the concept of the space mission. If approved, the compact device will be able to go into orbit and become part of a new generation of solar telescopes. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
