Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) is a

solar observatory A solar observatory is an observatory that specializes in monitoring the Sun. As such, they usually have one or more solar telescopes. The Einstein Tower was a solar observatory in the Albert Einstein Science Park in Potsdam, Germany. Solar ...

located on the slopes of

Mauna Loa Mauna Loa ( or ; Hawaiian: ; en, Long Mountain) is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The largest subaerial volcano (as opposed to subaqueous volcanoes) in both mass and ...

on the island of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

. It is operated by the

High Altitude Observatory The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) conducts research and provides support and facilities for the solar-terrestrial physics research community in the areas of solar and heliospheric physics, and the effects of solar variability on the Earth's ma ...

(HAO), a laboratory within the

National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundatio ...

(NCAR). The MLSO sits on property managed by the

Mauna Loa Observatory The Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) is an atmospheric baseline station on Mauna Loa, on the island of Hawaii, located in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The observatory Since 1958, initially under the direction of Charles Keeling, followed by his s ...

(MLO), which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA). MLSO was built in 1965. The MLSO is tasked with monitoring the solar atmosphere and recording data on plasmic and energetic emissions from the chromosphere and

corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

. Studies of

coronal mass ejection A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and other forms of solar activity, but a broadly accept ...

s (CMEs) are also conducted at MLSO. A number of non-solar

astronomical observatories An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

are located at the site. The MLSO instruments record images of the solar disk and limb every 3 minutes for 3–10 hours daily starting at 17:00 UT, weather permitting.

Instruments

Current instruments

* The Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (CoMP) monitors the magnetic field in the corona by recording the strength and polarization of light received from corona. * The K-cor

coronagraph A coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright glare – can be resolved. Most coronagraphs are intended to view t ...

is the 5 generation instrument to produces polarization maps of the corona observed in white light.

Former instruments

* The Precision Solar Photometric Telescope (PSPT) produces highly accurate images of the photosphere at five different wavelengths. * The Mark-IV K-Coronameter (Mk4) produces polarization maps of the corona observed in white light. * The Advanced Coronal Observing System (ACOS) is a set of instruments for monitoring the chromosphere on a shared mount. * The Coronado Solarmax 60 (CS60) is a small refractor built by

Meade Instruments The Meade Instruments (also shortened to Meade) is an American multinational company headquartered in Watsonville, California, that manufactures, imports, and distributes telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, CCD cameras, and te ...

which provides

H-alpha H-alpha (Hα) is a specific deep-red visible spectral line A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared wit ...

disk and limb images. * Chromospheric Helium-I Imaging Photometer (CHIP) observes at a wavelength which is an

emission line A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to identi ...

for non-ionized

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

(He I) in order to monitor the chromosphere. * The Polarimeter for Inner Coronal Studies (PICS) produced H-alpha disk and limb digital images from 1994 to 1997. It was replaced by the CS60. * The Digital Prominence Monitor (DPM) produced H-alpha disk and limb digital images from 1994 to 1997. It was replaced by the PICS. * The Prominence Monitor (PMON) produced H-alpha disk and limb images on film from 1980 to 1994. It was replaced by the DPM. * The Mark-III K-Coronameter (Mk3) operated from 1980 to 1998, and was replaced by the MK4. * The Mark-II K-Coronameter (MK2), named the Coronal Activity Monitor, operated from 1968 to 1980. It was developed specifically for study of minute-to-minute transient coronal phenomena. * The Mark-I K-Coronameter (MK1) was brought over from Haleakala in 1965 (where the observing program had been carried out in collaboration with the University of Hawaii), and operated on Mauna Loa until 1968.

References

External links

High Altitude Observatory

National Center for Atmospheric Research
{{Portal bar, Hawaii, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Mauna Loa Astronomical observatories in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Hawaii County, Hawaii Solar observatories

Instruments

Current instruments

Former instruments

See also

References

External links