Overview
- Researchers will operate the Circular Slit Spectrometer (CISS) during the total solar eclipse on Wednesday, August 12, at the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory in Spain to perform a decisive on-sky test.
- CISS uses a circular slit to capture the spectrum of the entire solar corona at a fixed radius in a single photograph, a change from conventional linear slits that scan the corona line by line.
- The team finished final laboratory work in Padua and transported the assembled prototype by road to Spain to avoid disassembly and flight delays, stressing that precise timing and good weather are essential for the brief totality window.
- If the prototype proves the optical principle, scientists say the technique could be adapted for a spaceborne spectrometer to monitor the corona more continuously, replacing slow multi-hour scans such as those done by UVCS on SOHO.
- Results from the August 12 observation are pending and will determine whether CISS can deliver minute-scale spectral maps of coronal changes and thus improve early warning of solar effects on communications and power systems on Earth.