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The Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph (LASCO)

Visible light coronal imaging and spectroscopy

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Abstract

The Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph (LASCO) is a three coronagraph package which has been jointly developed for the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission by the Naval Research Laboratory (USA), the Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale (France), the Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie (Germany), and the University of Birmingham (UK). LASCO comprises three coronagraphs, C1, C2, and C3, that together image the solar corona from 1.1 to 30 R⊙ (C1: 1.1 – 3 R⊙, C2: 1.5 – 6 R⊙, and C3: 3.7 – 30 R⊙). The C1 coronagraph is a newly developed mirror version of the classic internally-occulted Lyot coronagraph, while the C2 and C3 coronagraphs are externally occulted instruments. High-resolution imaging spectroscopy of the corona from 1.1 to 3 R⊙ can be performed with the Fabry-Perot interferometer in C1. High-volume memories and a high-speed microprocessor enable extensive on-board image processing. Image compression by a factor of about 10 will result in the transmission of 10 full images per hour.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. E. O. Hulburt Center for Space Research, Naval Research Laboratory, 20375-5320, Washington D.C., USA

    G. E. Brueckner, R. A. Howard, M. J. Koomen, C. M. Korendyke, D. J. Michels, J. D. Moses, D. G. Socker & K. P. Dere

  2. Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale, Marseille, France

    P. L. Lamy, A. Llebaria & M. V. Bout

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie, Lindau, Germany

    R. Schwenn

  4. Space Research Group, School of Physics and Space Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, U.K.

    G. M. Simnett, D. K. Bedford & C. J. Eyles

Authors
  1. G. E. Brueckner
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  2. R. A. Howard
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  3. M. J. Koomen
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  4. C. M. Korendyke
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  5. D. J. Michels
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  6. J. D. Moses
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  7. D. G. Socker
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  8. K. P. Dere
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  9. P. L. Lamy
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  10. A. Llebaria
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  11. M. V. Bout
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  12. R. Schwenn
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  13. G. M. Simnett
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  14. D. K. Bedford
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  15. C. J. Eyles
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Brueckner, G.E., Howard, R.A., Koomen, M.J. et al. The Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph (LASCO). Sol Phys 162, 357–402 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00733434

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00733434

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