NSSDCA ID: 1973-027A-05
Mission Name: SkylabThe objectives of this experiment, located in the Apollo Telescope Mount, were to observe images of the sun and X-ray emissions of flares in the 2-60 A range with high spatial (about 2 arc-s), spectral (delta-lambda/lambda=0.02), and temporal resolution, use selective filters and a transmission grating to obtain spectral information, and follow the evolution of active areas and correlate X-ray emissions with solar events observed in ultraviolet and visible light. X-ray sources were imaged with mirror optics utilizing very flat angles of incidence below about 0.5 deg. This experiment used two cylindrical, coaxial mirrors of this kind with diameters of 31 and 23 cm, with a total collecting area of 42 sq cm, and with a focal length of 213 cm. The transmission grating was mounted behind the rear end of the cylindrical mirrors; it produced first-order spectra on both sides of the zero-order image of a source. A filter wheel mechanism permitted the insertion of selective filters into the path of the X-rays, thus providing broadband spectral filtering of the flux. A 7.6-cm diameter, coaxial X-ray mirror produced an X-ray image of the sun on a scintillator crystal, where it was sensed by the photocathode of an image dissector tube. The output of this tube was used for a visual display on the ATM console. X-ray images were recorded on 70-mm film. A photomultiplier tube, oriented toward the sun, measured the total solar X-ray flux; when a preset level was exceeded, an alarm for the astronauts was given. The signal from this tube also served as a reference for the exposure setting of the film camera on the main telescope. For additional information, see R. Tousey, App. Opt., v. 16, p. 828, 1977.
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Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Giuseppe S. Vaiana | Principal Investigator | Harvard College Observatory | |
Dr. Allen S. Krieger | Principal Investigator | AS&E, Inc |