Katsiyannis, Thanassis

Invited talk presented at Annual Asia Oceania Geoscience Society Meeting on 2014-08-01

Abstract: PROBA2 is an ESA technology demonstration micro-satellite launched in 2009. Its science payload consists of two major instruments (SWAP & LYRA) which observe the solar corona and two in-situ (DSLP & TPMU) which measure the space environment around the satellite. SWAP is an EUV imager which observes the solar corona at a temperature of ~1 MK with a high cadence (~1 image per min), a field-of-view of 54 arcmin and a number of cutting-edge space technologies (namely an APS detector, advanced data compressing techniques, on-board data prioritisation algorithms, etc). LYRA is a UV irradiance radiometer that observes the Sun in four passbands at an extremely high cadence of up to 100 Hz. It is consisted of three redundant units, each having a full suit of the four passband detectors. As with SWAP, LYRA also features a number of advanced technologies as it is the first space instrument utilising bandgap detectors based on diamonds. A number of very meaningful scientific advances obtained by PROBA2's main instruments will be presented during this talk. The study of solar eruptions (such as Lyman-alpha flares and coronal mass ejections), and the observation of the results of magnetic reconnection events are some typical examples of the very substantial contribution that the aforementioned instruments have made. Their relevance and their implications to solar physics and space weather will also be extensively discussed.

Keyword(s): PROBA2
Funding: 2STCE-LYRA/2STCE-LYRA/2STCE-LYRA