Solar Flare Telescope

The Solar Flare Telescope is the main observational instrument of the Solar Observatory, located in the northwestern sector of the Mitaka campas. With the latest technology, the Solar Flare Telescope observes polarized infrared light in order to precisely measure the magnetic field on the Sun over its full disk. The data are used to study the driving mechanism of solar activity cycle. The telescope also observes the photosphere of the Sun in the visible light and the chromosphere in the H-alpha light, and is monitoring long-term variations in solar activity.

The Solar Flare Telescope started observations in 1990. It was initially equipped with four telescopes (15 cm and 20 cm aperture, two of each), and observed magnetic fields, velocity fields, sunspot structures, and flares in the H-alpha light over the field of view of the size of a sunspot group. A renovation project was carried out in 2007-2010, and now it is composed of three telescopes (one 15 cm and two 12.5 cm aperture telescopes), covering the full solar disk.

All the observed data are open to the public on the web as the Solar Activity Database.

List of Publications

Dissertations

Chae Jong-Chul:

"Analysis of Solar Filter Magnetograms Using a New Algorithms for Stray Light Correction" (1995, Seoul National University)

Li Hui:

"Instrument for and Multiple Wavelength Analysis of Solar Flares" (2000, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Masaoki HAGINO:

"Magnetic Helicity of Solar Active Regions" (2004, Meisei University)

Tomohiro MAESHIRO:

"Study of Magnetic Helicity in Solar Active Regions" (2005, Hiroshima University)

Tetsuya YAMAMOTO:

"Studies of Magnetic Helicity Injection and Magnetic Free Energy in Solar Active Regions" (2007, University of Tokyo)

Magnetographs in the World