Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
This volume on the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) mission continues a Solar Physics tradition of special topical issues dedicated to major solar space missions. As one element of NASA's Earth Observing System, SORCE is a satellite carrying four instruments to measure the solar radiation incident at the top of the Earth's atmosphere. These observations are improving our understanding and generating new inquiry regarding how and why solar variability occurs and how it affects our atmosphere and climate. The SORCE mission is a joint effort between NASA and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado. The mission is a Principal Investigator-led mission under the direction of Dr. Gary Rottman from LASP. LASP developed, calibrated, and tested the four science instruments before integrating them onto a spacecraft procured from Orbital Sciences Corporation. The SORCE instruments include the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM), the Spec tral Irradiance Monitor (SIM), two Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experi ments (SOLSTICE), and the XUV Photometer System (XPS). The TIM instrument continues the precise measurements of total solar irradiance (TSI) that first began in 1978. SORCE also provides measurements of the solar spectral irradiance (SSI) from 1 to 2000 nm with its other instruments. The Sun has both direct and indirect influences on the terrestrial system, and SORCE's comprehensive total and spec tral solar measurements are providing the requisite understanding of this important climate system variable."
Synopsis
The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) Mission for the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS).- The SORCE Mission.- SORCE Contributions to New Understanding of Global Change and Solar Variability.- An Overview of the Disposition of Solar Radiation in the Lower Atmosphere: Connections to the SORCE Mission and Climate Change.- The SORCE Spacecraft and Operations.- The Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM): Instrument Design.- The Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM): Instrument Calibration.- The Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM): Science Results.- The Spectral Irradiance Monitor: Scientific Requirements, Instrument Design, and Operation Modes.- The Spectral Irradiance Monitor: Measurement Equations and Calibration.- The Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM): Early Observations.- Solar-Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment II (SOLSTICE II): Instrument Concept and Design.- Solar-Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment II (SOLSTICE II): Pre-Launch and On-Orbit Calibrations.- Solar-Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment II (SOLSTICE II): Examination of the Solar-Stellar Comparison Technique.- The Mg II Index from SORCE.- XUV Photometer System (XPS): Overview and Calibrations.- XUV Photometer System (XPS): Solar Variations During the SORCE Mission.- The SORCE Science Data System.
Synopsis
This book describes the state-of-the art instruments for measuring the solar irradiance from soft x-ray to the near infrared and the total solar irradiance. Furthermore, the SORCE mission and early results on solar variability are presented along with papers that provide an overview of solar influences on Earth. This collection of papers provides the only detailed description of the SORCE mission and its instruments.