We are developing a new etalon-based spectrometer 'HELLRIDE' for the Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT), Tenerife. It will offer improved performance over existing devices in a number of operational aspects. Primary development goal has been increasing the number of spectral lines for the simultaneous recording of solar Doppler shifts. Observations may cover a large field-of-view at high spatial and temporal resolution. New electromagnetic drive technologies are to be implemented. A focus will be set to achieve thermal stability with respect to spectroscopic drifts and pointing precision. All aspects of device operation are to be covered by a numerical model allowing for offline testing and offline observations simulation. Remote operation options will be available for dedicated observational programs. The new instrument is foreseen to be used for the analysis of energy transfers within the solar atmosphere. The helioseismological and kinetic aspects of chromospheric and coronal heating are here of special interest. To allow for synchronized observations of photospheric and coronal phenomena new procedures are under development to improve co-alignment of ground-based and space-based telescopes. HELLRIDE stands for HELioseismological Large Regions Interferometric DEvice.

Date Published: 24 September 2012
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 844675 (24 September 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.926295

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8446:
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV
Ian S. McLean; Suzanne K. Ramsay; Hideki Takami, Editor(s)