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Session 56 - New Solar Instrumentation.
Display session, Wednesday, June 12
Tripp Commons,
The Precision Solar Photometric Telescopes Program (PSPT) is a community based activity to develop a network of 2 or 3 small aperture telescopes for obtaining accurate solar differential photometry. This effort is centered at the National Solar Observatory (Sunspot, NM) and is funded by the NSF Atmospheric Radiative Inputs of the Sun to Earth (RISE) program and the Astronomy Division. The PSPT is a small, low-scattered-light refracting telescope consisting of a 15-cm doublet objective, a magnetostrictive tip-tilt mirror for fast guiding, a .25nm band-pass CaK filter (393.3nm), two continuum filters and a 2048x2048 CCD camera. The PSPTs will provide full-disk images at 0.1precision to allow detailed study of the total solar irradiance variation at various temporal scales. These instruments will operate as a multiple station network to allow occasional long unbroken time-series of photometry. The network will produce photometrically calibrated solar images sufficient for detailed study of photospheric features such as limb-darkening, faculae, sunspots and plages. RISE/PSPT will also provide precise measurements of sunspot coordinates, umbral and penumbral areas, and contrasts. The overall design of the PSPT will be described. Recent developments, test results, and an outline of expected data products will be presented.