The SORCE Mission

The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite carries four scientific instruments that measure the solar radiation at the top of the Earth's atmosphere. The mission is an important flight component of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), which in turn is the major observational and scientific element of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The scientific objectives of SORCE are to make daily measurements of the total solar irradiance and of spectral solar irradiance from 120 to 2000 nm with additional measurements of the energetic X-rays. Solar radiation provides the dominant energy source for the Earth system and detailed understanding of its variation is essential for atmospheric and climate studies. SORCE was launched on January 25, 2003 and has an expected lifetime through the next solar minimum in about 2007. The spacecraft and all instruments have operated flawlessly during the first 2 years, and this paper provides an overview of the mission and discusses the contributions that SORCE is making to improve understanding of the Sun's influence on the Earth environment.     

The SORCE Science Data System

The SORCE Science Data System produces total solar irradiance (TSI) and spectral solar irradiance (SSI) data products on a daily basis, which are formulated using measurements from the four primary instruments onboard the SORCE spacecraft. The Science Data System utilizes raw spacecraft and instrument telemetry, calibration data, and other ancillary information to produce and distribute a variety of data products that have been corrected for all known instrumental and operational effects. SORCE benefits from a highly optimized object-oriented data processing system in which all data are stored in a commercial relational database system, and the software itself determines the versions of data products at run-time. This unique capability facilitates optimized data storage and CPU utilization during reprocessing activities by requiring only new data versions to be generated and stored. This paper provides an overview of the SORCE data processing system, details its design, implementation, and operation, and provides details on how to access SORCE science data products.     

The SORCE Spacecraft and Operations

The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment, SORCE, is a satellite carrying four scientific instruments that measure the total solar irradiance and the spectral irradiance from the ultraviolet to the infrared. The instruments were all developed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The spacecraft carrying and accommodating the instruments was developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia. It is three-axis stabilized with a control system to point the instruments at the Sun, as well as the stars for calibration. SORCE was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 25 January 2003 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket. The anticipated lifetime is 5 years, with a goal of 6 years. SORCE is operated from the Mission Operations Center at LASP where all data are collected, processed, and distributed. This paper describes the SORCE spacecraft, integration and test, mission operations, and ground data system.     

Comparison of TSI from SORCE TIM with SFO Ground-Based Photometry

Total solar irradiance (TSI) measurements have been available from the TIM instrument on the SORCE spacecraft since 2003. We compare TSI data, both 24-h and 6-h averages, with photometric indices from red and K-line images obtained on a daily basis at the San Fernando Observatory (SFO). For 1253 days of data from 2 March 2003 to 5 May 2010 we compare the data in linear multiple regression analyses. The best results come from using two photometric indices, the red and K-line photometric sums, and SORCE TSI 6-h averages interpolated to the SFO time of observation. For this case, we obtain a coefficient of multiple determination, R ², of 0.9495 and a quiet-Sun irradiance S ₀?=?1360.810?±?0.004?W?m^?2. These results provide further support for the hypothesis that the quiet Sun is constant over time.     

Comparison of Solar UV Spectral Irradiance from SUSIM and SORCE

Knowledge of solar spectral irradiance (SSI) is important in determining the impact of solar variability on climate. Observations of UV SSI have been made by the Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), the Solar-Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE), and the Solar Irradiance Monitor (SIM), both on the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite. Measurements by SUSIM and SORCE overlapped from 2003 to 2005. SUSIM and SORCE observations represent ～?20 years of absolute UV SSI. Unfortunately, significant differences exist between these two data sets. In particular, changes in SORCE UV SSI measurements, gathered at moderate and minimum solar activity, are a factor of two greater than the changes in SUSIM observations over the entire solar cycle. In addition, SORCE UV SSI have a substantially different relationship with the Mg ii index than did earlier UV SSI observations. Acceptance of these new SORCE results impose significant changes on our understanding of UV SSI variation. Alternatively, these differences in UV SSI observations indicate that some or all of these instruments have changes in instrument responsivity that are not fully accounted for by the current calibration. In this study, we compare UV SSI changes from SUSIM with those from SIM and SOLSTICE. The primary results are that (1) long-term observations by SUSIM and SORCE generally do not agree during the overlap period (2003?–?2005), (2) SUSIM observations during this overlap period are consistent with an SSI model based on Mg ii and early SUSIM SSI, and (3) when comparing the spectral irradiance for times of similar solar activity on either side of solar minimum, SUSIM observations show slight differences while the SORCE observations show variations that increase with time between spectra. Based on this work, we conclude that the instrument responsivity for SOLSTICE and SIM need to be reevaluated before these results can be used for climate-modeling studies.     

Effect of Spectral Resolution on the Mg II Index as a Measure of Solar Variability

The solar Mgii core-to-wing ratio is a useful index of UV variability throughout the solar cycle because it has been measured since 1978 in a series of successive satellite missions: Nimbus 7, Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME), the NOAA 9–14 series, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), and ERS-2. Eventual construction of a single time series from 1978 to the present by combining these measurements will give a long record of almost daily UV variability to serve as a surrogate for estimating both UV and EUV solar radiation. Here we address the effect of spectral resolution on determination of both long-term and short-term solar variability from this index. We use UARS/SOLSTICE measurements of the Mgii line from October 1991 to December 1996 to study the effect of two spectral resolution regimes characteristic of existing measurements, 0.20 to 0.25 nm and 1.10 to 1.15 nm, on determination of the amplitude of 27-day rotational modulation and the more gradual change in chromospheric radiation in the declining phase of solar cycle 22. The two Mgii indices give solar variations that differ by a scaling factor of 2× for both the solar cycle change from 1992 to 1997 and the amplitude of 27-day modulation over the same period. Both types of measurements appear to yield solar signal equally well except at solar minimum when the solar changes become quite small.     

The solar Ca II K index and the Mg II core-to-wing ratio

The 1 index of the solar Ca II K line is compared with the core-to-wing ratio of satellite measurements of the Mg II h and k lines. The correlation coefficient r = 0.976 for the Nimbus-7 Mg II ratio during solar cycle 21 andr = 0.99 for the NOAA9 Mg II ratio in cycle 22. Linear regression analysis for the full dynamic range of both data sets is used to combine the Nimbus-7 and NOAA9 Mg II data. These relations permit the ground-based Ca K index to estimate the solar UV flux.     

The 2800 Mg II emission doublet in the spectra of cool stars

Erevan Polytechnic Institute. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 111–120, January–February, 1989.     

Spectroheliograms in the Mg II line at 2795.5 Å

A rocket-borne spectroheliograph designed to take monochromatic pictures of the sun in the Mgii line at 2795.5 Å was successfully launched from White Sands Missile Range on May 20, 1968. A double ?olc birefringent filter with a spectral bandpass of 2.1 Å was used to select the proper wavelength. Pinhole photographs in the soft X-ray region were also secured in the same flight. The Mgii and X-ray photographs are compared with simultaneous Caii and Hα spectroheliograms, radiomaps at 9.1 cm and 3.3 cm, a Fraunhofer map and a magnetogram and some preliminary results are discussed.     

XUV Photometer System (XPS): Solar Variations during the SORCE Mission

The solar soft X-ray (XUV) radiation is important for upper atmosphere studies as it is one of the primary energy inputs and is highly variable. The XUV Photometer System (XPS) aboard the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) has been measuring the solar XUV irradiance since March 2003 with a time cadence of 10 s and with about 70% duty cycle. The XPS measurements are between 0.1 and 34 nm and additionally the bright hydrogen emission at 121.6 nm. The XUV radiation varies by a factor of ∼2 with a period of ∼27 days that is due to the modulation of the active regions on the rotating Sun. The SORCE mission has observed over 20 solar rotations during the declining phase of solar cycle 23. The solar XUV irradiance also varies by more than a factor of 10 during the large X-class flares observed during the May–June 2003, October–November 2003, and July 2004 solar storm periods. There were 7 large X-class flares during the May–June 2003 storm period, 11 X-class flares during the October–November 2003 storm period, and 6 X-class flares during the July 2004 storm period. The X28 flare on 4 November 2003 is the largest flare since GOES began its solar X-ray measurements in 1976. The XUV variations during the X-class flares are as large as the expected solar cycle variations.     

2800 Mg II emission in the most active radio stars

Spectral recordings in the region near 2800 Å are examined from the IUE archives for the twenty most active radio stars, which are also close binary systems. In all of these spectra, the doublet k and h Mg II is seen in strong emission. We find that the observed fluxes of the magnesium doublet emission are directly proportional to the mean fluxes of the observed radio emission at the frequency of 8.4 GHz. The same correlation is found between the absolute luminosities of the radio emission and magnesium doublet emissions. It is argued that the source of both emissions, radio and magnesium doublet, is related to a high temperature stratified cloud located between the components of the binary system. The fluxes of the magnesium doublet emission of these sources are much larger, by one or two orders of magnitude, compared with the usual chromospheric magnesium emission seen in single stars.     

The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) Mission for the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS)

The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) is an advanced study of Earth's long-term global changes of solid Earth, its atmosphere, and oceans and includes a coordinated collection of satellites, data systems, and modeling. The EOS program was conceived in the 1980s as part of NASA's Earth System Enterprise (ESE). The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) is one of about 20 missions planned for the EOS program, and the SORCE measurement objectives include the total solar irradiance (TSI) and solar spectral irradiance (SSI) that are two of the 24 key measurement parameters defined for the EOS program. The SORCE satellite was launched in January 2003, and its observations are improving the understanding and generating new inquiry regarding how and why solar variability occurs and how it affects Earth's energy balance, atmosphere, and long-term climate changes.     

Comparisons of the Mg II index products from the NOAA-9 and NOAA-11 SBUV/2 Instruments

The Mg II Index is a proxy indicator of solar UV activity which is produced from measurements of the chromospheric Mg II absorption line at 280 nm. Mg II index data sets have been derived from the NOAA-9 and NOAA-11 SBUV/2 irradiance data sets using both discrete scan measurements about the Mg II line and continuous scan (sweep) measurements over the UV spectrum from 160–400 nm. This paper will discuss the rationale behind the creation of the different Mg II index products, and make a quantitative assessment of the differences between these products. Recommendations for future use of the Mg II index will also be presented.     

Measurements of Narrow Mg II Associated Absorption Doublets with Two Observations

The measurement of the variations of absorption lines over time is a good method to study the physical conditions of absorbers. In this paper, we measure the variations of the line strength of 36 narrow Mg IIλλ2796,2803 associated absorption doublets, which are imprinted on 31 quasar spectra with two observations of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The timescales of these quasar span 1.1–5.5 years at the quasar rest-frame. On these timescales, we find that these narrow Mg II associated absorption doublets are stable, with no one λ2796 line showing strength variation beyond 2 times error (2σ).     

Electron density from Mg VIII emission lines

Mg VIII emission line intensity ratio I (430.47)/I (436.62) has been studied in detail and is found to be an excellent candidate for diagnosing the quiet Sun and the coronal holes.     

New variations of Mg II emission lines of Mira AB with HST

This paper presents results from high resolution observations of the Mira AB binary system taken by the HST (Hubble Space Telescope) in the ultraviolet region through the period (1999–2004). By comparing the results using HST data with those obtained from the IUE (International Ultraviolet Explorer) observations through the period (1979–1995). we found new variations in the profiles, widths and fluxes of Mg II (k&h) emission lines. In addition to this it appears that there are another emission components at some phases in the red and blue sides of both Mg II (k&h) emission lines. These emission components may be of Mira A origin. There is a considerable shift of both Mg II (k&h) emission lines in observation taken on 2nd February 2004. The Mg II profiles extends up to more than 600 km/s, and redshifted as with IUE observations.     

Mg II h and k lines Stark parameters

Stark widths (W) and shifts (d) of the astrophysically very important singly ionized magnesium (Mg II) resonance h and k (279.5528 and 280.2705 nm) spectral lines in the 3s–3p transition have been measured at a 26,000 K electron temperature and 1.1 × 10²³ m⁻³ electron density in helium–oxygen plasma created in an optically thin linear, low-pressure, pulsed arc discharge. The magnesium atoms, as impurities in the driving gas, have been introduced by erosion from the pure magnesium bands fixed on the discharge electrodes providing conditions free of the self-absorption in the resonance h and k lines. Besides, the W and d values of the 279.0777 nm and 279.7998 nm Mg II lines in the 3p–3d transition have also been measured. Our W and d have been compared to the existing experimental and theoretical data. Good agreement was found with the results calculated by the semiclassical perturbation formalism, especially in the case of the Stark widths.