Solar Orbiter – ESA M1 Mission – has entered its scientific phase at the end of November 2021, after a cruise phase of more than 18 months (and 2.2 Billion km) and the commissioning of the 10 instruments on board. CEA/IRFU played a key role in this mission, by providing the focal plane detector array of the X-ray telescope, STIX, based on in-house Caliste technology. In the meantime, solar physicists have been busy preparing the pipelines needed to handle the data sent by the instrument, and developing high performance numerical simulations of the Sun.
In this 2-voice seminar, we will relate the first 26 months of activities of the mission, covering both STIX calibration, its first light, the first solar flare detected, as well as the development of associated numerical simulations of the Sun and optimal scientific processing of instrumental data sent as the spacecraft gets closer and closer to the Sun (last perihelion was on 26 March 2022 at 0.32 AU), while in the meantime our star is increasing in intensity and in activity, with solar magnetic cycle 25 now well on its way.
Talk in French, slides in English.
Organizer: Pierre-Antoine FRUGIER
SAp