METIS

Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy

Solar Orbiter (SOLO) is an ESA-NASA space mission intended to study the Sun by means of in-situ and remote-sensing instruments approaching the star at the closest distance ever reached of 0.23 AU. SOLO launch is foreseen on January 2017. The mission is expected to give unprecedented evidences of the local near-Sun phenomena, thus to provide crucial steps forward a major understanding of some fundamental solar physics questions. The Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy (METIS) is a coronagraph telescope within the Solar Orbiter payload leaded by Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino. METIS will perform both multiband imaging of the solar corona, from 1.4 to 3.0 solar radii from Sun centre, with the best temporal coverage (10s) and spatial resolution (down to 2000 km) ever reached. These observations will be crucial for answering the open issues concerning the solar wind and the structure and dynamics of the solar corona.

METIS scientific goals are understanding:

How energy is deposited in coronal holes & solar wind
What are the source regions of the slow solar wind
How the global corona evolves and solar transients originate
How shock fronts accelerate particles in the solar corona

Activities at CNR-IFN are related to the development of the optical components of METIS, which have to provide multi-band efficiency in the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions. The activities include:

Mirrors characterization
Coatings aging and testing in relevant space environment through laboratory experiments
Realization of optical component prototypes
Development of multilayer coatings (suitable for solar physics/prior METIS descoping)

For questions or general information about I-TECS please email us at i-tecs@pd.ifn.cnr.it