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Eclipses Observed by Large Yield RAdiometer (LYRA) – A Sensitive Tool to Test Models for the Solar Irradiance

  • PROBA2 – FIRST TWO YEARS OF SOLAR OBSERVATION
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Abstract

We analyze the light curves of the recent solar eclipses measured by the Herzberg channel (200 – 220 nm) of the Large Yield RAdiometer (LYRA) onboard Project for OnBoard Autonomy (PROBA2). The measurements allow us to accurately retrieve the center-to-limb variations (CLV) of the solar brightness. The formation height of the radiation depends on the observing angle, so the examination of the CLV provide information about a broad range of heights in the solar atmosphere. We employ the 1D NLTE radiative transfer COde for Solar Irradiance (COSI) to model the measured light curves and corresponding CLV dependencies. The modeling is used to test and constrain the existing 1D models of the solar atmosphere, e.g. the temperature structure of the photosphere and the treatment of the pseudo-continuum opacities in the Herzberg continuum range. We show that COSI can accurately reproduce not only the irradiance from the entire solar disk, but also the measured CLV. Hence it can be used as a reliable tool for modeling the variability of the spectral solar irradiance.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to this article was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation under grant CRSI122-130642 (FUPSOL) and grant 200020-130102. We thank the PROBA2/LYRA science team for their work in producing the data sets used in this article and their helpful recommendations. LYRA is a project of the Centre Spatial de Liège, the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, and the Royal Observatory of Belgium funded by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and by the Swiss Bundesamt für Bildung und Wissenschaft. PROBA2 is an ESA micro satellite operated by the Director for Science and Robotic Exploration.

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  1. Physikalisch-Meteorologishes Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center, 7260, Davos Dorf, Switzerland

    A. I. Shapiro, W. Schmutz & A. V. Shapiro

  2. Royal Observatory of Belgium, Ringlaan 3, 1180, Brussel, Belgium

    M. Dominique

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  1. A. I. Shapiro
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PROBA2 – First Two Years of Solar Observation

Guest Editors: David Berghmans, Anik De Groof, Marie Dominique, and Jean-François Hochedez

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Shapiro, A.I., Schmutz, W., Dominique, M. et al. Eclipses Observed by Large Yield RAdiometer (LYRA) – A Sensitive Tool to Test Models for the Solar Irradiance. Sol Phys 286, 271–287 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-012-0063-0

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