EUV Full-Sun Imaging and Pointing Calibration of the SOHO Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer

Abstract

Although the field of view of the Normal Incidence Spectrometer (NIS) of the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) is 4×4 arc min, it is possible to observe the full solar disk by forming a mosaic of images taken in succession. This paper describes just such a study which has been used to collect images of the Sun simultaneously in six wavelengths between 304 Ú and 630 Ú, and with a temperature coverage between 5×10⁴ K and 2.5×10⁶ K. A representative sample of the resulting images is presented. These data can be used to explore the origin of solar EUV variability, and examine large-scale solar features. Another use of these data is to calibrate the pointing of the CDS Offset Pointing System (OPS), by comparing them against the SOHO Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) full-disk images taken at the same time. Many joint observations are made with CDS and other SOHO instruments, and calibration of the pointing is crucial to the co-pointing of the instruments, and to the analyses of these data. Coalignment is done by fitting to a cross-correlation function, using an IDL procedure which can be applied to any CDS/NIS data set. The accuracy of an individual coalignment can be demonstrated to be in the range 1–2 arc sec. The overall accuracy of the OPS calibration is ±5 arc sec, mainly attributable to measurement error in the actuator positions. An onboard Spartan Intermediate Sun Sensor of the Lockheed design, which was intended to provide greater pointing accuracy, exhibits a time-varying calibration, possibly due to a gradual loss of sensitivity.