The CAT Imaging Telescope for Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy

The CAT (Cherenkov Array at Themis) imaging telescope, equipped with a very-high-definition camera (546 fast phototubes with 0.12 degrees spacing surrounded by 54 larger tubes in two guard rings) started operation in Autumn 1996 on the site of the former solar plant Themis (France). Using the atmospheric Cherenkov technique, it detects and identifies very high energy gamma-rays in the range 250 GeV to a few tens of TeV. The instrument, which has detected three sources (Crab nebula, Mrk 421 and Mrk 501), is described in detail.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures. submitted to Elsevier Preprin

Beyond the disk: EUV coronagraphic observations of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on board Solar Orbiter

Context. Most observations of the solar corona beyond 2 R consist of broadband visible light imagery carried out with coronagraphs. The associated diagnostics mainly consist of kinematics and derivations of the electron number density. While the measurement of the properties of emission lines can provide crucial additional diagnostics of the coronal plasma (temperatures, velocities, abundances, etc.), these types of observations are comparatively rare. In visible wavelengths, observations at these heights are limited to total eclipses. In the ultraviolet (UV) to extreme UV (EUV) range, very few additional observations have been achieved since the pioneering results of the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS). Aims. One of the objectives of the Full Sun Imager (FSI) channel of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on board the Solar Orbiter mission has been to provide very wide field-of-view EUV diagnostics of the morphology and dynamics of the solar atmosphere in temperature regimes that are typical of the lower transition region and of the corona. Methods. FSI carries out observations in two narrowbands of the EUV spectrum centered on 17.4 nm and 30.4 nm that are dominated, respectively, by lines of FeIX/X (formed in the corona around 1 MK) and by the resonance line of HeII (formed around 80 kK in the lower transition region). Unlike previous EUV imagers, FSI includes a moveable occulting disk that can be inserted in the optical path to reduce the amount of instrumental stray light to a minimum. Results. FSI detects signals at 17.4 nm up to the edge of its field of view (7 R), which is about twice further than was previously possible. Operation at 30.4 nm are for the moment compromised by an as-yet unidentified source of stray light. Comparisons with observations by the LASCO and Metis coronagraphs confirm the presence of morphological similarities and differences between the broadband visible light and EUV emissions, as documented on the basis of prior eclipse and space-based observations. Conclusions. The very-wide-field observations of FSI out to about 3 and 7 R, without and with the occulting disk, respectively, are paving the way for future dedicated instruments

Beyond the disk: EUV coronagraphic observations of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on board Solar Orbiter

Most observations of the solar corona beyond 2 Rs consist of broadband visible light imagery from coronagraphs. The associated diagnostics mainly consist of kinematics and derivations of the electron number density. While the measurement of the properties of emission lines can provide crucial additional diagnostics of the coronal plasma (temperatures, velocities, abundances, etc.), these observations are comparatively rare. In visible wavelengths, observations at these heights are limited to total eclipses. In the VUV range, very few additional observations have been achieved since the pioneering results of UVCS. One of the objectives of the Full Sun Imager (FSI) channel of the EUI telescope on board the Solar Orbiter mission has been to provide very wide field-of-view EUV diagnostics of the morphology and dynamics of the solar atmosphere in temperature regimes that are typical of the lower transition region and of the corona. FSI carries out observations in two narrowbands of the EUV spectrum centered on 17.4 nm and 30.4 nm that are dominated, respectively, by lines of Fe IX/X (formed in the corona around 1 MK) and by the resonance line of He II (formed around 80 kK in the lower transition region). Unlike previous EUV imagers, FSI includes a moveable occulting disk that can be inserted in the optical path to reduce the amount of instrumental stray light to a minimum. FSI detects signals at 17.4 nm up to the edge of its FOV (7~Rs), which is about twice further than was previously possible. Comparisons with observations by the LASCO and Metis coronagraphs confirm the presence of morphological similarities and differences between the broadband visible light and EUV emissions, as documented on the basis of prior eclipse and space-based observations. The very-wide-field observations of FSI are paving the way for future dedicated instruments

Planck pre-launch status : The Planck mission

Peer reviewe

Interstellar and interplanetary solids in the laboratory

International audienceThe composition of the interstellar matter is driven by environmental parameters (e.g. elemental abundance, density, reactant nature, radiations, temperature, time scales) and results also from external interstellar medium physico-chemical conditions. Astrochemists must rely on remote observations to monitor and analyze the com­position of interstellar solids. These observations give essentially access to the molecular functionality of the solids, rarely elemental composition constraints and isotopic fractionation only in the gas phase. Astrochemists bring additional information from the study of analogues produced in the laboratory, placed in simulated space environments. Planetologists and cosmochemists can have access and spectroscopically examine collected extra-terrestrial material directly in the laboratory. Observations of the diffuse interstellar medium (DISM) and molecular clouds (MC) set constraints on the composition of organic solids and large molecules, that! can then be compared with collected extraterrestrial materials analyses, to shed light on their possible links

UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic micrometeorites, probing the Solar System beyond the nitrogen snow-line

We investigate UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic micrometeorites composition. * They reveal a new N-rich organic matter from the Solar System. * This exceptional organic matter is formed in the Oort cloud. * Cosmic ray irradiation form this carbon nitride organic material. * A nitrogen rich snow line must exists in our Solar System

Interstellar and interplanetary solids in the laboratory

International audienceThe composition of the interstellar matter is driven by environmental parameters (e.g. elemental abundance, density, reactant nature, radiations, temperature, time scales) and results also from external interstellar medium physico-chemical conditions. Astrochemists must rely on remote observations to monitor and analyze the com­position of interstellar solids. These observations give essentially access to the molecular functionality of the solids, rarely elemental composition constraints and isotopic fractionation only in the gas phase. Astrochemists bring additional information from the study of analogues produced in the laboratory, placed in simulated space environments. Planetologists and cosmochemists can have access and spectroscopically examine collected extra-terrestrial material directly in the laboratory. Observations of the diffuse interstellar medium (DISM) and molecular clouds (MC) set constraints on the composition of organic solids and large molecules, that! can then be compared with collected extraterrestrial materials analyses, to shed light on their possible links

Interstellar and interplanetary solids in the laboratory

International audienceThe composition of the interstellar matter is driven by environmental parameters (e.g. elemental abundance, density, reactant nature, radiations, temperature, time scales) and results also from external interstellar medium physico-chemical conditions. Astrochemists must rely on remote observations to monitor and analyze the com­position of interstellar solids. These observations give essentially access to the molecular functionality of the solids, rarely elemental composition constraints and isotopic fractionation only in the gas phase. Astrochemists bring additional information from the study of analogues produced in the laboratory, placed in simulated space environments. Planetologists and cosmochemists can have access and spectroscopically examine collected extra-terrestrial material directly in the laboratory. Observations of the diffuse interstellar medium (DISM) and molecular clouds (MC) set constraints on the composition of organic solids and large molecules, that! can then be compared with collected extraterrestrial materials analyses, to shed light on their possible links