Spicules in IRIS Mg II Observations: Automated Identification

We have developed an algorithm to identify solar spicules in the first-ever systematic survey of on-disk spicules using exclusively Mg II spectral observations. Using this algorithm we identify 2219 events in three IRIS datasets with unique solar feature targets spanning a total of 300 minutes: 1) an active region, 2) decayed active region/active network, and 3) a coronal hole. We present event statistics and relate occurrence rates to underlying photospheric magnetic field strength. This method identifies spicule event densities and occurrence rates similar to previous studies performed using H{\alpha} and Ca II observations of active regions. Additionally, this study identifies spicule-like events at very low rates at magnetic field intensities below 20 Gauss and increasing significantly between 100-200 Gauss in active regions and above 20 Gauss in coronal holes, which can be used to inform future observation campaigns. This information can be be used to help characterize spicules over their full lifetime, and compliments existing H-{\alpha} spectral capabilities and upcoming Ly-{\alpha} spectral observations on the SNIFS Sounding Rocket. In total, this study presents a method for detecting solar spicules using exclusively Mg II spectra, and provides statistics for spicule occurrence in Mg II wavelengths with respect to magnetic field strength for the purpose of predicting spicule occurrences.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, presented at the AGU Fall 2022 conference, Submitted to AAS Journa

Small Platforms, High Return: The Need to Enhance Investment in Small Satellites for Focused Science, Career Development, and Improved Equity

In the next decade, there is an opportunity for very high return on investment of relatively small budgets by elevating the priority of smallsat funding in heliophysics. We've learned in the past decade that these missions perform exceptionally well by traditional metrics, e.g., papers/year/\$M (Spence et al. 2022 -- arXiv:2206.02968). It is also well established that there is a "leaky pipeline" resulting in too little diversity in leadership positions (see the National Academies Report at https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/increasing-diversity-in-the-leadership-of-competed-space-missions). Prioritizing smallsat funding would significantly increase the number of opportunities for new leaders to learn -- a crucial patch for the pipeline and an essential phase of career development. At present, however, there are far more proposers than the available funding can support, leading to selection ratios that can be as low as 6% -- in the bottom 0.5th percentile of selection ratios across the history of ROSES. Prioritizing SmallSat funding and substantially increasing that selection ratio are the fundamental recommendations being made by this white paper.Comment: White paper submitted to the Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024-2033; 6 pages, 1 figur

The solar eruptioN integral field spectrograph

The Solar eruptioN Integral Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) is a solar-gazing spectrograph scheduled to fly in the summer of 2025 on a NASA sounding rocket. Its goal is to view the solar chromosphere and transition region at a high cadence (1 s) both spatially (0.5") and spectrally (33 mÅ) viewing wavelengths around Lyman alpha (1216 Å), Si iii (1206 Å), and O v (1218 Å) to observe spicules, nanoflares, and possibly a solar flare. This time cadence will provide yet-unobserved detail about fast-changing features of the Sun. The instrument is comprised of a Gregorian-style reflecting telescope combined with a spectrograph via a specialized mirrorlet array that focuses the light from each spatial location in the image so that it may be spectrally dispersed without overlap from neighboring locations. This paper discusses the driving science, detailed instrument and subsystem design, and preintegration testing of the SNIFS instrument.<br/