Scientific Goals and Missions - Solar Science Observatory

Purpose

The Solar Science Observatory (SOL) project, as a COE of solar observations in Japan, pursues the development of solar research by acquiring and accumulating observation data delivered for research on the solar activity. The knowledge obtained through the solar research is applied to explore our understanding of space plasma.

Missions

The missions of this project are:

1. to be responsible for stable operation of ground-based facilities (Mitaka telescopes, Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters), and to contribute to the operation of the currently running satellite HINODE as well as the development of the satellite SOLAR-C in cooperation with JAXA. SOL drives production of scientific results by encouraging collaborative research with domestic and foreign researchers; and
2. to carry out the development of advanced technology for next-generation ground- and space-based observations to open up a discovery space for space plasma research.

Primary Scientific Goals

The primary scientific goals of this project are:

1. to clarify the short- and long-term fluctuations of the solar activity and their effect on the inner heliosphere by multi-wavelength and multi-directional observations of the solar atmosphere during the solar maximum; and
2. to capture the three-dimensional magnetic field structure from the surface of the Sun to the upper layers and its temporal evolution by accurate polarimetric observations, which will lead to identification of the magnetic field structure responsible for atmospheric heating and eruptive phenomena.

Target Date

End of March 2028