Solar (SOL)

The Solar (SOL) observing mode is only utilized for a solar target, that is a location near or on the solar disk. This section will focus on how to setup solar source(s) in the SCT and how to use the SOL scan mode in the OPT. For more details on solar observing and how to setup a solar SB in the OPT, refer to the Solar Observing section of the Observing Guide.

Create a Solar Source

Before creating the observation, the observer must first create solar source(s) in the SCT. Since the Proposal Submission Tool (PST) cannot anticipate the solar target of interest, the observer’s source will not appear in any existing catalog and the observer must create one under the SCT.

To add a source to the catalog, click on FILE → CREATE NEW → SOURCE (see Figure 4.24).

Figure 4.24: Screen cap of a new source in the SCT.

Under the Source Positions field click on the pull-down menu to the right of Position Type and select Solar System Body with Uploaded Ephemeris (see Figure 4.25). For more information regarding the ephemeris, refer to the Solar Observing section of the Observing Guide.

Figure 4.25: Screen cap of new source position type Solar System Body with Uploaded Ephemeris.

Click on Browse to select a solar target ephemeris and then click Import. Note that the ephemeris must be geocentric and must be in JPL format. Enter a Name for the ephemeris target and, if necessary, repeat the process to enter additional targets into the catalog.

Setting Up a Solar Scan

Now that you have created the solar source(s) for the observation and assuming the resource has also been created in the RCT per the approved proposal. The next step is to create a solar observing scan in the SB.

To utilize the solar scan mode, select Solar from the drop-down menu under the scan mode section of a scan (Figure 4.26). This enables an additional pull-down menu at the bottom of the page under Mode Dependent Settings. The table below describes the parameters in detail and which to utilize.

Figure 4.26: Example of a Solar scan mode.