ECLIPSE: Pathfinder and science observations of the infrared solar corona during the 21st August 2017 total eclipse

Summary

This project aims to measure, for the first time, the infrared spectrum of the solar corona from 2 to 12 µ. Three experiments are planned to fly on the GV aircraft to accompany the spectral survey from the ground, producing partial images of the corona and polarization measurements during the extended eclipse afforded by the fast-moving aircraft platform. The main science goals are (1) to identify spectral lines ideally suited to measure coronal magnetic fields, (2) to find the range of temperatures spanned by the lines (ions from 6 to 14 times ionized), (3) to identify the typical range of features sampled by the lines (active regions, source regions of fast and slow solar wind), (4) to find precisely where coronal lines lie relative to telluric absorption features, (5) to analyze these data with data from visible to X-ray wavelengths, determining the magnetic state of coronal plasma during the eclipse.