Coronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO) site survey equipment at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile, one of three locations under consideration for COSMO. (Image: Mason Dobbins/NSF NCAR)
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Solar storms that fling magnetism across the solar system can knock out satellites, power grids, communication and navigation systems, and endanger astronauts in space. Scientists can observe these phenomena, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs), as they happen, but it’s difficult to predict when they will strike.
The Coronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO) could change that.
Scientists at the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) are developing COSMO to address the need for more advance warning of CMEs heading towards our planet. The ground-based solar observatory would transform humanity’s fundamental understanding of the formation of solar eruptions and other space weather that can affect technologies – and therefore the lives and livelihoods of people – on Earth.
With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, NSF NCAR has completed important milestones in COSMO’s development over the past year. In April, the team completed the Final Design Review (FDR) for the Large Coronagraph (COSMO-LC), the solar telescope that will be the central, most recognizable instrument at the observatory. They also narrowed the number of potential locations for COSMO and deployed instruments for the next phase of evaluations.
“We know solar storms brew in the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona, but we need to understand more about the magnetic processes and conditions that occur before a storm,” said Holly Gilbert, COSMO principal investigator and director of NSF NCAR’s High Altitude Observatory. “COSMO would measure the magnetic fields that drive the eruptions and allow us to study the solar atmosphere as an interconnected system – something no existing facilities or instruments can provide. It’s designed to fill important gaps in humanity’s observational capabilities.”