Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Graduate
group
What campus are you from?
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Erin Abraham, Graduate Student Sarah Hoover, Graduate Student Skylar Butler, Senior Margret Stanley, Senior Gwynlyn Hannah, Senior
Lead Presenter's Name
Erin Abraham
Faculty Mentor Name
Bereket Berhane
Abstract
The new Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Solar Telescope represents a campus-wide collaboration to design and install a high-resolution solar observatory. The ERAU solar telescope, aiming for first light by Summer 2026, will integrate research-grade instrumentation, student training opportunities, and expand public engagement with the ERAU observatory. The telescope is housed within a 2.3-meter refurbished dome structure whose electrical and structural systems are being upgraded to support automated dome rotation and environmental stabilization. The optical design features a multi-element lens and mirror assembly optimized for a 1° field of view. The optical assembly includes a downport centered in the dome that directs the light into the classroom below, College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) 501. Based on the position of the folding mirrors, the optical design comprises four light paths: High-resolution spectroscopy, low-resolution spectroscopy, imaging in the visible range, and a projection system for public outreach and teaching. Since the Sun and Moon have the same angular size in the sky, the ERAU Solar Telescope can be used to observe the Moon. High-resolution spectroscopy will be utilized to examine the line profiles of diffuse emissions in the lunar exosphere using a Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI). The low-resolution spectrograph will be fiber-fed in a similar manner as the E-Shel spectrograph currently attached to the ERAU 1-meter telescope and will spectrally observe solar features such as sunspots and Coronal Mass Ejections (CME). The imager will have the capabilities for H-alpha filtering to see solar prominences. The projection system includes a magnified disk image of the sun and the visible spectrum of the Sun that will be projected into the COAS 501 classroom simultaneously. Together, these efforts will establish a permanent solar research and outreach platform, expanding ERAU’s capabilities in heliophysics, spectroscopy, and hands-on optical engineering.
Did this research project receive funding support from the Office of Undergraduate Research.
No
Included in
Engineering Physics Commons, Instrumentation Commons, Optics Commons, Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy Commons, The Sun and the Solar System Commons
Building the ERAU Solar Telescope: Advancing Heliophysics Research and Education Through Optical Innovation
The new Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Solar Telescope represents a campus-wide collaboration to design and install a high-resolution solar observatory. The ERAU solar telescope, aiming for first light by Summer 2026, will integrate research-grade instrumentation, student training opportunities, and expand public engagement with the ERAU observatory. The telescope is housed within a 2.3-meter refurbished dome structure whose electrical and structural systems are being upgraded to support automated dome rotation and environmental stabilization. The optical design features a multi-element lens and mirror assembly optimized for a 1° field of view. The optical assembly includes a downport centered in the dome that directs the light into the classroom below, College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) 501. Based on the position of the folding mirrors, the optical design comprises four light paths: High-resolution spectroscopy, low-resolution spectroscopy, imaging in the visible range, and a projection system for public outreach and teaching. Since the Sun and Moon have the same angular size in the sky, the ERAU Solar Telescope can be used to observe the Moon. High-resolution spectroscopy will be utilized to examine the line profiles of diffuse emissions in the lunar exosphere using a Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI). The low-resolution spectrograph will be fiber-fed in a similar manner as the E-Shel spectrograph currently attached to the ERAU 1-meter telescope and will spectrally observe solar features such as sunspots and Coronal Mass Ejections (CME). The imager will have the capabilities for H-alpha filtering to see solar prominences. The projection system includes a magnified disk image of the sun and the visible spectrum of the Sun that will be projected into the COAS 501 classroom simultaneously. Together, these efforts will establish a permanent solar research and outreach platform, expanding ERAU’s capabilities in heliophysics, spectroscopy, and hands-on optical engineering.