GATES: A Network for Synoptic Space Weather Observations

We can deduce the activity and dynamic status of the Sun and its possible dependence on the magnetic cycle using continuous, multi-height observations of the solar atmosphere. This activity, in turn, is critical in identifying potential precursors of space weather events such as flares and coronal mass ejections. To investigate these phenomena, we describe the design and construction of a multi-nodal synoptic telescope network to observe the entire disk of the Sun: Global Automatic Telescopes for Exploring the Sun (GATES). This network currently comprises of two instruments, the Tor Vergata Solar Synoptic Telescope (TSST) under construction at Universit`a degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, to be mounted in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, and the Mojave Solar Observatory (MSO) located in Apple Valley, California. MSO houses a dual Na and K channel magneto-optical filter (MOF)-based telescope currently able to observe on-sky with the addition of a He MOF (to observe the upper chromosphere) currently in development. TSST consists of a lab-tested K MOF channel and a broadband Hα filter; TSST has been designed to minimize mass and allow for full automation. Both MSO and TSST have been constructed almost entirely commercially available parts, keeping the instruments low-cost and highly accessible to construct. With the completion and installation of the TSST, the two nodes will observe for an average of 20 hours a day, obtaining line-of-sight velocity and magnetic field observations (Dopplergrams and magnetograms, respectively), which we will use to analyze and predict space weather events. We show that this network consists of low-cost, robotic facilities able to achieve the necessary data for the study of space weather events. We present preliminary data obtained using the network’s individual nodes and technical specifications for the future operation of the network as a whole.