List of solar telescopes

This is a list of solar telescopes built in various countries around the world. A solar telescope is a specialized telescope that is used to observe the Sun.

This list contains ground-based professional observatory telescopes at optical wavelengths in chronological order. Solar telescopes often have multiple focal lengths, and use a various combination of mirrors such as coelostats, lenses, and tubes for instruments including spectrographs, cameras, or coronagraphs. There are many types of instruments that have been designed to observe Earth's Sun, for example, in the 20th century solar towers were common.

Ground telescopes

Optical telescopes

Name/Observatory Image Aperture Year(s) Location Country(s) Note(s)
Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST)400 cm2019–Haleakalā, Maui, Hawaii, United States United States[1][2][3][4]
Chinese Large Solar Telescope (CLST)180 cm2019–Chengdu, Sichuan, China ChinaFirst light 10 December 2019[5]
GREGOR, Teide Observatory150 cm2012–Tenerife, Spain Germany[6]
Goode Solar Telescope (GST), Big Bear Solar Observatory160 cm2008–California, United States United States
New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST), Yunnan Astronomical Observatory100 cm2010–Yunnan, China China100 cm vacuum solar telescope[7]
Andrei Severny Tower Solar Telescope, Crimean Astrophysical Observatory90 cm1954–Crimea
Multi-Purpose Automated Solar Telescope, Sayan Solar Observatory80 cmMondy, Republic of Buryatia, Russia RussiaLocated in the mountains at 2000m altitude.[8]
Large Solar Vakuum Telescope, Baikal Astrophysical Observatory76 cm1980–Irkutsk Oblast, Russia RussiaLocated on the Coast of Lake Baikal.[8]
Optical and Near-Infrared Solar Eruption Tracer (ONSET), School of Astronomy & Space Science, Nanjing University3x27,5 cm2010–Nanjing, China ChinaThe ONSET consists of four tubes: (1) a near-infrared vacuum tube, with an aperture of 27.5 cm, (2) a chromospheric vacuum tube, with an aperture of 27.5 cm, (3) a WL vacuum tube, with an aperture of 20 cm and (4) a guiding tube.[9]
Bulgarian 15-cm Solar Coronagraph,[10] Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory Bulgaria100 cm2005–Rozhen, Bulgaria Bulgaria
Swedish Solar Telescope (SST), Roque de los Muchachos Observatory100 cm2002–La Palma, Spain Sweden[11]
Prairie View Solar Observatory (PVSO)[12]35 cm1999–Texas, United States United States
Upgraded Coronal Multi-Channel Polarimeter (UCOMP) 20 cm2021–Mauna Loa, Hawaii, United States United States
K-Coronagraph (K-COR)20 cm2013–Mauna Loa, Hawaii, United States United States
Dutch Open Telescope (DOT), Roque de los Muchachos Observatory45 cm1997–La Palma, Spain Netherlands
THÉMIS Solar Telescope, Teide Observatory90 cm1996–Tenerife, Spain Italy and  France
Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT), Teide Observatory70 cm1989–Tenerife, Spain Germany[13]
Hida Domeless Solar Telescope (ja)60 cm1979–Takayama, Gifu, Japan Japan[14]
Udaipur Solar Observatory
MAST
Full Disk H-alpha Telescope
H-alpha Spar Telescope
Coudé Telescope

50 cm
15 cm
25 cm
15 cm
1976–Udaipur, India India
Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope (DST), Sacramento Peak76 cm1969–Sunspot Solar Observatory, Sunspot, New Mexico, United States United States
Solar Observatory Tower Meudon60 cm1968–Meudon, France France
McMath–Pierce solar telescope, KPO161 cm1961–Arizona, United States United StatesLargest aperture optical and infrared solar telescope for nearly six decades
ARIES Observatory15 cm1961–Nainital, India India
Solar Tunnel Telescope, Kodaikanal Solar Observatory61 cm (24 in)1958–Kodaikanal, India India[15]
45-cm-Turmteleskop45 cm1943–Schauinsland, Germany Germany
Gregory Coudé Telescope45 cm1959-Locarno, Switzerland  SwitzerlandOperated by the Universitäts-Sternwarte Göttingen until 1984 and by IRSOL after 1984.
Solar Tower Telescope by Zeiss45 cm1930–Tokyo, Japan Japan[16]
Einsteinturm60 cm1924–Potsdam, Germany Germany
150-foot tower, Mount Wilson Observatory35 cm (24")1912–California, United States United States[1]
Snow Solar Telescope, Mount Wilson Observatory61 cm (24")1904–California, United States United StatesFirst solar telescope[17]
Lerebour/Grubb-Parsons, Kodaikanal Solar Observatory20 cm1901–Kodaikanal, India India (1947- )
 United Kingdom (1901–1950)
Solar-T2x7.6 cm2016Antarctica Brazil[18]
Swedish Vacuum Solar Telescope, Roque de los Muchachos Observatory47.5 cm1985–2000La Palma, Spain SwedenReplaced by the SST
Gregory Coude Telescope (GCT)45 cm[1]1984–2002Tenerife, Spain (1984–2002) GermanyReplaced by GREGOR[19][1]
Evans Solar Facility (ESF), Sacramento Peak40 cm1953–2014Sunspot Solar Observatory, Sunspot, New Mexico, United States United States[20]
Göttinger Sonnenturm (Solar Tower Telescope)2x15 cm
11 cm
1942–2004Göttingen, Germany Germany65 cm-Coelostat by Zeiss, feeding light into several small light paths in tower
McMath-Hulbert Observatory61 cm (24")1941–1979Michigan, United States United StatesReplaced the 10.5in in 1941
50-foot tower, McMath-Hulbert Observatory40 cm1936–1979Michigan, United States United States
10.5 inch, McMath-Hulbert Observatory26.7 cm (10.5")1930–1941Michigan, United States United StatesReplaced by the 24 inch in 1941
Arcetri Solar Tower, Arcetri Observatory37 cm1925-2006Arcetri, Italy Italy

Telescopes for the Sun have existed for hundreds of years, this list is not complete and only goes back to 1900.

Potential future optical telescopes

Name/Observatory Image Aperture d. Status Location Country(s) Note
Coronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO)150 cmproposed United States[21]
National Large Solar Telescope (NLST)200 cmproposed[22]Merak Village, Ladakh, India India
Chinese Giant Solar Telescope (CGST)500–800 cmplannedWestern part of China China[23]
European Solar Telescope (EST)400+ cmplannedCanary Islands15 European countries[24][25]

Radio telescopes

Name/Observatory Image Frequency range Year(s) Location Country(s) Note(s)
Chinese Spectral Radioheliograph (CSRH)0.4 - 2.0 Ghz
2.0 - 15 GHz
2013 -Inner Mongolia, China  China

40x 4.5m dishes - low freq band

60x 2m dishes - high freq band

Radio imaging-spectroscopy observations of the Sun in decimetric and centimetric wavelengths[26]

Nançay Radioheliographe (NRH), Nançay Radio Observatory150–450 MHzSologne, Centre-Val de Loire, France France[27]
Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array (EOVSA)1–18 GHzSologne, Centre-Val de Loire, France FrancePreviously known as the Owens Valley Solar Array (OVSA) before getting an expansion to upgrade its control system and increase the total number of antennas to 15.[28]
Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH), Nobeyama Radio Observatory17 and 34 GHzMinamimaki, Nagano Prefecture, Japan Japan[29]
Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters, Nobeyama Radio Observatory1, 2, 3.75, 9.4, 17, 35, and 80 GHzMinamimaki, Nagano Prefecture, Japan Japan[30]
Siberian Solar Radio Telescope (SSRT)1983–Republic of Buryatia, Russia Russia[31]
Solar Submillimeter Telescope (SST), Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito212 and 405 GHz1999–San Juan Province, Argentina ArgentinaSST is the only solar submillimeter telescope currently in operation.[32]
Polarization Emission of Millimeter Activity at the Sun (POEMAS), Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito45 and 90 GHz2011–San Juan Province, Argentina Argentina
Bleien Radio Observatory10 MHz–5 GHz1979–Gränichen, Switzerland  Switzerland[33]
Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN)245, 410, 610, 1415, 2695, 4975, 8800 and 15400 MHzAustralia; Italy; Massachusetts and Hawaii, United States Australia,  Italy, and  United StatesA series of four radio telescopes located at various locations around the world.[33][34]
Daocheng Solar Radio Telescope 150-450 MHz 2023- Sichuan province  China 313 parabolic antennas for detection of coronal mass ejection events. Operations started in 2023.[35]
Mingantu interplanetary scintillation telescope 327 MHz and 654 MHz 2023- Inner Mongolia  China interplanetary scintillation telescope, consists of three rotatable cylindrical antennas (140 metres by 40 metres each).[36]

Other types of solar telescopes

There are much smaller commercial and/or amateur telescopes such as Coronado Filters from founder and designer David Lunt, bought by Meade Instruments in 2004 and sells SolarMax solar telescopes up to 8 cm[37][38]

Most solar observatories observe optically at visible, UV, and near infrared wavelengths, but other things can be observed.

Further reading

See also

References

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  4. "Cycle 1 Proposal Call Announcement". NSO/DKIST. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
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  9. Hao, Q.; Guo, Y.; Dai, Y.; Ding, M. D.; Li, Z.; Zhang, X. Y.; Fang, C. (2012). "Understanding the white-light flare on 2012 March 9: Evidence of a two-step magnetic reconnection". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 544: L17. arXiv:1211.1751. Bibcode:2012A&A...544L..17H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219941. S2CID 59054649.
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  11. solarphysics.kva.se The Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope Archived 2008-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Prairie View Solar Observatory".
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  14. "The Domeless Solar Telescope".
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  24. "Home". astro-east.org.
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  26. Yan, Yihua; Wang, Wei; Liu, Fei; Geng, Lihong; Chen, Zhijun; Zhang, Jian (2013). "Radio imaging-spectroscopy observations of the Sun in decimetric and centimetric wavelengths" (PDF). Solar and Astrophysical Dynamos and Magnetic Activity, Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 294, 2012. 8: 489–494. Bibcode:2013IAUS..294..489Y. doi:10.1017/S1743921313003001. S2CID 123882940. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
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