DOT tomography of the solar atmosphere

I. Telescope summary and program definition

¹ Sterrekundig Instituut, Utrecht University, Postbus 80 000, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands e-mail: R.J.Rutten; R.H.Hammerschlag; F.C.M.Bettonvil; P.Suetterlin; A.G.deWijn@astro.uu.nl
² Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, Oslo University, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
³ ASTRON/NFRA, Postbus 2, 7990 AA Dwingeloo, The Netherlands

Corresponding author: R. J. Rutten, R.J.Rutten@astro.uu.nl

Received: 28 July 2003
Accepted: 29 September 2003

Abstract

The Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on La Palma is an innovative optical solar telescope capable of reaching 0.2 arcsec angular resolution over extended durations. The DOT presently progresses from technology testbed to a stable science configuration providing multi-wavelength imaging and multi-camera speckle data acquisition for tomographic mapping of the solar atmosphere. Large-volume speckle processing will soon enable frequent usage and community-wide time allocation, in particular for tandem operation with other solar telescopes pursuing spectropolarimetry and EUV imaging. We summarize the DOT hardware and software in the context of this increasing availability and outline the corresponding “open-DOT” program.