New Solar Irradiance Measurements from the Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer CubeSat

TL;DR

The MinXSS CubeSat provides new detailed soft X-ray spectral measurements of the Sun, improving understanding of solar emissions' variability and their effects on Earth's ionosphere, with implications for space weather modeling.

Contribution

This paper introduces the MinXSS CubeSat and its X-ray spectrometer, offering high-resolution spectral data of solar X-ray emissions, which enhances spectral variability analysis and calibration of existing measurements.

Findings

MinXSS observed numerous solar flares, including over 40 C-class and 7 M-class.

Spectral measurements reveal elemental abundance changes during flares.

Comparison with GOES data suggests calibration improvements.

Abstract

The goal of the Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) CubeSat is to explore the energy distribution of soft X-ray (SXR) emissions from the quiescent Sun, active regions, and during solar flares, and to model the impact on Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere. The energy emitted in the SXR range (0.1 --10 keV) can vary by more than a factor of 100, yet we have limited spectral measurements in the SXRs to accurately quantify the spectral dependence of this variability. The MinXSS primary science instrument is an Amptek, Inc. X123 X-ray spectrometer that has an energy range of 0.5--30 keV with a nominal 0.15 keV energy resolution. Two flight models have been built. The first, MinXSS-1, has been making science observations since 2016 June 9, and has observed numerous flares, including more than 40 C-class and 7 M-class flares. These SXR spectral measurements have advantages over broadband SXR observations, such as providing the capability to derive multiple-temperature components and elemental abundances of coronal plasma, improved irradiance accuracy, and higher resolution spectral irradiance as input to planetary ionosphere simulations. MinXSS spectra obtained during the M5.0 flare on 2016 July 23 highlight these advantages, and indicate how the elemental abundance appears to change from primarily coronal to more photospheric during the flare. MinXSS-1 observations are compared to the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) X-Ray Sensor (XRS) measurements of SXR irradiance and estimated corona temperature. Additionally, a suggested improvement to the calibration of the GOES XRS data is presented.