LUCI onboard Lagrange, the Next Generation of EUV Space Weather Monitoring

TL;DR

LUCI is a next-generation EUV solar imager designed for the Lagrange mission at L5, providing high-cadence observations of the solar atmosphere to improve space weather monitoring and forecasting.

Contribution

This paper introduces LUCI, a novel EUV solar imager with an off-axis wide field-of-view and advanced detector technology, optimized for space weather monitoring at L5.

Findings

LUCI will observe the solar atmosphere at 2-3 minute cadence.

It will detect both static and transient solar phenomena.

LUCI will enhance space weather forecasting capabilities.

Abstract

LUCI (Lagrange eUv Coronal Imager) is a solar imager in the Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) that is being developed as part of the Lagrange mission, a mission designed to be positioned at the L5 Lagrangian point to monitor space weather from its source on the Sun, through the heliosphere, to the Earth. LUCI will use an off-axis two mirror design equipped with an EUV enhanced active pixel sensor. This type of detector has advantages that promise to be very beneficial for monitoring the source of space weather in the EUV. LUCI will also have a novel off-axis wide field-of-view, designed to observe the solar disk, the lower corona, and the extended solar atmosphere close to the Sun-Earth line. LUCI will provide solar coronal images at a 2-3 minute cadence in a pass-band centred on 19.5 nm. Observations made through this pass-band allow for the detection and monitoring of semi-static coronal structures such as coronal holes, prominences, and active regions; as well as transient phenomena such as solar flares, limb Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), EUV waves, and coronal dimmings. The LUCI data will complement EUV solar observations provided by instruments located along the Sun-Earth line such as PROBA2-SWAP, SUVI-GOES and SDO-AIA, as well as provide unique observations to improve space weather forecasts. Together with a suite of other remote-sensing and in-situ instruments onboard Lagrange, LUCI will provide science quality operational observations for space weather monitoring.