Construction of a multilayered x-ray telescope for solar coronal studies from space

Abstract

We discuss the construction and flight of an ultrahigh resolution soft x-ray telescope which is to be flown on a NASA sounding rocket in 1986. The possibility of using normal incidence figured optics allows the construction of x-ray mirrors which, on a cost-for- cost basis, have an order of magnitude higher spatial resolution than do grazing-incidence mirrors. For the past two years our groups at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the IBM Watson Research Center have been collaborating on x-ray multilayer testing (along with R. Bartlett of Los Alamos National Laboratory) and on the design and construction of a Ritchey-Chretien telescope. The initial use of this instrument will be to study the solar x-ray corona at very high spatial resolution; future uses will include simultaneous high resolution imaging and spectroscopy and soft x-ray/XUV astronomy. The engineering requirements for flying this instrument on a sounding rocket are substantial and we will discuss the specialized design problems which have had to be overcome. The optical design parameters call for performance which exceeds the visible-light diffraction limit, while the multilayer coatings for soft x-ray wavelengths require substrate surface finish of the highest quality. We will also discuss some of the future astrophysical applications of the technique and some of the possible instruments which may be flown in the next few years. © 1985 SPIE.