BackForwardInstrument:  IRIS (IRIS) 

Instrument details
Acronym IRIS (IRIS)
Full name Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
Purpose To obtain UV spectra and images with high resolution in space and time focused on the chromosphere and the transition region of the Sun
Short description UV imaging spectrometer. Two bands: 1) Far UV, 1332-1358 Å and 1390-1406 Å, both with 40 mÅ resolution; and 2) Near UV, 2785-2835 Å with 80 mÅ resolution. Time resolution 1 s.
Background Consolidated technology
Scanning Technique Sun pointing from a dawn-dusk LEO. CCD array of 1024x1024 pixels covering a field of view of 170 arcsec addressable within the Sun disk
Resolution 250 km at Sun surface
Coverage / Cycle Full solar disk at 1 s intervals
Mass 87 kg Power 55 W Data Rate 0.7 Mbps

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2013 to 2024
Last update: 2021-12-16
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Solar and space environment monitors
  • Solar activity monitor
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • Solar magnetograph, solar EUV/X-ray imagery and EUV/X-ray irradiance, both on the Earth-Sun line and off the Earth-Sun line
  • Solar UV spectrometer [from L1, GEO, LEO]
  • Solar UV imager [from L1, GEO, LEO]
  • Subcomponent 3
  • UV spectral imagery (e.g. GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO)
  • UV spectral imager [from GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Solar UV flux spectrum
  • Solar UV image
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Solar UV flux spectrum*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.High spectral resolution, wide dynamic range
Solar UV image*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Spectrometry with high spatial resolution