As one of the payloads for the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) mission, the Lyman-alpha (Lyα) Solar Telescope (LST) is aimed at imaging the Sun and the inner corona up to 2.5R⊙ (mean solar radius) in both the Lyα (121.6 nm) and visible wavebands with high temporo-spatial resolution, mainly targeting solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and filaments/prominences. LST observations allow us to trace solar eruptive phenomena from the disk center to the inner corona, to study the relationships between eruptive prominences/filaments, solar flares and CMEs, to explore the dynamical processes and evolution of solar eruptions, to diagnose solar winds, and to derive physical parameters of the solar atmosphere. LST is actually an instrument suite, which consists of a Solar Disk Imager (SDI), a Solar Corona Imager (SCI), aWhite-light Solar Telescope (WST) and two Guide Telescopes (GTs). This is the first paper in a series of LST-related papers. In this paper, we introduce the scientific objectives, present an overview of the LST payload and describe the planned observations. The detailed design and data along with potential diagnostics are described in the second (Paper II) and third (Paper III) papers, respectively, appearing in this issue.
The Lyman-alpha Solar Telescope (LST) is one of the three payloads onboard the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) mission. It aims at imaging the Sun from the disk center up to 2.5 R⊙ targeting solar eruptions, particularly coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar flares, prominences/filaments and related phenomena, as well as the fast and slow solar wind. The most prominent speciality of LST is the simultaneous observation of the solar atmosphere in both Lyα and white light (WL) with high temporospatial resolution both on the solar disk and the inner corona. New observations in the Lyα line together with traditionalWL observations will provide us with many new insights into solar eruptions and solar wind. LST consists of a Solar Corona Imager (SCI) with a field of view (FOV) of 1.1 – 2.5R⊙, a Solar Disk Imager (SDI) and a full-disk White-light Solar Telescope (WST) with an identical FOV up to 1.2R⊙. SCI has a dual waveband in Lyα (121.6 ± 10 nm) and in WL (700 ± 40 nm), while SDI works in the Lyα waveband of 121.6 ± 7.5 nm and WST works in the violet narrow-band continuum of 360 ± 2.0 nm. To produce high quality science data, careful ground and in-flight calibrations are required. We present our methods for different calibrations including dark field correction, flat field correction, radiometry, instrumental polarization and optical geometry. Based on the data calibration, definitions of the data levels and processing procedures for the defined levels from raw data are described. Plasma physical diagnostics offer key ingredients to understand ejecta and plasma flows in the inner corona, as well as different features on the solar disk including flares, filaments, etc. Therefore, we are making efforts to develop various tools to detect the different features observed by LST, and then to derive their physical parameters, for example, the electron density and temperature of CMEs, the outflow velocity of the solar wind, and the hydrogen density and mass flows of prominences. Coordinated observations and data analyses with the coronagraphs onboard Solar Orbiter, PROBA-3, and Aditya are also briefly discussed.
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