helioseismology and asteroseismology in Antarctica

At the University of Rome we have prepared two MOFs (Magneto-Optical Filters), one working with Potassium vapors (779 nm spectral line) and the other working with Sodium (589 nm). The two spectral lines bring information about two different levels of the solar atmosphere. Doppler images taken simultaneously for few days at the South Pole in collaboration with Dr Stuart Jefferies have enabled us to determine for the first time the physical conditions, pixel by pixel, of the solar atmosphere through the propagation time of high frequency pressure waves . This result was possible also thanks to the financial support of the National Science Foundation . At Terra Nova Bay, the Rome group has operated a Potassium MOF during the Antarctic Campaign of 1999. Thanks to the published results, we could initiate the South Pole collaboration. The 1999 data are available from our Group in Rome. The South Pole data are available on the web.