The Potential for Solar Tracking and Observation On-board a High-Altitude Balloon Platform

Currently, the majority of solar observation is performed using ground-based and orbital telescopes, both of which have major limitations. Ground observations are subject to interference from the atmosphere, reducing the quality of solar images and the scientific data that can be collected from them. Orbiting observatories are very expensive, limiting the quantity of such missions and, by extension, the number of solar images without atmospheric distortion. The HELIOS project was conceived as a third option: to utilize high-altitude balloon flights to capture images above 99.5% of the atmosphere, allowing for inexpensive and high-quality solar observation. Over the course of three missions, the HELIOS project has discovered and attempted to resolve the limitation of this method of solar observation: tracking the Sun consistently and accurately from a moving balloon platform. HELIOS III, the current iteration of the project, aims to track the Sun utilizing a system of baffled photo-diodes calibrated by image analysis in an attempt to counteract reflection issues encountered by HELIOS II. The end goal of the HELIOS III is to track the Sun with enough precision to allow an on-board camera to capture images of Sun spots. If successful, the solution could be applied to imaging systems capable of capturing finer solar features, and the concept as a whole could act as a proof-of-concept for high-altitude balloon observation with other astronomical bodies.