MAST: a mass spectrometer telescope for studies of the isotopic composition of solar, anomalous, and galactic cosmic ray nuclei

The mass spectrometer telescope (MAST) on SAMPEX (Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer) is designed to provide high-resolution measurements of the isotopic composition of energetic nuclei from He to Ni (Z=2 to 28) over the energy range from approximately 10 to several hundred MeV/nucleon. During large solar flares MAST will measure the isotopic abundances of solar energetic particles to determine directly the composition of the solar corona, while during solar quiet times MAST will study the isotopic composition of galactic cosmic rays. In addition, MAST will measure the isotopic composition of both interplanetary and trapped fluxes of anomalous cosmic rays, believed to be a sample of the nearby interstellar medium.<
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