Hi-C Flare: Results of the First Sounding Rocket Flare Campaign

Solar flares are among the most powerful events in the solar system and major science questions related to solar flares remain which can be addressed with improved temporal, spatial, spectral, and temperature coverage beyond current technologies. The first ever sounding rocket flare campaign, and the fourth flight of Hi-Resolution Coronal (Hi-C) Imager [1] was launched with the FOXSI-4 mission from Poker Flat Research Range and successfully captured high spatial and temporal resolution extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray (SXR) observations of a class M Flare. The main Hi-C 3 instrument captured >250 full resolution images at a cadence of 1.3 sec (between 22:15:45 - 22:21:25~UT) during the decay phase of an M1.6 flare. Additional EUV and SXR observing instruments were integrated into the payload which were designed to provide unique diagnostics of the hottest flare plasma. Coordinated observations from multiple ground- and space-based telescopes also provide an unprecedented opportunity to observe the mass and energy coupling between the chromosphere and the corona during a flare.