As announced in the Cycle 4 Proposal Call, in 2026 DKIST is planning one month of on-sun time devoted to flare observations, made available outside of the regular observing time allocation process. This “flare month” is now scheduled for September 10 – October 9, 2026. All data acquired within this dedicated time will be made public immediately after calibration by the DKIST Data Center.
During the flare month, DKIST plans to perform coordinated observations with space- and ground-based observatories who previously indicated their interest. To assure that the observations are scientifically optimized and to the benefit of the community at large, we plan on forming a community DKIST Flare Working group. Further info on the proceedings of such Working Group can be found here.
The flare-month experience will be folded into the development of community-driven Standard Observatory Time (see previous DKIST update on Observing Time in 2027).
If you have any questions, please contact the DKIST Help Desk.