Authors: Fallon Konow (Georgia State University; University of Rome Tor Vergata), Francesco Berrilli (University of Rome Tor Vergata), Daniele Calchetti (Max-Planck Institut für Sonnensystemforschung), Andrea Chiodini (University of Rome Tor Vergata), Dario Del Moro (University of Rome Tor Vergata), Luca Giovannelli (University of Rome Tor Vergata), Stuart M. Jefferies (Georgia State University), Neil Murphy (Mojave Solar), Ermanno Pietropaolo (Università degli Studi dell'Aquila), Wayne Rodgers (Mojave Solar), Giorgio Viavattene (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana)

We can deduce the activity and dynamic status of the Sun and its possible dependence on the magnetic cycle using continuous, multi-height observations of the solar atmosphere. This activity, in turn, is critical in identifying potential precursors of space weather events such as flares and coronal mass ejections. To investigate these phenomena, we describe the design and construction of a multi-nodal synoptic telescope network to continuously observe the entire disk of the Sun. This network currently comprises two instruments: the Tor Vergata Solar Synoptic Telescope (TSST) undergoing testing at Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, to be mounted in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, and the Mojave Solar Observatory (MSO) located in Apple Valley, California. TSST consists of a dual-channel full disk telescope, a lab-tested K MOF channel and an Hα channel for flare detection and localization. MSO houses a dual Na and K channel magneto-optical filter (MOF)-based telescope currently able to observe on-sky. Both MSO and TSST have been constructed almost entirely commercially available parts, keeping the instruments low-cost and highly accessible to construct. With the completion and installation of the TSST, the two nodes will observe for an average of 20 hours a day, obtaining line-of-sight velocity and magnetic field vector observations (Dopplergrams and magnetograms, respectively), which we will use to analyze and predict space weather events. We show that this network consists of low-cost, robotic facilities able to achieve the necessary data for the study of space weather events. We present preliminary data obtained using the network’s individual nodes and technical specifications for the future operation of the network as a whole.