From the NSO Director's Office

ongratulations to our colleagues with the Hinode project on the spectacular data being returned from the Hinode satellite, formerly known as Solar-B. Hinode ("Sunrise") is a mission led by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency in collaboration with NASA, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (United Kingdom), and the European Space Agency. Hinode data will further our understanding of the processes of magneto-convection and its consequences in the solar atmosphere. The NSO telescope time allocation process is now giving priority to proposals for joint observations with NSO telescopes and Hinode. NSO has already undertaken joint observing runs with the Hinode instruments using the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) at Sac Peak. The DST can provide high-resolution multi-line spectropolarimetry, imaging polarimetry, multi-line spectroscopy, and simultaneous high- speed imaging at several wavelengths as complements to the superb Hinode imaging and polarimetry. The NSO recently implemented a new queue-observing mode with the Diffraction-Limited Spectropo - larimeter (DLSP) at the DST. The queue works by shifting the beam to the DLSP at times when seeing conditions are good during the interval when a Principal Investigator is setting up his or her experi- ment. If there is sufficient demand, NSO can begin setting aside specific time intervals to run a series of queue observations. The SOLIS vector spectromagnetograph (VSM) line-of-site magne- tograms in the photosphere and chromosphere, 10830 images, and quick-look vector magnetograms have been used and are still avail- able for collaborative Hinode observations, as well as other projects. The Air Force Optical Solar Patrol Network (OSPAN) telescope provides high cadence H-alpha images in the core and red and blue wings. Those images are available at the NSO Web site and are being used for Hinode target selection. The Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG ++