Overview of Balloon-Borne Solar Telescope-SUNRISE

The advantage is unique to observe the solar evolution and monitor solar activities by using the balloon-borne solar telescope launched into the stratosphere of the Earth's atmosphere. First of all, observation of the balloon-borne telescope in the stratosphere is not disturbed by the climate phenomena in the troposphere, and is in a seeing-free environment, which provides a wonderful condition for obtaining solar images of high quality. Second, the air in the stratosphere is very tenuous, and the absorption in the ultraviolet wavelength weakens apparently, so the balloon-borne telescope is able to observe solar activities and eruptions in the near-ultraviolet wavelength. Third, the cost could be low and the efficiency could be enhanced significantly by using the balloon-borne telescopes via recycling, upgrading, and reusing. This is much more economical and practical than by using the space-borne telescopes. It has been more than half a century since the balloon-borne telescope was first launched in the Europe and the USA. This work is going to briefly look back the history of the balloon-borne solar telescope missions, including the rich experience in the instrument development and observations. The payloads of the SUNRISE, an European balloon-borne solar telescope mission, are described in this work, and large amount of the high quality data obtained by the SUNRISE, as well as the consequent scientific articles produced on the basis of these data are also introduced. The information presented here would be valuable and important for reference in developing the balloon-borne telescope in China.