APL craft returns stunning 3-D images of the Sun
The Sun has a layered atmosphere, similar in many ways to the Earth's. The corona is the outermost layer of the solar atmosphere.
In a CME, tremendous quantities of highly energetic charged particles are released from the corona. These include free protons and electrons, as well as some comparatively heavier elements such as helium.
All of the particles travel very quickly at high energy, reaching the vicinity of the Earth in 24 to 48 hours. The ionizing radiation of a CME is one of the main contributors to weather patterns in the solar system.
It can also exert extreme effects on the magnetic field of the Earth's atmosphere, and it can damage artificial satellites and spacecraft, including manned vessels such as the International Space Station.
It is hoped that improved understanding of CMEs will allow their timing and properties to be predicted.
There is only a one or two day warning before a CME reaches the vicinity of the Earth; this represents the time lag between visual detection of the CME and the arrival of the particles.
Each STEREO satellite carries several cameras that can observe the solar surface at different wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum.
Different wavelengths correspond to different types or temperatures of solar radiation.
The two satellites orbit the Sun in a highly elliptical path that takes them close to the Earth's own orbit.
After swinging around the Moon in January, one of the satellites was shot ahead of the Earth's orbit, while the other lags slightly behind.
As the expected two-year mission continues, the orbits of the two satellites will continue to diverge, until they are on opposite sites of the Sun.
The Applied Physics Laboratory designed, built and manages the two STEREO satellites in collaboration with NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
In a CME, tremendous quantities of highly energetic charged particles are released from the corona. These include free protons and electrons, as well as some comparatively heavier elements such as helium.
All of the particles travel very quickly at high energy, reaching the vicinity of the Earth in 24 to 48 hours. The ionizing radiation of a CME is one of the main contributors to weather patterns in the solar system.
It can also exert extreme effects on the magnetic field of the Earth's atmosphere, and it can damage artificial satellites and spacecraft, including manned vessels such as the International Space Station.
It is hoped that improved understanding of CMEs will allow their timing and properties to be predicted.
There is only a one or two day warning before a CME reaches the vicinity of the Earth; this represents the time lag between visual detection of the CME and the arrival of the particles.
Each STEREO satellite carries several cameras that can observe the solar surface at different wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum.
Different wavelengths correspond to different types or temperatures of solar radiation.
The two satellites orbit the Sun in a highly elliptical path that takes them close to the Earth's own orbit.
After swinging around the Moon in January, one of the satellites was shot ahead of the Earth's orbit, while the other lags slightly behind.
As the expected two-year mission continues, the orbits of the two satellites will continue to diverge, until they are on opposite sites of the Sun.
The Applied Physics Laboratory designed, built and manages the two STEREO satellites in collaboration with NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Be the first to comment on this story