Andrew Yee[_1_]
January 17th 08, 06:06 AM
Rani Gran
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. January 2, 2008
301-286-2483
Third Instrument for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Arrives at Goddard
The third and final instrument for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
has joined the other two at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Md.
The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) was delivered to Goddard in
preparation for SDO's scheduled launch in December 2008. The AIA was
designed and built at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed
Martin Advanced Technology Center (ATC), Palo Alto, Calif.
The AIA is a suite of four telescopes designed to provide an unprecedented
view of the sun's lower corona, a part of the sun's atmosphere relatively
close to the surface. AIA's telescopes will take nearly simultaneous images
in multiple wavelengths that span an area at least 50% larger than the sun.
AIA will be able to quickly create new multiple-wavelength images, about one
every ten seconds, allowing scientists to create detailed movies of rapidly
evolving solar storms. The multiple-wavelength view allows the imaging of
gases at different temperatures, from 10,000 to 30,000,000 degrees Kelvin
(~20,000 to 50,000,000 degrees Farenheit). Observing coronal gas heated to
different temperatures will help scientists trace how the sun's magnetic
energy, which powers violent solar weather, is released in the corona.
"This is a very significant step for the solar physics community. Having AIA
complete and undergoing integration on to the SDO spacecraft means we're
getting very close to the time when this instrument will be providing the
kind of data we need to unravel mysteries of the sun that have been just
beyond our grasp," said Alan Title, AIA principal investigator and a solar
physicist of the ATC.
The AIA will provide new details about how the plasma and magnetic field in
the corona changes during stormy activity like flares and eruptions as well
as during relatively quiet times. These details are required for scientists
using computer-generated models to test their theories about how magnetic
energy is released in solar storms. Scientists hope observations with AIA
will give them new insight into the physics behind the magnetic activity in
the sun's atmosphere that drives space weather. New details about the
physics show scientists how to revise their models. Comparing those revised
models to AIA's observations shows the scientists how well they simulate
what was actually seen on the sun. Ultimately, scientists will use the new
data from the AIA, the other instruments on SDO, and other solar
observatories to improve forecasts of severe space weather. This is the goal
of NASA's Living With a Star program.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory instruments, which include the AIA, the
Heliospheric and Magnetic Imager and the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability
Experiment, are designed to work together. Their coordinated observations
will determine how the sun's magnetic field is generated and structured, how
this stored magnetic energy is converted into heat and light, how it is
released as solar wind and energetic particles, and how these processes
change the solar irradiance. Solar irradiance is the source of virtually all
the energy that enables life on Earth.
SDO is a major component of a fleet of focused science missions developed by
the NASA Heliophysics Division. Each mission will cooperate with the others
as components of a Great Observatory whose goal is to understand our
heliosphere -- the domain of the sun.
For related images to this story, please visit on the Web:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/sdo_aia.html
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. January 2, 2008
301-286-2483
Third Instrument for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Arrives at Goddard
The third and final instrument for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
has joined the other two at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Md.
The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) was delivered to Goddard in
preparation for SDO's scheduled launch in December 2008. The AIA was
designed and built at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed
Martin Advanced Technology Center (ATC), Palo Alto, Calif.
The AIA is a suite of four telescopes designed to provide an unprecedented
view of the sun's lower corona, a part of the sun's atmosphere relatively
close to the surface. AIA's telescopes will take nearly simultaneous images
in multiple wavelengths that span an area at least 50% larger than the sun.
AIA will be able to quickly create new multiple-wavelength images, about one
every ten seconds, allowing scientists to create detailed movies of rapidly
evolving solar storms. The multiple-wavelength view allows the imaging of
gases at different temperatures, from 10,000 to 30,000,000 degrees Kelvin
(~20,000 to 50,000,000 degrees Farenheit). Observing coronal gas heated to
different temperatures will help scientists trace how the sun's magnetic
energy, which powers violent solar weather, is released in the corona.
"This is a very significant step for the solar physics community. Having AIA
complete and undergoing integration on to the SDO spacecraft means we're
getting very close to the time when this instrument will be providing the
kind of data we need to unravel mysteries of the sun that have been just
beyond our grasp," said Alan Title, AIA principal investigator and a solar
physicist of the ATC.
The AIA will provide new details about how the plasma and magnetic field in
the corona changes during stormy activity like flares and eruptions as well
as during relatively quiet times. These details are required for scientists
using computer-generated models to test their theories about how magnetic
energy is released in solar storms. Scientists hope observations with AIA
will give them new insight into the physics behind the magnetic activity in
the sun's atmosphere that drives space weather. New details about the
physics show scientists how to revise their models. Comparing those revised
models to AIA's observations shows the scientists how well they simulate
what was actually seen on the sun. Ultimately, scientists will use the new
data from the AIA, the other instruments on SDO, and other solar
observatories to improve forecasts of severe space weather. This is the goal
of NASA's Living With a Star program.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory instruments, which include the AIA, the
Heliospheric and Magnetic Imager and the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability
Experiment, are designed to work together. Their coordinated observations
will determine how the sun's magnetic field is generated and structured, how
this stored magnetic energy is converted into heat and light, how it is
released as solar wind and energetic particles, and how these processes
change the solar irradiance. Solar irradiance is the source of virtually all
the energy that enables life on Earth.
SDO is a major component of a fleet of focused science missions developed by
the NASA Heliophysics Division. Each mission will cooperate with the others
as components of a Great Observatory whose goal is to understand our
heliosphere -- the domain of the sun.
For related images to this story, please visit on the Web:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/sdo_aia.html