|
Posted by baalke on April 23, 2007, 6:55 pm
Please log in for more thread options
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/stereo3DPressReleaseApril23.html
NASA Spacecraft Make First 3-D Images of Sun
04.23.07
Rani Gran / Nancy Neal-Jones
Goddard Space Flight Center, Md.
301-286-2483 / 0039
DC Agle
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
RELEASE: 07-16
GREENBELT, Md. - NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory
(STEREO) spacecraft have made the first three-dimensional images of
the
sun. The new view will greatly aid scientists' ability to understand
solar physics and thereby improve space weather forecasting.
"The improvement with STEREO's 3-D view is like going from a regular
X-ray to a 3-D CAT scan in the medical field," said Dr. Michael
Kaiser,
STEREO Project Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md.
The STEREO spacecraft were launched October 25, 2006. On January 21
they
completed a series of complex maneuvers, including flying by the moon,
to position the spacecraft in their mission orbits. The two
observatories are now orbiting the sun, one slightly ahead of Earth
and
one slightly behind, separating from each other by approximately 45
degrees per year. Just as the slight offset between a person's eyes
provides depth perception, the separation of spacecraft allow 3-D
images
of the sun.
Violent solar weather originates in the sun's atmosphere, or corona,
and
can disrupt satellites, radio communication, and power grids on Earth.
The corona resembles wispy smoke plumes, which flow outward along the
sun's tangled magnetic fields. It's difficult for scientists to tell
which structures are in front and which are behind.
"In the solar atmosphere, there are no clues to help us judge
distance.
Everything appears flat in the 2-D plane of the sky. Having a stereo
perspective just makes it so much easier," said Dr. Russell Howard of
the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, the Principal Investigator
for the SECCHI (Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric
Investigation) suite of telescopes on the spacecraft.
"With STEREO's 3-D imagery, we'll be able to discern where matter and
energy flows in the solar atmosphere much more precisely than with the
2-D views available before. This will really help us understand the
complex physics going on," said Howard.
STEREO's depth perception also will help improve space weather
forecasts. Of particular concern is a destructive type of solar
eruption
called a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). CMEs are eruptions of
electrically
charged gas, called plasma, from the sun's atmosphere. A CME cloud can
contain billions of tons of plasma and move at a million miles per
hour.
The CME cloud is laced with magnetic fields, and CMEs directed toward
Earth smash into our planet's magnetic field. If the CME magnetic
fields
have the proper orientation, they dump energy and particles into
Earth's
magnetic field, causing magnetic storms that can overload power line
equipment and radiation storms that disrupt satellites.
Satellite and utility operators can take precautions to minimize CME
damage, but they need an accurate forecast of when the CME will
arrive.
To do this, forecasters need to know the location of the front of the
CME cloud. STEREO will allow scientists to accurately locate the CME
cloud front. "Knowing where the front of the CME cloud is will improve
estimates of the arrival time from within a day or so to just a few
hours," said Howard. "STEREO also will help forecasters estimate how
severe the resulting magnetic storm will be."
"In addition to the STEREO perspective of solar features, STEREO for
the
first time will allow imaging of the solar disturbances the entire way
from the sun to the Earth. Presently, scientists are only able to
model
this region in the dark, from only one picture of solar disturbances
leaving the sun and reaching only a fraction of the sun-Earth
distance,
said Dr. Madhulika Guhathakurta, STEREO Program Scientist, NASA
Headquarters. Washington.
STEREO's first 3-D images are being provided by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. STEREO is the third mission in NASA's
Solar
Terrestrial Probes program within NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington. The Goddard Science and Exploration Directorate manages
the
mission, instruments, and science center. The Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., designed and built the
spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The STEREO
imaging
and particle detecting instruments were designed and built by
scientific
institutions in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands,
and
Switzerland.
For STEREO images, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/news/stereo3D_press.html
For more information about STEREO, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/stereo
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
|
| Similar Threads | Posted | | STEREO Spacecraft Swing Past Moon, Preparing for 3-D Solar Studies | January 23, 2007, 5:27 pm |
| NASA Satellites Will Improve Understanding the Sun (STEREO) | August 17, 2006, 2:46 pm |
| Lockheed Martin Instrument on Latest NASA Sun Mission Sees First Light (STEREO) | December 21, 2006, 2:05 pm |
| Pace Quickens for NASA Spacecraft Orbiting Mars (MRO) | June 20, 2006, 8:22 pm |
| NASA Mars Spacecraft Gear Up for Extra Work | September 25, 2006, 8:13 pm |
| NASA Spacecraft Read Layered Clues to Changes on Mars | December 13, 2006, 1:38 pm |
| NASA Postpones Dawn Spacecraft Launch to September 27 | September 24, 2007, 12:06 pm |
| NASA Spacecraft to Carry Russian Science Instruments | October 3, 2007, 3:43 pm |
| Cassini Spacecraft Images Seas on Saturn's Moon Titan | March 13, 2007, 3:30 pm |
| NASA Ames Spacecraft to Smash into a Pole of the moon in Search of Ice | August 22, 2006, 4:11 pm |
|
XML Sitemap