Sun  ID: 3981

The Active Sun from SDO: 193 Ångstroms

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observes the Sun with many different instruments, in many different wavelengths of light. Many of these capabilities are not possible for ground-based observatories - hence the need for a space-based observing platform.

This movie is generated for a wavelength of 193 Ångstroms (19.3 nanometers) which highlights a spectral line emitted by iron atoms that have lost 11 electrons (also known as iron-12 or Fe XII) at temperatures of 1,000,000 K as well as iron atoms that have lost 23 electrons (also known as iron-24 or FeXXIV) at temperatures of 20,000,000K. The former represents a slightly higher region of the corona and the latter represents the much hotter material of a solar flare. This wavelength also makes coronal holes (which appear as dark regions near the solar surface) more visible.

This visualization is one of a set of visualizations (others linked below) covering the same time span of 17 hours over the full wavelength range of the mission. They are setup to play synchronously on a Hyperwall, or can be run individually.

The images are sampled every 36 seconds, 1/3 of the standard time-cadence for SDO. This visualization is useful for illustrating how different solar phenomena, such as sunspots and active regions, look very different in different wavelengths of light. These differences enable scientists to study them more completely, with an eventual goal of improving Space Weather forecasting.

 

Related


Visualization Credits

Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Animator
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Producer
Genna Duberstein (USRA): Producer
Phil Chamberlin (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, the SDO Science Team, and the Virtual Solar Observatory.

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3981

Mission:
SDO

Data Used:
SDO/AIA/193 Filter also referred to as: AIA 193
JOINT SCIENCE OPERATIONS CENTER - 2011-09-25T08:00 - 2011-09-26T01:00
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This item is part of this series:
SDO Jewelbox

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Flares
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Ultraviolet
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> SDO
SVS >> Solar Dynamics Observatory
SVS >> Heliophysics
SVS >> Corona
NASA Science >> Sun
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Coronal Mass Ejections
SVS >> Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging
SVS >> EUV Imaging

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0