Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Euclid gains solar power and protection
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
3 min read
NASA Solar Observatory Sees Coronal Loops Flicker Before Big Flares
For decades, scientists have tried in vain to accurately predict solar flares — intense bursts of light on the Sun that can send a flurry of charged particles into the solar system. Now, using NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, one team has identified flickering loops in the solar atmosphere, or corona, that seem to signal when the Sun is about to unleash a large flare.
These warning signs could help NASA and other stakeholders protect astronauts as well as technology both in space and on the ground from hazardous space weather.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of coronal loops above an active region on the Sun in mid-January 2012. The image was taken in the 171 angstrom wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory Led by heliophysicist Emily Mason of Predictive Sciences Inc. in San Diego, California, the team studied arch-like structures called coronal loops along the edge of the Sun. Coronal loops rise from magnetically driven active regions on the Sun, where solar flares also originate.
The team looked at coronal loops near 50 strong solar flares, analyzing how their brightness in extreme ultraviolet light varied in the hours before a flare compared to loops above non-flaring regions. Like flashing warning lights, the loops above flaring regions varied much more than those above non-flaring regions.
“We found that some of the extreme ultraviolet light above active regions flickers erratically for a few hours before a solar flare,” Mason explained. “The results are really important for understanding flares and may improve our ability to predict dangerous space weather.”
Published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters in December 2024 and presented on Jan. 15, 2025, at a press conference during the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, the results also hint that the flickering reaches a peak earlier for stronger flares. However, the team says more observations are needed to confirm this link.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that
supports HTML5 video
The four panels in this movie show brightness changes in coronal loops in four different wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light (131, 171, 193, and 304 angstroms) before a solar flare in December 2011. The images were taken by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and processed to reveal flickering in the coronal loops. NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory/JHelioviewer/E. Mason Other researchers have tried to predict solar flares by examining magnetic fields on the Sun, or by looking for consistent trends in other coronal loop features. However, Mason and her colleagues believe that measuring the brightness variations in coronal loops could provide more precise warnings than those methods — signaling oncoming flares 2 to 6 hours ahead of time with 60 to 80 percent accuracy.
“A lot of the predictive schemes that have been developed are still predicting the likelihood of flares in a given time period and not necessarily exact timing,” said team member Seth Garland of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Each solar flare is like a snowflake — every single flare is unique.
Kara kniezewski
Air Force Institute of Technology
“The Sun’s corona is a dynamic environment, and each solar flare is like a snowflake — every single flare is unique,” said team member Kara Kniezewski, a graduate student at the Air Force Institute of Technology and lead author of the paper. “We find that searching for periods of ‘chaotic’ behavior in the coronal loop emission, rather than specific trends, provide a much more consistent metric and may also correlate with how strong a flare will be.”
The scientists hope their findings about coronal loops can eventually be used to help keep astronauts, spacecraft, electrical grids, and other assets safe from the harmful radiation that accompanies solar flares. For example, an automated system could look for brightness changes in coronal loops in real-time images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory and issue alerts.
“Previous work by other researchers reports some interesting prediction metrics,” said co-author Vadim Uritsky of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the Catholic University of Washington in D.C. “We could build on this and come up with a well-tested and, ideally, simpler indicator ready for the leap from research to operations.”
By Vanessa Thomas
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Share
Details
Last Updated Jan 15, 2025 Related Terms
Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Space Weather The Sun Explore More
7 min read NASA Celebrates Edwin Hubble’s Discovery of a New Universe
Article
5 hours ago
6 min read NASA’s Webb Reveals Intricate Layers of Interstellar Dust, Gas
Article
1 day ago
6 min read Newfound Galaxy Class May Indicate Early Black Hole Growth, Webb Finds
Article
1 day ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
NASA/Joel Kowsky An adult Alamosaurus sports eclipse glasses outside of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, on April 6, 2024. Two days later, the total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe.
The NASA Headquarters photo team chose this image as one of the best from 2024. See more of the top 100 from last year on Flickr.
Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
View the full article
-
By NASA
NASA’s SPHEREx observatory will use a technique called spectroscopy across the entire sky, capturing the universe in more than 100 colors.Credit: BAE Systems Media accreditation is open for the launch of two NASA missions that will explore the mysteries of our universe and Sun.
The agency is targeting late February to launch its SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory, a space telescope that will create a 3D map of the entire sky to help scientists investigate the origins of our universe. NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which will study origins of the Sun’s outflow of material, or the solar wind, also will ride to space with the telescope.
NASA and SpaceX will launch the missions aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Accredited media will have the opportunity to participate in a series of prelaunch briefings and interviews with key mission personnel, including a science briefing the week of launch. NASA will communicate additional details regarding the media event schedule as the launch date approaches.
Media interested in covering the launch must apply for media accreditation. The application deadline for U.S. citizens is 11:59 p.m. EST, Thursday, Feb. 6, while international media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 11:59 p.m., Monday, Jan. 20.
NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other mission questions, please contact the newsroom at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425, o Messod Bendayan: 256-930-1371.
Updates about spacecraft launch preparations are available on the agency’s SPHEREx blog and PUNCH blog.
The SPHEREx mission will observe hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies in infrared light, a range of wavelengths not visible to the human eye. With this map, SPHEREx will enable scientists to study inflation, or the rapid expansion of the universe a fraction of a second after the big bang. The observatory also will measure the collective glow from galaxies near and far, including light from hidden galaxies that individually haven’t been observed, and look for reservoirs of water, carbon dioxide, and other key ingredients for life in our home galaxy.
Launching as a rideshare with SPHEREx, the agency’s PUNCH mission is made up of four suitcase-sized satellites that will spread out around Earth’s day-night line to observe the Sun and space with a combined field of view. Working together, the four satellites will map out the region where the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, transitions to the solar wind, or the constant outflow of material from the Sun.
The SPHEREx observatory is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for the Astrophysics Division within the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission principal investigator is based jointly at NASA JPL and Caltech. Formerly Ball Aerospace, BAE Systems built the telescope, supplied the spacecraft bus, and performed observatory integration. The science analysis of the SPHEREx data will be conducted by a team of scientists located at 10 institutions in the U.S., two in South Korea, and one in Taiwan. Data will be processed and archived at IPAC at Caltech. The SPHEREx data set will be publicly available.
The agency’s PUNCH mission is led by Southwest Research Institute’s office in Boulder, Colorado. The mission is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, manages the launch service for the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions.
For more details about the SPHEREx mission and updates on launch preparations, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex
-end-
Alise Fisher (SPHEREx)
Headquarters, Washington
202-617-4977
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier (PUNCH)
Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
Laura Aguiar
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-593-6245
laura.aguiar@nasa.gov
Share
Details
Last Updated Jan 13, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer) Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Jet Propulsion Laboratory Kennedy Space Center Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) Science Mission Directorate View the full article
-
By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Artist concept highlighting the novel approach proposed by the 2025 NIAC awarded selection of Beholding Black Hole Power with the Accretion Explorer Interferometer concept.NASA/Kimberly Weaver Kimberly Weaver
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Some of the most enigmatic objects in the Universe are giant supermassive black holes (SMBH). Yet after 30 years of study, we don’t know precisely how these objects produce their power. This requires observations at X-ray wavelengths. The state-of-the-art for X-ray images is Chandra (~0.5-1 arcsecond resolution) but this is insufficient to image regions near SMBH where the most energetic behavior occurs. The Accretion Explorer (AE) is a mission architecture that will shatter new ground by creating X-ray images at scientifically crucial energies of 0.7-1.2 keV, 1.5-2.5 keV, 6-7 keV, up to 6 orders of magnitude better than Chandra, and will offer imaging at 4-5 orders of magnitude better than JWST (IR) and HST(optical/UV). The specific X-ray energy bands we are proposing to cover contain vital X-ray line signatures that can distinguish between SMBH activity and stellar processes. The AE NIAC concept would be a game changer for NASA and astrophysics. X-ray interferometry will challenge and change the conversation around future mission possibilities for NASA’s flagships. It will also influence the Astrophysics 2030 Decadal Survey and will significantly contribute to our scientific knowledge base in astrophysics and other fields. AE has tremendous potential to generate enthusiasm for future missions and the potential to build advocacy to support it within NASA, society, and the aerospace community.
Alternative approaches to ultra high-resolution X-ray imaging technology are not currently being funded. Our study will focus on a large free-flying X-ray interferometer. We will design a multiple spacecraft system that provides the architecture to align individual mirror pair baseline groupings provided by individual collector spacecraft, with the pointing precision to achieve micro-arcsecond resolution. Our study will assess the required pointing stability and determine optimal ways to nest and mount the collecting mirror flats within mirror modules. We will assess the required size for the detector array(s) to accommodate the wavelength coverage for detecting fringes, study how images will be created from fringes, and produce a simulated image from a design with accompanying optical element tolerance tables. We will document alternative approaches, how new factors substantially differentiate AE from prior efforts for X-ray interferometry, and identify technical hurdles.
As a result of performing this study, there are notable engineering benefits that can contribute to space missions, even if the concept is shown to be infeasible. These include establishing how small baseline interferometers can be flown with less risk in terms of spacing and tethering mirror modules, studies of very high levels of pointing precision for space-based interferometers, and extreme stability on target. Producing a simulated image from this design with accompanying tolerance tables can inform other space-based interferometry designs.
2025 Selections
Facebook logo @NASATechnology @NASA_Technology
Share
Details
Last Updated Jan 10, 2025 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program NIAC Studies Keep Exploring Discover More NIAC Topics
Space Technology Mission Directorate
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts
NIAC Funded Studies
About NIAC
View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
Video: 00:01:14 At the start of this new year, we look back at close-up pictures and solar flare data recorded by the ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission over the last three years. See and hear for yourself how the number of flares and their intensity increase, a clear sign of the Sun approaching the peak of the 11-year solar cycle.
This video combines ultraviolet images of the Sun's outer atmosphere (the corona, yellow) taken by Solar Orbiter's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument, with the size and locations of solar flares (blue circles) as recorded by the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) instrument. The accompanying audio is a sonification based on the detected flares and the spacecraft's distance to the Sun.
Solar Orbiter moves on an elliptical path around the Sun, making a close approach to our star every six months. We can see this in the video from the spacecraft's perspective, with the Sun moving closer and farther over the course of each year. In the sonification, this is represented by the low background humming that loudens as the Sun gets closer and becomes quieter as it moves further away. (There are some abrupt shifts in distance visible in the video, as it skips over dates where one or both instruments were inactive or collecting a different type of data.)
The blue circles represent solar flares: bursts of high-energy radiation of which STIX detects the X-rays. Flares are sent out by the Sun when energy stored in 'twisted' magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released. The size of each circle indicates how strong the flare is, with stronger flares sending out more X-rays. We can hear the flares in the metallic clinks in the sonification, where the sharpness of the sound corresponds to how energetic the solar flare is.
Many thanks to Klaus Nielsen (DTU Space / Maple Pools) for making the sonification in this video. If you would like to hear more sonifications and music by this artist, please visit: https://linktr.ee/maplepools
Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA, operated by ESA.
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.