NASA – Hinode (Sunrise) is a project to study the Sun

Hinode (Sunrise) is a project to study the Sun, led by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in collaboration with NASA, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), and the European Space Agency (ESA). Hinode’s three year mission is to explore the magnetic fields of the Sun, and improve our understanding of the mechanisms that power the solar atmosphere and drive solar eruptions.

 Released May 27, 2007: The Sun’s surface is not only covered with magnetic active regions, but also with “quiet regions” containing X-ray bright points. The resolution of Hinode’s X-ray telescope (XRT) has now made it possible to see loop structures of which the bright points are apparently composed. In the image above, individual bright points are circled in green. After viewing the mpeg movie (MPEG1, 4.5M), one wonders about the term “quiet region”. Colors in the image and movie are pseudo-color. These data were taken on March 16, 2007 from 0:00 – 08:00 UT. The image and movie are courtesy of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).

 

In the movie above, one week of solar activity was seen with Hinode’s X-ray Telescope (XRT) from April 1 – 7. Solar rotation is obvious as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) active regions 10949 (close to center on April 2) and 10950 move from left to right. These images also provide a synopsis of the changing X-ray Sun over the week of April 1-7. Note the coronal holes (at the poles, on the west limb on the April 1-3, and also appearing in the southeast), the loop structures seen along the limb (edge) of the Sun, and the changing intensity of the bright points. Although bright in X rays, there were no “events” (solar flares) associated with the two active regions seen during this week. More XRT images may be found at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO).

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Filed Under: Astronomy