(From Science@NASA)
Sept. 2, 2010: NASA’s daring plan to visit the sun took a giant leap forward today with the selection of five key science investigations for the Solar Probe+ spacecraft.
Slated to launch no later than 2018, the smart car-sized spacecraft will plunge directly into the atmosphere of the sun, aiming to solve some of the biggest mysteries of solar physics. Today’s announcement means that researchers can begin building sensors for unprecedented in situ measurements of the solar system’s innermost frontier.
“Solar Probe+ is going where no spacecraft has gone before,” says Lika Guhathakurta, Solar Probe+ program scientist at NASA HQ. “For the first time, we’ll be able to ‘touch, taste and smell’ the sun.”
Read more at http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/02sep_spp/
Posted in Well a few new ARs (Active Regions) have popped up, image c/o Big Bear.
ENLIL and ACE MAG/SWEPAM show that the planetary IMF (Interplanetary Magnetic Field) may have changed direction.
Meanwhile Earl and Fiona continue to march on. Here’s a GOES IR image from Environment Canada:
One of our readers also sent us this information:
“Earth moving between Sun and Jupiter with Jupiter and Uranus conjuct on September 18-19.” so eyes open around that time!
Just caught this one –
Event is not Earth directed.
Well around August 23rd or so I noticed that the LASCO C2 image was kind of anomalous as you can see below. I sent a query and for those who are interested I was informed by the SOHO team that it has been fixed with new background correction.
Space is a difficult and challenging operating environment and SOHO has been in operation for almost 15 years – well past the intended life cycle and it has contributed so very much to humanity’s quest to understand and learn about our little variable star. To everyone who’s worked on the SOHO project (directly and indirectly): thank you!
This information has recently appeared on the SOHO site, signaling the changing of the guard from SOHO to SDO:
SOHO/EIT is operating at a reduced image cadence
At the end of 2010 July, EIT has completed fourteen and a half years of synoptic observations of the low corona. SDO AIA images at much higher resolution and time cadence are now available for all the EIT wavebands, and three other EUV wavelengths as well. The telemetry bandwidth that has been used by EIT will be used by LASCO to improve the cadence of its observations of the fastest CME’s. EIT will continue to obtain a couple of “synoptic sets” of images in all four wavelengths per day to track detector behavior, and to maintain the uniform data set.
SOHO truly began a golden age of solar observation and provided us with many new spectacular images and the data to make amazing discoveries. We hoist a beer in your direction!
Came across this article this evening …
CLIMATE CHANGE LIES ARE EXPOSED
The panel was forced to admit its key claim in support of global warming was lifted from a 1999 magazine article. The report was based on an interview with a little-known Indian scientist who has since said his views were “speculation” and not backed by research.
Here’s some research:
(I will update this with the most recent data I can find.)
The SDO team has released a time lapse composite video of the last three months of observations. Great work here!
You can now become friends with Little SDO on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/NASA.Little.SDO We’ve made this compilation page of the imagery we use most and it’s constantly changing. Here’s a little video that’ll briefly explain most of it.
