2002 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID |
Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| SUN-EARTH DAY MARKED BY A NEW SOLAR PERSPECTIVE
| G02-021 | 3/20/02 |
00:04:32 | First images from NASA's Ramaty
High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft start to
reveal the essence of a solar flare: the exact time and place where
the energy is released. The importance of this information
underscores the stakes involved with solar flares, explosions on the
Sun capable of releasing energy equal to a billion megatons of TNT.
When directed toward Earth, violent activity on the Sun, including
flares, can affect communication systems, power grids and astronauts
in space.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): A New Window On
Solar Flares - Scientists believe solar flares are powered
by the violent release of magnetic energy, but how this happens is
unknown. RHESSI aims to provide the first-ever opportunity to track
the radiation released by solar flares in X-ray and gamma rays. This
radiation is what reveals critical information about the flare: the
exact time and place where the energy is released. This can help to
understand what triggers a flare and how it releases energy.
This moderately powerful Feb. 20 flare was first seen by the Solar
and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Color-coded RHESSI data is then
super-imposed on black & white images delivered by ground-based
telescopes at the Big Bear Observatory; blue shows the most intense
X-ray emissions and red the weakest. During the flare, the X-rays
are generated by electrons and accelerated to half the speed of
light. Because the flare was relatively weak, there were no gamma
rays observed that would have shown protons. This view is near a
large sunspot region that produced a series of solar flares.
Courtesy: NASA / ESA / BBSO / NJIT
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| ITEM (2): The Sun's Impact
On Earth - Solar flares are generated by the powerful blasts
of magnetic energy on the Sun and are capable of hurling millions of
tons of plasma toward Earth. Located near a large sunspot region,
this is a close-up view of a flare that occurred July 14, 2000. The
flare was classified as X-class, the most powerful type, and captured
by NASA's SOHO spacecraft and the Transition Region and Coronal
Explorer (TRACE) spacecraft. Flares are associated with coronal mass
ejections (CMEs), powerful blasts of electrically charged gas
travelling at speeds of up to a million miles per hour. If this flow
of charged particles collides with Earth, it can upset communications
and navigation systems, satellites and cause electrical blackouts.
Courtesy: NASA / ESA / LMSAL
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| ITEM (3): RHESSI
Spacecraft - Over its two-year mission, the Ramaty
High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft will watch
the Sun in X-rays and gamma rays. RHESSI is the first spacecraft to
make high-resolution movies of flares using their high-energy
radiation. Launched on Feb. 5, its primary objective is to study the
secrets of how solar flares are produced in the Sun's atmosphere.
RHESSI orbits Earth about 15 times a day and spins on its axis every
4 seconds.
Courtesy: NASA
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