2002 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| FIERCE WINDS BLOW IN THE SOLAR SKIES
| G02-036 | 5/15/02 | 00:05:50 | Based on new research, that ultra-hot wispy outer atmosphere of the Sun is actually home to storms and winds that rage at speeds up to 200,000 mph. The outer atmosphere, or corona, is so dynamic that these 'hypersonic gales' are more important than gravity in determining the density of the atmosphere. The sources of this new find are NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) spacecraft and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): Signature Sequence - To put this new analysis of the solar atmosphere (corona) in perspective, if the Earth's atmosphere were behave similarly, winds over 3,000 mph would be common on the surface. Scientists are excited about this discovery because it increases their understanding of the corona, which is the location of explosive solar activity that occasionally disrupts high-technology systems at Earth.
Courtesy: NASA / ESA / LSMAL
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| ITEM (2): Seeing The Corona - The Sun's coronal temperatures have provided a fertile mystery for scientists. Seen at eclipses as a wispy white aura, the corona is hot - about 1.8 million degrees, in fact. The big mystery is that the Sun's atmosphere is much hotter than its surface, which is a relatively cool 10,000 F (5500 C). Since this is opposite to the way heat is expected to flow, scientists think something must be dumping energy into the Sun's atmosphere. One clue is that the corona is permeated with magnetic fields that emerge from inside the Sun and extend far out into interplanetary space. The corona seems to be both structured and heated by these fields.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (3): Coronal Loops on The Sun - Capable of spanning several earths, coronal loops are loops of plasma (electrified gas) that appear to trace out the corona's complex magnetic field structure. Previously thought to be tubes of plasma trapped and enclosed in the arch-shaped magnetic fields of the corona, scientists have a different theory now. This new research shows that if the former were true, the loops would not be visible due to differences in density. Rather, scientists now think that the loops are hypervelocity currents of plasma blasted from the solar surface and squirted between the magnetic alleyways in the corona.
In other words, if the loops are currents of plasma being propelled against solar gravity, they would be similar to the arc of water from a water fountain. At times one or more of the loops "snap open" in the form of a coronal mass ejection, releasing gas and particles out into space.
Courtesy: NASA / LMSAL
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| ITEM (4): TRACE Spacecraft - NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) points its powerful telescope at the "transition region" of the Sun's atmosphere, a highly volatile and dynamic region. The telescope is sensitive to ultraviolet and extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths of light, which are invisible to the human eye, providing scientists with dramatic and detailed views of solar explosions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). TRACE was launched on April 1, 1998.
Courtesy: NASA/LMSAL
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| ITEM (5): SOHO Spacecraft - The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) operates at a vantage point of about 1 million miles out in space between the Sun and Earth. One of its 12 instruments, the Large Angle Spectrometric Coronograph (LASCO), mimics an eclipse in order to study the Sun's corona. The Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) allows for a full-disk view of the Sun.
Courtesy: NASA/ESA
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