2003 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| SOLAR FLARES: ANTIMATTER FACTORIES ON THE SUN | G03-050 | 09/03/03 | 00:05:34 | Solar flares, explosions in the solar atmosphere, have always provided fertile ground for scientific mystery. A new discovery from the RHESSI spacecraft reveals that these flares, which release as much energy as a billion one-megaton nuclear bombs, somehow sort particles, either by their masses or their electric charge, as they are blasted out at nearly the speed of light. One scientist likened the phenomenon to gold miners blasting a cliff face and discovering that dirt was thrown in one direction and gold in another. RHESSI has also shaken up a few flare theories regarding the powerful antimatter being generated and destroyed during the explosions.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): Anatomy of a Flare - Scientists had thought the particles in the solar atmosphere were accelerated during a flare by being dragged along with the magnetic field; if so, all the particles would be shot in the same direction. Rather, heavier particles (ions) end up in a different location than lighter particles (electrons). The two orange lines extending above the surface of the Sun in the animation represent oppositely directed magnetic field lines extending out into the solar corona.
They move together and when they touch, break like overstretched elastic bands that reconnect above and below the break point, and accelerate particles to high energies. These particles travel down the field lines towards the surface, home of the solar antimatter factory (see close-up sequence). When they hit the surface, they produce the X-rays and gamma rays and heat the gas to over 20 million degrees. This gas is seen moving back up the new magnetic loop formed by the earlier reconnection.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): RHESSI Observations - This July 23 flare first tipped off scientists because the gamma rays (purple) were not emitted from the same locations as the X-rays (red and blue) as theory predicts. The two X-ray emitting regions near the footprints of the flare were located some 15,000 km (9,300 miles) north of the faint gamma-ray glow. The event generated a half-kilo (about 1 lb) of antimatter, enough to power the entire U.S. for two days. While it is known that large flares are antimatter factories, RHESSI data revealed that the antimatter generated in the July 23 flare was not destroyed where expected. (RHESSI data is super-imposed on images from the TRACE spacecraft)
Courtesy: NASA / LMSAL / BBSO
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| ITEM (3): Solar Flare B-Roll - Solar flares happen when magnetic fields in the Sun's atmosphere become twisted and suddenly snap to a new configuration, like a rubber band breaking when overstretched. Antimatter is generated in flares after they accelerate particles; the fast-moving particles collide with slower particles in the Sun's atmosphere and antimatter is produced. RHESSI data indicates that the antimatter generated might have been destroyed in regions where high temperature made the particle density significantly lower than where the antimatter should have been created, again calling into question prevailing theories.
Courtesy: NASA/ESA
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| ITEM (4): A Multi-Mission View of Sun - In this unique view, images from five instruments on three separate satellites are combined in one frame. With so many coordinated spacecraft datasets and so many diverse assignments, this visualization is striking in the information it presents of an April 2002 flare - a radical view of one solar event from sunspot to flare to the X-rays pinpointed on that flare to the CME billowing out into space. Included spacecraft: SOHO, Trace and RHESSI.
Courtesy: NASA / ESA / LMSAL
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| ITEM (5): RHESSI Spacecraft - The Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft watches 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, 2002, 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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