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HESSI
SPACECRAFT TO STEAL SECRETS OF SOLAR EXPLOSIONS WITH X-RAY VISION
Synopsis:
The High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) will study massive explosions
in the atmosphere of the Sun with a unique kind of X-ray vision to understand
how they pack a punch of up to a billion megatons of TNT. Within these gigantic
explosions, called solar flares, magnetic fields twist, snap and recombine, blasting
particles to almost the speed of light and firing solar gas to tens of millions
of degrees, causing it to sizzle with high-energy radiation (X-rays and gamma
rays). The X-rays that reach the Earth change the structure of our planet's electrically
charged upper atmosphere (ionosphere), disturbing the technological infrastructure
that we have become so dependent upon for communications. Click
here for animation of the deployment of HESSI's solar arrays Click
here for animation of HESSI in orbit
HESSI SPACECRAFT ANIMATION - The Sun has a mystery
that scientists would like to unravel. It can take magnetic energy and turn it
into a stunningly powerful blast of heat, light, and radiation. The HESSI spacecraft
will produce unprecedented high-fidelity movies of flares in their highest-energy
emissions, finally allowing scientists to unlock the secrets of how these awesome
detonations are generated. HESSI is scheduled to launch June 7, 2001, from Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on a Pegasus rocket. SUPER:
NASA Click
here for animation of Solar Max and Min Solar
Max - Scientists are launching HESSI during "solar max," the period
where the most intense flares occur. HESSI is expected to gather data on thousands
of flares during its two-to-three-year mission. Working together with a fleet
of other spacecraft - Yohkoh, SOHO, GOES and TRACE for flare radiation and WIND,
ACE, Ulysses, and Voyager for particle detection - HESSI will provide a vital
insight into the impulsive energy release and particle acceleration processes
at the Sun. Solar max can be seen in this comparison of 1996 and 2000 SOHO solar
images. SUPER: NASA / ESA Click
here for animation of Bastille Day Flare Bastille
Day Flare - Close-Up - This close-up view of the "Bastille Day"
flare was captured by NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) spacecraft
on July 14, 2000. Click
here for animation of Vibrating Coronal Loops Vibrating
Coronal Loops - Huge loops and coils of heated coronal gas vibrate like a
piano string hit by its hammer following the blast wave from a solar flare. It
is those vibrations, which heat the corona to intense temperatures, often many
times hotter than the surface of the sun itself. Recent observations by the Transition
Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) spacecraft indicate that the corona may be
millions of times more viscous than previously expected, thus explaining why the
medium of solar plasma has a higher than expected level of molecular friction.
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