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Sharp images of solar storms NATIONAL SOLAR OBSERVATORY NEWS RELEASE Posted: December 23, 2003 As last October's solar flares blossomed into a coronal mass ejections, scientists at the National Solar Observatory used a new set of instruments to record the sharpest-ever images of the heart of the storms. "A stunning H-alpha flare movie was made and shows, to our knowledge for the first time, flare structure at scales of 0.2 arc-seconds," said Dr. Thomas Rimmele, project scientist for the NSO's Adaptive Optics (AO) project. In addition, the new Diffraction Limited Spectropolarimeter (DLSP) captured high-resolution polarization maps that are essential to studying the fine structure of magnetic activity on the Sun. The DSLP and the AO projects are funded by the National Science Foundation (AO is funded through NSF's Major Research Instrumentation division).
The DLSP, a joint project of the NSO and the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, CO, is the first instrument designed to take advantage of the AO76 system. The systems are installed in the NSO's Dunn Solar Telescope here. The 0.2 arc-second resolution is very close to the telescope's maximum of 0.18 arc-second. NSO scientists were testing the two systems when active regions on the Sun erupted during Oct. 23-25. Although the Sun is blindingly bright to the human eye, it is quite faint for many science studies. Examining just a small region in just a narrow spectral line at the end of a complex optical system leaves a relatively faint light flux arriving at the instrument's sensor. It takes up to 50 minutes for the DLSP to scan across the target, hence the need for the AO76 system to provide sharp, stable images. Otherwise, atmospheric turbulence would blur the data. "During much of the observing time the high-order AO delivered excellent and consistent image quality and we were able to scan a sunspot with the DLSP's highest spatial resolution mode," Rimmele said. The telescope's Universal Birefringent Filter (UBF) recorded high resolution H-alpha filtergrams and spectral scans of an iron line. H-alpha (656.3 nm) is emitted by hot, neutral hydrogen and outlines active regions on the Sun. The iron line (Fe I 543.4 nm) reveals the speed of gas flows in the photosphere. Images also were produced in G-band (430.3 nm), which includes absorptions by several types of molecules that reveal magnetic structures in the photosphere. "We believe that these G-band images show evidence for dark penumbral cores in the sunspots," Rimmele said. "Observations of these were recently reported from the new 1-meter Swedish Telescope on La Palma. The UBF data is likely to give more information as to the physical origin of these newly discovered features." Finally, the new DLSP obtained its first ultra high-resolution Stokes profiles of a sunspot before and after eruptions on Oct. 24. The Stokes parameters -- four aspects of how the light is polarized -- determine the strength and direction of the magnetic field in and around a spot, explained Dr. K. "Sankar" Sankarasubramanian, the DLSP project scientist. While measuring the Stokes parameters is a standard technique, the combination of AO and DLSP will reveal structures about with an area 16 times finer than what can be done with the older Advanced Stokes Polarimeter. This is part of the primary mission of the DLSP, measuring the strength and direction of magnetic fields in and around a sunspot in order to understand the flow of energy through these magnetically intense regions. The DLSP looks at two spectral lines of interest, centered on 630.25 nm. The lines come from iron atoms about 200 km (~120 mi) above the photosphere, the "visible surface" of the Sun. "If you have two spectral lines the magnetic field strength measurements are more accurate than with a single spectral line," Sankar said. "The field strength determination of unresolved magnetic field structures are more accurate with two lines." In addition to greater sensitivity and resolution than previous instruments, the DLSP will be a stable instrument at the DST and thus easier to set up and run observations. The AO76 and DLSP are to become fully operational in March 2004, and will be available to the solar physics community soon after that. The DSLP and the AO projects are funded by the National Science Foundation (AO is funded through NSF's Major Research Instrumentation division).
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Apollo 11 special patch Special collectors' patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Inside Apollo mission control
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Own a little piece of history with this official patch for the International Space Station's Expedition 11 crew. We'll ship yours today!U.S. Apollo 12 tribute DVD set ![]() New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail. U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Fallen Heroes special patch This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Women in Space Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars rover poster This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.U.S. Exploring Mars Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition!U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars Rover mission patch A mission patch featuring NASA's Mars Exploration Rover is now available from the Astronomy Now Store.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Gemini 7 Gemini 7: The NASA Mission Reports covers this 14-day mission by Borman and Lovell as they demonstrated some of the more essential facts of space flight. Includes CD-ROM.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo patches The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price. U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars Rover mission patch A mission patch featuring NASA's Mars Exploration Rover is available from our online.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo 9 DVD On the road to the moon, the mission of Apollo 9 stands as an important gateway in experience and procedures. This 2-DVD collection presents the crucial mission on the voyage to the moon.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide STS-134 Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo Collage This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia's historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversary Free shipping to U.S. addresses! ![]() Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard's historic Mercury mission with this collectors' item, the official commemorative embroidered patch. Fallen Heroes Patch Collection The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.Get e-mail updates Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose). |
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