2005 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| 2004 SUN-SOLAR SYSTEM CONNECTION HIGHLIGHTS | G05-022 | 4/11/05 | 85:00 | If 2003 was the year of record-breaking flares, scientists realized the implications of the Sun's power in 2004. Beyond watching a blast hit Earth's magnetic fields, a far-flung fleet of sentinels followed it out to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and to the very edge of the solar system with Voyager. Other spacecraft found misconceptions about Earth's invulnerability from the Sun. Namely, an orbit long considered a "safe zone" for satellites from powerful solar radiation is more of a "hot zone." And the twice-in-a-century transit of Venus provided more than a show: new evidence of the relationship between Earth's climate and solar activity emerged.
This video also presents a multi-mission approach to studying the Sun with a significant new visual that combines movies from five instruments on three satellites in one frame. With spacecraft continuing to pool their diverse data, it is hoped that returns like this one will be more and more common. NOTE: Within each slate are the spacecraft(s) and its respective instrument listed within brackets. Acronyms are spelled out at the end and on the GTV web site (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/2003solar.html).
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): New & Old: The Solar Observatories:
Skylab View of Solar Prominence - It's easy to forget that solar observations and space weather forecasting really began in earnest a scant thirty years ago. This narrated segment was part of NASA's "Air & Space Report" in 1970. Contrary to many of the stories of 2004, it relies on ground-based observations and animations.
Courtesy: NASA
SDO: NASA's Next Great Solar Observatory - The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is slated to launch in 2008. It's goal: to improve Sun-watching capabilities and forecasts. It's the first mission in NASA's Living with a Star (LWS) program, which focuses on the Sun's effect on our climate, communication systems, spacecraft, and aircraft.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): Star of The Show:
Multi-Mission View of the Sun (G03-014) - 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 that it lines up the data to provide 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. [SOHO / MDI, EIT, LASCO; TRACE; RHESSI] Courtesy: NASA/ESA/LMSAL
Full-Disk View With Soundtrack (G03-014) - At a distance of 93 million miles away, the effects of the Sun on Earth are unquestionable. It is coronal mass ejections blasting billions of tons of plasma into our magnetosphere with the potential to disturb space systems, power grids and communications. It is also a continuous input of radiation into the lower atmosphere to heat the planet. About 109 times the diameter of the Earth, the Sun is still providing scientists with a hotbed of mysteries to solve. This audio was derived from 40 days' worth of compressed vibrations and frequency sped up some 42,000 times. [SOHO / EIT] Courtesy: NASA/ESA
Amazing Changing Sun (G03-014) - To recap, solar maximum is considered to be the 2-3 year peak period (2000-2001 marked the peak of this cycle) when the Sun's activity is most complex and turbulent, and the space around Earth is most disturbed. The Sun's seasonal cycle is 11 years and is marked by disturbances to Earth known as coronal mass ejections and an increase in sunspots from a maximum of 200 to a minimum of a few dozen per month. Shown are the dramatic changes on the Sun from solar minimum in 1996 to maximum in 2000. [SOHO / EIT] Courtesy: NASA/ESA
Fountains of Fire (G03-014, new TRACE from Tom) - Close-up images of the Sun reveal an extremely active surface with structures of hot electrified gas ejections called coronal loops. These loops constantly emerge and disappear all over the Sun's surface and can span a length of about 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) or about 30 times the diameter of Earth. At times one or more of the loops "snap open" in the form of a mass coronal ejection or CME, releasing gas and particles out into space. [TRACE] Courtesy: NASA/LMSAL
Sunspots (G03-014) - Sunspots appear dark because they are cooler than the solar surface due to a strong magnetic field that traps the Sun's core heat from traveling to the surface like a bottleneck. The average sunspot is about 4500 degrees C, while the surroundings are about 6000 degrees C. Sunspots can last for weeks or more and can be as large as 80,000 km (over 6 planet Earths). [SOHO / MDI] Courtesy: NASA/ESA
How Do Active Regions Form? (G03-014) - Scientists know that the solar explosions called flares are driven by distorted magnetic fields that suddenly snap to a new, less energetic configuration, and that active regions are sites of strong magnetic fields. By peering beneath the surface of AR 9393, scientists found that such regions are comprised of many small magnetic structures that rise quickly from deep within the Sun. Other magnetic structures replenish these as they emerge, which makes the active region, home to sunspots, grow. [ANIMATION] Courtesy: NASA
What is The Aurora? (G03-014) - Plasma from solar storms hit the Earth's magnetic field, ejecting oxygen ions form the polar ionosphere (highest layer of the upper atmosphere). The ions flow along Earth's magnetic field lines until pressure from the solar wind stretches the field toward the night-side of the Earth like a rubber band. When the stretching is too great, the night-side magnetosphere snaps back toward the Earth, carrying the ejected ions from the ionosphere with it like an enormous slingshot. These ions, now about 2,500 mps, appear immediately in the aurora and cloud of hot plasma that encircles the Earth during space storms. [ANIMATION] Courtesy: NASA
Why Do We See Reds in The Sky? (G03-014) - Auroras are caused by collisions between fast-moving electrons and the oxygen and nitrogen residing in Earth's upper atmosphere. The electrons, which come from the magnetosphere, the region of space buffering Earth from solar storms, transfer energy to the gases, making them "excited." As they "calm down" and return to their normal state, they emit photons, small bursts of energy in the form of light. Oxygen produces a greenish-yellow or red light; nitrogen generally gives off a blue or dark red light. [ANIMATION] Courtesy: NASA
What Shields the Earth? (G03-014) - The energy of the solar wind shapes and impacts Earth's magnetic field, its magnetosphere, which originates in the Earth's core. The magnetosphere extends out about 65,000 km (40,000 miles) on the Sun side, and more than ten times that distance on the opposite side, well beyond the Moon's orbit. The exact distances vary considerably with solar activity. When a CME slams into the magnetosphere, most of the plasma is deflected. If it's not, enter the processes that make aurora. [MODEL] Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (3): Storm of the Solar Cycle & Breaking News:
What is a CME? (G03-014) - Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are violent discharges of electrically charged gas from the Sun's corona. The largest explosions in the solar system, CMEs launch up to 10 billion tons of ionized gas into space at speeds of one to two million miles an hour. CMEs can cause magnetic storms by interacting with the Earth's magnetic field, distorting its shape and accelerating electrically charged particles trapped within. As such, they can affect communication systems, power grids and astronauts in space. [ANIMATION] Courtesy: NASA
Oct/Nov One-Two Punch (G03-014) - It started with a view of two unusually large sunspot groups; one was 13 times the surface of the Earth. On Oct. 28 spacecraft tracked an X-17.2 sized flare - the second largest ever observed by SOHO - and arrived early the next day, meaning it was unusually fast as well. The same day that one arrived, an X-10 flare set off another round of particles and another fast-moving CME. X-class flares are the largest classification with C-class as low, M-class as mid; X-6 is considered a large flare. [SOHO/MDI, EIT, LASCO; TRACE] Courtesy: NASA/ESA/LMSAL
The Record-Breaking Flare (G03-014) - Just as the giant sunspot rotated away, it blasted off one more enormous flare on Nov. 4. This one saturated spacecraft detectors and was classified as X-28, making it the most powerful X-ray flare ever recorded. Only part of the associated CME (traveling at 2300 km/second) was directed toward Earth, resulting in a few auroras. All told, three giant sunspots unleashed 11 X-class flares in only 14 days - equaling the total number observed during the previous 12 months. [SOHO/MDI, EIT, LASCO] Courtesy: NASA/ESA
Polar Sees Aurora Arrival (G03-014) - Two weeks after the record-setters, the same spot hurled a CME into space resulting in massive aurora visible as far south as Florida on Nov. 20. The Polar spacecraft was flying around the South Pole and saw this aurora australis (also known as the Southern Lights). Aurora form when solar particles and magnetic fields pump energy into the Earth's magnetic field, accelerating electrically charged particles trapped within. The high-speed particles crash into Earth's upper atmosphere (ionosphere) over the polar regions, causing the atmosphere to emit a ghostly, multicolored glow. [POLAR/VIS] Courtesy: NASA
IMAGE Spacecraft Spots Glow (G03-014) - Also flying in the South Pole, the IMAGE spacecraft caught these views Nov. 20. This strong aurora australis reached above the island of Tasmania. Ultraviolet light is invisible to the human eye, but can be detected by special instruments like IMAGE. In this pressure pulse aurora, the aurora starts at the point over the Earth closest to the Sun, which is noon local time. It then spreads out around the globe in opposite directions, towards the dawn and dusk regions. The two portions of the aurora finally form a ring on the opposite side of the planet where it is midnight local time. [IMAGE/FUV] Courtesy: NASA
POES Spacecraft (G03-035) - Radiation from the storms traveled at nearly the speed of light, causing problems for satellites and long distance radio communications. Subsequent shocks accelerate particles to millions of miles per hour, packing a wallop when it comes to aurora, power grids, and energetic particles, which become trapped in Earth's Van Allen radiation belts for weeks. Aircraft were rerouted, satellite operations were affected, a power failure occurred in Sweden, and auroras were seen as far south as Florida. [POES]
Courtesy: NASA/NOAA/University of Michigan
Formation of an Aurora (G03-014) - The strongest aurora are formed when the magnetic field carried by a cloud of gas from the Sun has a direction oriented opposite to the direction of Earth's magnetic field. The Earth's field points northward, and, in this case, the cloud's field was aligned strongly southward, producing an intense aurora. The year 2003 marks the beginning of solar minimum, likening these two events to a blizzard in the middle of the summer. Courtesy: NASA
Multi-Mission Solar View (G04-035) - This unique view captures the November event using five instruments on three separate satellites. With so many coordinated spacecraft datasets and so many diverse assignments, this visualization is striking in that it lines up the data to provide 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. [SOHO / MDI, EIT, LASCO; TRACE; RHESSI]
Courtesy: NASA/ESA/LMSAL
Comet Makes Appearance - Comet ASAS (C/2004 R2) ranks among the brightest in recent times and passed about 10 million miles from the Sun, making SOHO the only witness to its journey. Scientists ranked the comet's brilliance as 4; zero means it's visible from Earth, negative numbers denote dimmer comets, and 4 is impressive. Courtesy: NASA/ESA
Unusual November Light Show - Both the IMAGE and Polar spacecraft were flying over the south pole and captured the aurora australis (southern lights) expanding and brightening on Nov. 8. The Earth seems to move from top to bottom in the Polar movie due to its orbit. Courtesy: NASA
Sunspot Size of 20 Earth's (G04-041) - At 20 times the size of Earth, the largest sunspot observed since the fall 2003 appeared on July 23. Active Region (AR) 10652 generated several medium-sized flares and CMEs over three and a half days. These views from SOHO show the region churning out massive amounts of plasma in small bursts. [SOHO EIT, MDI] Courtesy: NASA/ESA
New Views From Trace - 1) Nov. 4, 2003 X-28 flare / Active Region 10486
2) Oct. 28, 2003 X-17 flare / Active Region 10486
3) Aug. 28, 2003 Active Region 10442
4) August 25, 2001 Active Region 9591 Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (4): The Latest Observations:
Genesis Comes Back Home - Launched Aug. 8, 2001, the Genesis mission captured solar wind particles between Dec. 5, 2001 and April 1, 2004. Its unexpectedly rough landing in the Utah desert on Sept. 8 fortunately did not hinder its scientific objectives and fragile holdings. Researchers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston started sending out scientific samples to universities and other centers in January 2005. Courtesy: JPL
Solar Tsunamis - This view of a "solar tsunami," or "EIT wave," observed on June 13, 1998, and its related CME represent the most energetic waves in the solar system and help scientists study the solar corona in a new way. The tsunamis can travel the entire diameter of the Sun, varying in duration from 10 to 60 minutes and travel at a relatively slow pace of about 300 km/second (186 miles/second). Courtesy: NASA/LMSAL
The Tsunami Trigger - The corona is over a million degrees, making it difficult to get measurements of temperature, densities, and magnetic fields in its plasma. But when the tsunami waves travel through the corona, they act like sonar pulses. Magnetic fields, differing densities, or temperature fluctuations can cause the waves to slow down, speed up, or move in different directions. [ANIMATION] Courtesy: NASA
Seeing Through the Sun - The Sun rotates roughly once every 27 days and knowing what's rotating around to meet us is crucial. Scientists are using the MDI and SWAN instruments on SOHO to try to answer those questions. This visualization uses data from November 2003, immediately after the record flares. MDI uses holographic reconstruction techniques while SWAN determines how "active" the regions are in the ultraviolet spectrum. Courtesy: NASA/ESA
First 3-D View of Solar Eruptions (G04-033) - Seeing the structure of CMEs in three dimensions helps scientists understand the origin and processes that launch the billion-ton explosions of plasma into space and sometimes toward Earth. The magnetic fields that generate CMEs are invisible, but because the CME gas is electrified (plasma), it spirals around the field, tracing out its shape. Seeing the CME gas in 3-D provides even more information on the structure and behavior of the fields powering the events in the first place. [SOHO] Courtesy: NASA/ESA
LASCO Perspective (G04-033) - The modeling was based on data from the LASCO instrument on SOHO. It images the solar corona (outer atmosphere) by blocking the Sun like a total solar eclipse. CMEs can be seen blowing away from the Sun and crossing the fields of view of the two coronagraphs. In this event, the C2 imager shows the inner corona extending up to 8.4 million km (5 million miles) from the Sun and the C3 imager extends 45 million km (30 million miles), almost the distance between Mercury and the Sun. [SOHO/LASCO]
Courtesy: NASA/ESA
In Time For Olympic Flame, Sun Lights Up the Skies (g04-047) - The Olympic flame in Athens was lit after traveling about 48,000 miles (78,000 km). Particles from the Sun had to travel a little further - 93 million miles - to light up the skies in states like Iowa, Michigan, California, and New York. The Polar spacecraft saw both the aurora borealis and aurora australis (northern and southern lights) expanding and brightening in parallel at midnight July 27. [POLAR] Courtesy: NASA/University of Iowa
Close-up of Southern Aurora From Space (G04-047) - Flying over the South Pole, the IMAGE spacecraft these views around 7 pm ET on July 26. Ultraviolet light is invisible to the human eye, but can be detected by special instruments like those on IMAGE. The originating CME was associated with a flare, or explosion, that took place on July 25; it took a day and a half to reach Earth, allowing NOAA to issue warnings to satellite and power grid operators. [IMAGE] Courtesy: NASA/UC Berkeley
Current Solar Report (G04-047) - Marking this busy period, another large sunspot, AR 656, was facing Earth and generating small and mid-sized storms. The spot unleashed five X-class solar flares in July before rotating around and growing again. At the time, it measured about the size of eight Earths and was big enough to be seen with the naked eye (although you should never look at the Sun without a proper filter). [SOHO/EIT] Courtesy: NASA/ESA
Scientists Look at Moon to Shed Light on Earth's Climate (G04-028) - The dark side of the Moon is an unlikely place to study climate change on Earth. But combined observations of Earthshine and satellite cloud data suggest Earth bounced less sunlight into space in the 1980s and 1990s. Though not fully understood, the shifts may be a natural variability in cloud cover. This apparent change, if confirmed, is comparable to taking the effects of greenhouse gas warming since 1850 and doubling them. Surprisingly, this trend reversed in the last three years - Earth now appears to be reflecting more light towards space.
Clouds on Earth reflect a portion of the Sun's light into space, making our planet brighter. Shifts in the intensity of Earth's reflection, or albedo, from decade to decade, offer clues to Earth's changing climate. First image shows the Earth as seen by Galileo in 1990; second is from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Courtesy: NASA
Cloud Cover Plays Role in Climate Change (G04-028) - Clouds are Earth's natural blankets. Clouds trap the Sun's light, helping to maintain a regular temperature range for the Earth; however, some sunlight bounces off the tops of clouds and is reflected back into space. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) captured these images of atmospheric water vapor, which make up clouds. [GOES] Courtesy: NASA/NOAA
Earthshine Highlights the Dark Side of the Moon (G04-028) - Only about two-thirds of the sunlight that reaches Earth actually makes it to our planet's surface. The rest bounces off reflective surfaces into space. A portion of this reflected light falls on the dark side of the Moon, causing Earthshine. To study Earth's global climate change, researchers compare this Earthshine on the Moon's dark side with the Moon's bright side lit directly by sunlight. Courtesy: NASA
Researchers Look to the Moon's Dark Side (G04-028) - Researchers now look to the dark side of the Moon to study global climate change by measuring the result of Earth's reflectance on it, or what they call Earthshine. To capture this composite image, they placed a blocking filter over the brightly lit quarter Moon to reveal Earthshine on the Moon's dark side. Courtesy: BBSO/NJIT
Clouds Play a Role in Climate change (G04-028) - Clouds affect the climate by both shielding and insulating Earth. About a third of the sunlight that approaches Earth's surface is reflected into space. Clouds floating above can also act as a blanket, trapping solar radiation as valuable heat, maintaining a regular temperature regime for Earth. The amount of cloud cover can greatly affect temperature on Earth's surface and impact Earth's climate. Courtesy: NASA
Lunar B-roll(G04-028) - Image 1: Although no Earthshine is visible during a full moon, plenty of the Sun's light is reflected off the lunar surface, called Moonshine. Images 2 & 3: The Earth reflects so much of the Sun's light back into space that the Moon's dark side is lighter than we often think it is. These images capture the ghostly glow researchers call Earthshine. Courtesy: Lick Observatory/NASA
Venus Transits the Sun (G04-025) - June 8 marked a rare twice-in-a-century event as Venus crosses the face of the Sun; the last two were in 1874 and 1882. Transits held massive significance in the past when scientists sought to measure the solar system and led grand expeditions around the world to make momentous (and competitive) measurements. The next Venus transit will be visible throughout the U.S. in 2012, then again in 2117 and 2125. [ANIMATION]
Courtesy: NASA
Satellite Observations (G04-037) - About 75 percent of the Earth's population was able to witness Venus crossing paths with the Sun on June 8. At about 1/30 the size of the solar disk, it was just barely visible with the naked eye, but the best view was from satellites. Venus transits occur twice a century; the last two were in 1874 and 1882. The next transit of Venus will be visible throughout the U.S. in 2012, then again in 2117 and 2125. [GOES/SXI; TRACE] Courtesy: NASA/NOAA, NASA/LMSAL
1882 Transit Observations (G04-025) - The U.S. Naval Observatory and Transit of Venus Commission sent eight parties around the world to observe the 1874 and 1882 transits and determine the scale of the solar system. Eleven dry collodion emulsion exposure plates survive from the 1882 American expedition. That same year the French organized ten expeditions to Mexico, Haiti, Florida, Chile, Cape Horn, and Martinique. Courtesy: U.S. Naval Observatory
1882 Observations in California - Astronomer David Peck Todd traveled from Massachusetts to California to photograph the 1882 Venus Transit atop Mt. Hamilton, future site of the Lick Observatory. On Dec. 6 he obtained 147 glass negatives and stored them in the mountain vault. An astronomer and a historian rediscovered them 120 years later in time for the 2004 Venus Transit.
Courtesy: University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory/Anthony Misch, William Sheehan
Other 'Sorces' of Sun-Block Are Observed (G04-037) - Monitoring even the slightest change in the Sun's output is crucial for understanding our climate system, so when Venus' transit had the power to decrease that energy by even a slight amount, it was news for scientists. A similar decline was observed during last fall's record-breaking solar flares that were associated with massive sunspots. Those flares decreased total solar brightness by three-tenths of one percent for one week, an enormous amount, relatively speaking. [SORCE]
Courtesy: NASA/LASP
Sorce's Anniversary And Once-In-A-Lifetime Observations (G04-009) - SORCE also recorded unusual data from the record-setting solar flares in late October/early November 2003. It showed a total solar brightness decrease by 3 tenths of one percent. The last time Earth experienced that sort of decrease, drastic climate change occurred and Earth experienced the "Little Ice Age." Of course, that 3 tenths of one percent lasted 50 years versus this decrease which lasted a week.Courtesy: NASA/LASP
Tracking the Solar Spectrum (G04-037) - Radiation from the Sun consists of electromagnetic waves with a wide range of wavelengths. This animation shows where Earth absorbed the 70% of solar radiation and which parts of the spectrum reaches where. One percent of the Total Solar Irradiance is absorbed by the upper atmosphere, about 20-24% heads into the lower atmosphere (troposphere) and is absorbed by water vapor, trace gases, clouds, and darker aerosols. The remaining 46-50% of visible light penetrates the atmosphere and is absorbed by the land and the oceans. [ANIMATION] Courtesy: NASA
Down to Earth: Solar Rays (G04-037) - Only about 70% of the solar energy that reaches Earth is absorbed, while the other 30% is reflected back into space by atmosphere and aerosols, ocean/land and clouds. A closer view reveals a delicate balance between absorption and reflection as well as a release of energy by rocks, air, and sea warming and emitting increasing amounts of thermal radiation (heat) in the form of long-wave infrared light. This radiation allows Earth to lose heat at the same rate it gains from the Sun. [ANIMATION] Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): 2004 Press Conferences:
Safe Zone Becomes the Hot Zone (G04-071) - A region of space considered a "safe zone" from the harmful radiation that damages satellites may not be after all. During the massive solar storms of fall 2003, scientists watched as this area was filled with radiation. The safe zone is a gap located within the inner and outer "donuts" of the Van Allen radiation belts about 7,000 km (4,350 miles) to about 13,000 km (8,110 miles) above Earth's surface. [ANIMATION]Courtesy: NASA
Signs of a Hot Zone (Ring) (G04-071) - In October 2003, huge bursts of plasma generated powerful electric fields, pushing Earth's outer atmosphere (plasmasphere), into interplanetary space. Without the plasmasphere in the safe zone (gap between the two rings), a new, intense radiation belt formed in the region. The red ring represents the potential orbit of a satellite. In some periods it travels through the gap, but at the storm's peak, the gap is filled in with radiation. [VISUALIZATION] Courtesy: NASA
Signs of a Hot Zone (Magnetosphere) - In this view, the plasmasphere (green) is blown out to the magnetopause (gray barrier), the main point of contact between the solar wind and Earth's protective magnetic field lines. Visualization is based on data from the IMAGE spacecraft. [VISUALIZATION]
Courtesy: NASA
Blast Wave Blows Through the Solar System (G04-035) - This tour of the Oct/Nov 2003 CME comes courtesy of solar sentinel SOHO, IMAGE and Polar at Earth, Mars Odyssey, Ulysses near Jupiter, Cassini at Saturn, and Voyager 1 and 2 at the edge of the solar system. The solar plasma was traveling as fast as 5 million mph, reaching Earth an unprecedented 22 hours, Saturn a couple weeks later, and Voyager 2 (over 7 billion miles from the Sun) in mid-May. [ANIMATION]
Courtesy: NASA
CME Reaches Mars (G04-035) - The CME leaving the Sun and its impact on Earth are both included at the front of this tape. While none of NASA's satellites near Earth were damaged, an instrument on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft was disabled by radiation in Mars' orbit. Two days before it overheated, MARIE produced important data about radiation strikes on Mars. Namely, Mars has no significant magnetic field, but a series of small localized fields. [VISUALIZATION]
Courtesy: NASA/Nagoya University
Ulysses at Jupiter (G04-035) - Launched in 1990, Ulysses' mission is to study the Sun from a perspective outside the ecliptic of the planets. For example, if the planets were aligned on a flat tabletop, Ulysses would be above or below it. Its orbit relied on Jupiter's gravitational pull in 1992 and was again aligned with the planet between November 2003 and April 2004. Solar particles appear in the data around Nov. 7. [VISUALIZATION]
Courtesy: NASA
Cassini at Saturn w/Audio (G04-035) - Among the instruments on the Cassini-Huygens mission is the Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument, which measures the electric and magnetic wave fields in space and within planetary magnetospheres. It detected solar radio bursts from particularly intense flares on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. Researchers downshifted the frequency to make it audible and condense four hours into 15 seconds. [VISUALIZATION]
Courtesy: NASA/ESA/ASI/University of Iowa
Voyager at the Heliopause (G04-035) - Voyager 2, located about 7 billion miles (11 billion km) from the Sun, experienced the blast around mid-May while its counterpart, Voyager 1, over 8 billion miles away, was expected to see the blast in early July. More than 26 years after launch, the two craft still send back about 12 hoursŐ worth of data per day at about the speed of a slow modem and with the power of a 28-watt nightlight. [VISUALIZATION] Courtesy: NASA
Expansion of the Heliopause - The heliosphere is the region where solar wind, i.e. the influence of the Sun, reigns supreme. A sort of bubble envelops our solar system and a boundary called the heliopause separates our solar system from the vastness of interstellar space. This boundary is fluid and changes with the cycles and activity of the Sun; the shock wave from the "Halloween storms" could expand the region by some 400 million miles. [ANIMATION]Courtesy: NASA
Impacts For Exploration (G04-035) - Solar storms are important considerations for any future solar system exploration. Though powerful, there is some warning through solar sentinels - researchers can prepare by placing Earth-orbiting spacecraft into a 'safe mode,' taking precautions for power grids, re-routing airplanes and shielding ISS astronauts from massive radiation exposure. Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (6): The Spacecraft:
The Current Fleet (G03-014) - This animation shows the current orbits of closely coordinated spacecraft: GEOTAIL, WIND, POLAR, SOHO and Cluster. Previously under the International Terrestrial Physics Program (ISTP), these Sun-Earth Connection operating missions bring together diverse views of the Sun, Earth and space in-between and often collaborate with ground-based observatories. Courtesy: NASA
The Future Fleet (G03-014) - The focus of the multi-year program "Living with a Star" program is to explore solar variability and understand its effect on humanity. A set of missions and enhancements to current programs, the goal is to provide new capabilities for understanding the solar flares and coronal mass ejections that send electrified gas toward Earth and ultimately better predicting the effects of "space weather" on Earth.
Courtesy: NASA
ACE Spacecraft (G03-014) - The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft identifies matter that comes near the Earth and helps scientists better understand the formation and evolution of the solar system. This matter can come from the Sun, the 'space' between planets, and the Milky Way galaxy. When reporting space weather, ACE provides advanced warning (about 1 hour) of geomagnetic storms that can affect Earth systems. It was launched on August 25, 1997. Courtesy: NASA/ISAS
Cluster Spacecraft (G03-014) - Four identical spacecraft carrying a complement of 11 identical instruments each, were launched in July and August 2000. The four fly in a close pyramid formation, giving scientists three-dimensional views of near-Earth space. Specifically they investigate the solar wind as it crashes into our planet's magnetosphere.
Courtesy: NASA/ESA
GEOTAIL Spacecraft - A joint US/Japanese project, 'Geotail' was the first in a series of five satellites to better understand the interaction of the Sun, the Earth's magnetic field and the Van Allen radiation belts. Located in the magnetic tail of the magnetosphere on the night side of the Earth, an area critical to understanding the interaction of the Sun and Earth, its primary objective is to study dynamics of the Earth's magnetotail. The spacecraft was launched on July 24, 1992.
Courtesy: NASA/Nagoya University
IMAGE Spacecraft (G03-014) - Launched on March 25, 2000, the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft obtains continuous global images of charged particles in the Earth's magnetosphere and tracks these solar storms. One such storm can launch huge amounts of plasma from the Sun at more than 1 million mph and affect Earth systems. Courtesy: NASA
POLAR Spacecraft - 'Polar' was launched on February 24, 1996 to study the geospace, or Earth's space environment. It performs simultaneous, coordinated measurements of key regions including observations of the entry and transport of solar plasma over Earth's magnetic poles, imaging of the northern aurora (Northern Lights), and investigations of solar wind properties.
Courtesy: NASA
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
SDO Spacecraft - The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is slated to launch in 2008. It strives to understand the solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity's technological systems by determining how the Sun's magnetic field is generated and structured, how this stored magnetic energy is converted and released into space in the form of solar wind, and variations in the solar irradiance.Courtesy: NASA
SOHO Spacecraft - Advance warning of potential bad weather in space is possible thanks to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft launched in 1995. SOHO operates at a vantage point of about 1 million miles out in space between the Sun and Earth. It carries 12 instruments and is a joint project with the European Space Agency.
Instruments include the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) that allows scientists to use a sort of ultrasound capability to see the far side of the Sun and inside it. The Large Angle Spectrometric Coronograph (LASCO) mimics an eclipse in order to study the Sun's corona, or outer atmosphere. The Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) allows for a full-disk view of the Sun. Courtesy: NASA/ESA
SORCE Spacecraft (G02-079) - The SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) maintains a 24-year legacy of solar output monitoring that should help explain and predict the effect of the Sun on the Earth's atmosphere and climate. With four instruments, it orbits Earth 15 times a day and analyzes the Sun's energy in visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths that can be used to determine solar heating of Earth's oceans, ice, land and absorbing layers of the atmosphere. SORCE launched in January 2003.
Courtesy: NASA/LASP
STEREO Spacecraft - The Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) is scheduled to launch in February 2006 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Fla. The two-year mission consists of two nearly identical spacecraft that will provide revolutionary 3-D views of CMEs, trace the flow of energy and matter from the Sun to the Earth, and understand why CMEs occur. Courtesy: NASA/APL
TIMED Spacecraft (G02-022) - Launched in Dec. 2001, the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) spacecraft is the first to study the region of our atmosphere that acts as a gateway between Earth's environment and space, called the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere/ Ionosphere (MLTI). Scientists hope to get a better understand of how Earth's environment and surroundings are impacted by solar energy. Courtesy: NASA/APL
TRACE Spacecraft (G02-036) - 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. Sensitive to ultraviolet and extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths of light, which are invisible to the human eye, scientists are given dynamic views of solar explosions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). TRACE was launched on April 1, 1998. Courtesy: NASA/LMSAL
Voyager Spacecraft (G03-060) - The two Voyager spacecraft send back about 12 hours worth of data per day at about the speed of a slow modem and with the power of a 28-watt nightlight. With the success of Voyager 1, Voyager 2 was allowed to continue past Saturn and Jupiter, on to Uranus and Neptune; the entire mission covered four planets and 48 moons. They have enough power and attitude control propellant to operate until around 2020. Electrical power is supplied by nuclear Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) that decay, but still represent better performance than pre-launch predictions. Courtesy: NASA
WIND Spacecraft - The 'Wind' spacecraft provides complete plasma, energetic particle, and magnetic field input for magnetospheric and ionospheric studies. It detects the magnetic field carried by coronal mass ejection clouds, but its location only allows scientists about an hour's notice. It can estimate how severe the space storm will be by measuring the direction of the magnetic field, though. It was launched on November 1, 1994.Courtesy: NASA
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Auroras - The aurora is one of the effects caused by exposure of the Earth's poles to the CMEs that zip through the magnetosphere and if energized enough, slam into the atmosphere to create a light show. In the Northern Hemisphere it's referred to as the aurora borealis or northern lights; in the Southern Hemisphere it's either the aurora australis or southern lights.Courtesy: NASA
Space Weather Effects - Hot material called plasma can interact with the sunspot's magnetic fields and create violent explosions called flares. Energetic particles and radiation from these flares often result in coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that bombard Earth and can affect everything from radio communication to power grids to satellites and astronauts in space.
Courtesy: NASA
NASA Scientist B-roll - Footage of NASA solar scientists at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and NOAA scientists at the Space Environment Center (SEC) in Boulder, CO. Courtesy: NASA/NOAA
LASP Science Facility (G02-079) - For the next five years, university professionals, academic researchers and University of Colorado students will be operating and analyzing data from the SORCE spacecraft. The Laboratory for Atmospheric Physics (LASP) is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. Courtesy: NASA/LASP
Eclipse Viewing Guide - NASA Astronomer Dr. Fred Espenak reveals the key to viewing an eclipse safely. Courtesy: NASA
Sun Stuff B-roll - Resource footage shot of the Sun from the mountains of Boulder, CO. Courtesy: NASA
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Space Science Gallery