1999 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
| |
Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| ORIGIN OF HIGH SPEED SOLAR WIND DETECTED BY SOHO SPACECRAFT | G99-007 | 2/4/99 | 00:07:18 | Like water gushing through cracks in a dam, "fountains" of electrified gas, called the solar wind, flow around magnetic regions on the Sun to begin a two million mile per hour rush into space, according to recent observations. Using the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, NASA and European scientists observed solar wind flows coming from the edges of honey-comb shaped patterns of magnetic fields at the surface of the Sun. |
TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR WIND ANIMATION - Like water gushing through cracks in a dam, "fountains" of electrified gas, called the solar wind, flow around magnetic regions on the Sun to begin a two million mile per hour rush into space, according to recent observations. Using the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, NASA and European scientists observed solar wind flows coming from the edges of honey-comb shaped patterns of magnetic fields at the surface of the Sun. Courtesy NASA / ESA
|
| Item (2): ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR WIND - DATA VISUALIZATION - Full sequence -- The nature and origin of the solar wind is one of the main mysteries which the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) was designed to solve. It has long been thought that the solar wind flows from coronal holes; scientists were surprised to find these outflows are concentrated in specific patches at the edges of honey-comb shaped patterns of magnetic fields inside coronal holes. Courtesy NASA / ESA
|
| ITEM (3): THE TWO MILLION MILES PER HOUR SOLAR "Wind" - The solar wind comes in two varieties: high speed and low speed. The low speed solar wind moves at roughly a million miles per hour, while the high speed wind is even faster, moving at speeds as high as two million miles per hour. Courtesy NASA / ESA
|
| ITEM (4a): EFFECTS OF THE SOLAR WIND ON EARTH - As it flows past Earth, the solar wind changes the shape and structure of the Earth's magnetic field, which can damage satellites and disrupt communications and power systems. Courtesy NASA / ESA
|
| ITEM (5): SOHO ANIMATION - Animation of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation (SUMER) instrument on SOHO detected the solar wind by observing the ultraviolet spectrum over a large area of the solar north polar region. Courtesy NASA / ESA
|
| ITEM (6): SOLAR WIND - OBSERVATIONS FROM LASCO -Image of the solar corona and solar wind as recorded by SOHO's Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument. Courtesy NASA / ESA |
| ITEM (7): SUN - OBSERVATIONS BY EIT - mage of the full sun as seen by SOHO's Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT). Courtesy NASA / ESA
|
| ITEM (8): SOLAR SCIENTISTS AT WORK - B-Roll Courtesy NASA / ESA
|
| ITEM (9): DR. DONALD HASSLER - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS - Dr. Don Hassler, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado |