Heres the press release:
Dwayne C. Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
Susan Hendrix
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-7745
susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 10-091
NASAS NEW EYE ON THE SUN DELIVERS STUNNING FIRST IMAGES
WASHINGTON NASAs recently launched Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, is returning early images that confirm an unprecedented new capability for scientists to better understand our suns dynamic processes. These solar activities affect everything on Earth.
Some of the images from the spacecraft show never-before-seen detail of material streaming outward and away from sunspots. Others show extreme close-ups of activity on the suns surface. The spacecraft also has made the first high-resolution measurements of solar flares in a broad range of extreme ultraviolet wavelengths.
These initial images show a dynamic sun that I had never seen in more than 40 years of solar research, said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. SDO will change our understanding of the sun and its processes, which affect our lives and society. This mission will have a huge impact on science, similar to the impact of the Hubble Space Telescope on modern astrophysics.
Launched on Feb. 11, 2010, SDO is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun. During its five-year mission, it will examine the suns magnetic field and also provide a better understanding of the role the sun plays in Earths atmospheric chemistry and climate. Since launch, engineers have been conducting testing and verification of the spacecrafts components. Now fully operational, SDO will provide images with clarity 10 times better than high-definition television and will return more comprehensive science data faster than any other solar observing spacecraft.
SDO will determine how the suns magnetic field is generated, structured and converted into violent solar events such as turbulent solar wind, solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These immense clouds of material, when directed toward Earth, can cause large magnetic storms in our planets magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. SDO will provide critical data that will improve the ability to predict these space weather events.
Pretty Intense Stuff!!
Keep your flare shield handy. 8-]