Solar Atmospheric Activity
To understand the Earth, you also need to understand the way our planet relates to the Sun. With this goal, scientists are constantly monitoring the activity of the Sun and the energy it sends towards earth. There are solar flares, coronal eruptions, space weather, and sunspots that change every day. The EIT (Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) managed by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory keeps an eye on the Sun for you. Images are generated while viewing several wavelengths of light. The image above was take at 304 Angstroms (Å) and views material on the surface of the Sun that is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin. The EIT can monitor materials up to 2 million Kelvin. The hottest materials are found at the highest altitudes of the solar atmosphere.
Did you know that the SOHO spacecraft went offline for almost three months in 2001? Scientists from across the world worked together to help resurrect the tiny spacecraft and allowed it to begin working again. Even though the entire craft was frozen for those months, it still sends back these incredible images.
This live image of the Sun is only one of many generated by the international SOHO mission. SOHO stands for Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Basically, they observe the Sun. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. You can visit their home page at http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
Link: Real-time images of the Sun (NASA/ESA)
- Mt. St. Helens
- Kīlauea Volcano
- Quakes (CA)
- Quakes (Global)
- Water Vapor
- Cloud Temperature
- Streamflow (U.S.)
- The Sun
- All Earth Monitors
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