Press Release
Capturing a Solar Storm in 3-D
Print-resolution image from telescopes onboard STEREO spacecraft showing a coronal mass ejection event on December 12-13, 2008. Data from both spacecraft are shown simultaneously.
Credit: NASA
APL Spacecraft Experts Enhance Systems to Reconstruct 3-D STEREO Imagery
The APL-built and -operated twin STEREO observatories have made the first 3-D measurements of solar explosions, known as coronal mass ejections, enabling scientists to see their size and shape, and image them as they travel approximately 93 million miles from the sun to Earth. Scientists will be able to use this information to help determine how these strong solar storms will impact Earth鈥檚 atmosphere.
The Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory鈥檚 science data is enhanced, in part, due to the STEREO guidance and control team at The 秘密直播 University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Md. They鈥檙e helping mission scientists more easily reconstruct 3-D imagery by very accurately pointing the spacecraft and reducing its jitter or movement. 鈥淏y tuning each spacecraft鈥檚 control software, much like a race car鈥檚 control system is tuned for optimal performance on the track, spacecraft system performance is now approximately five times better than at launch and seven times better than specifications require,鈥 says Andy Driesman, STEREO鈥檚 system engineer at APL.
Print-resolution image depicting STEREO-A viewing a coronal mass ejection leaving the sun between December 12-13, 2008.
Credit: NASA
Since launch in 2006, the APL team has been proactively tuning spacecraft and ground systems, maximizing data return and optimizing contact with satellites used to downlink data. The APL-based STEREO mission operations center downloads 6鈥9 gigabytes of data each day 鈥 approximately 20鈥80 percent more data than the science team expected.
Coronal mass ejections are powerful solar explosions that can have damaging effects when hitting Earth鈥檚 upper atmosphere at speeds of nearly one million miles per hour. These giant clouds of electrically charged gas called plasma can disrupt satellite communications, GPS and/or cell phone signals, or induce large currents in power grids, which can cause power disruptions or blackouts.
鈥淯sing STEREO observations, we can extract a CME鈥檚 properties and are able to determine when it will reach Earth, at what speed, and with how much energy it will impact Earth鈥檚 magnetosphere,鈥 says Angelos Vourlidas, of the Naval Research Laboratory, and project scientist for STEREO鈥檚 SECCHI (Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation) imaging suite. Disruptions to the magnetic envelope surrounding Earth can often trigger auroras. These bright bands of light, often visible at night in northern and southern regions, can interfere with communications between air-traffic controllers and pilots flying near Earth鈥檚 polar regions.
STEREO is sponsored by NASA Headquarters鈥 Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center鈥檚 (GSFC) Solar Terrestrial Probes Program Office, in Greenbelt, Md., manages the mission, instruments and science center. APL designed and built the spacecraft and is operating the twin observatories for NASA during the mission.
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