NASA Telescope Observes How Sun Stores and Releases Energy

Jan. 23, 2013

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Janet L. Anderson
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
janet.l.anderson@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 13-030

NASA TELESCOPE OBSERVES HOW SUN STORES AND RELEASES ENERGY

WASHINGTON -- A NASA suborbital telescope has given scientists the
first clear evidence of energy transfer from the sun's magnetic field
to the solar atmosphere or corona. This process, known as solar
braiding, has been theorized by researchers, but remained unobserved
until now.

Researchers were able to witness this phenomenon in the highest
resolution images ever taken of the solar corona. These images were
obtained by the agency's High Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C)
telescope, which was launched from the White Sands Missile Range in
New Mexico in July 2012.

"Scientists have tried for decades to understand how the sun's dynamic
atmosphere is heated to millions of degrees," said Hi-C principal
investigator Jonathan Cirtain, a heliophysicist at NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "Because of the level of
solar activity, we were able to clearly focus on an active sunspot,
and obtain some remarkable images. Seeing this for the first time is
a major advance in understanding how our sun continuously generates
the vast amount of energy needed to heat its atmosphere."

The telescope, the centerpiece of a payload weighing 464 pounds and
measuring 10-feet long, flew for about 10 minutes and captured 165
images of a large, active region in the sun's corona. The telescope
acquired data for five minutes, taking one image every five seconds.
Initial image sequences demonstrated the evolution of the magnetic
field and showed the repeated release of energy through activity seen
on the sun at temperatures of 2 million to 4 million degrees.

Many of the stars in the universe have magnetic fields. The evolution
of these fields is used to explain the emission of the star and any
events like flares. Understanding how the magnetic field of the sun
heats the solar atmosphere helps explain how all magnetized stars
evolve.

These observations ultimately will lead to better predictions for
space weather because the evolution of the magnetic field in the
solar atmosphere drives all solar eruptions. These eruptions can
reach Earth's atmosphere and affect operations of Earth-orbiting
communication and navigation satellites.

The images were made possible by a set of innovations on Hi-C's optics
array. The telescope's mirrors were approximately 9 1/2 inches
across. New techniques for grinding the optics and polishing the
surfaces were developed for the mirrors. Scientists and engineers
worked to complete alignment of the mirrors, maintaining optic
spacing to within a few ten-thousandths of an inch.

"The Hi-C observations are part of a technology demonstration that
will enable a future generation of telescopes to solve the
fundamental questions concerning the heating of the solar atmosphere
and the origins of space weather, "said Jeffrey Newmark, sounding
rocket program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Hi-C's resolution is about five times finer than the imaging
instrument aboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) launched in
February 2010 to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. The Hi-C
images complement global sun observations continuously taken by SDO.

NASA's suborbital sounding rockets provide low-cost means to conduct
space science and studies of Earth's upper atmosphere. The Hi-C
mission cost about $5 million.

"This suborbital mission has given us a unique look into the workings
of the sun addressing a major mystery in nature. Hi-C has
demonstrated that high value science can be achieved on a small
budget," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's
Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in Washington. "NASA's sounding
rocket program is a key training ground for the next generation of
scientists, in addition to developing new space technologies."

Partners associated with the development of the Hi-C telescope include
the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass.;
L-3Com/Tinsley Laboratories in Richmond, Calif.; Lockheed Martin's
Solar Astrophysical Laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif.; the University
of Central Lancashire in England; and the Lebedev Physical Institute
of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., built, operates and manages SDO for
SMD.

To view the Hi-C images, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/10Ss9MA

More information about NASA's sounding rocket program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/soundingrockets

For more information about SDO, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sdo


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