Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Image:Artist-FM.JPG
| |
| Organization | ESA, NASA |
|---|---|
| Wavelength regime | optical through UV, also magnetic information |
| Orbit height | 1.5×106 km (heliocentric, sunwards at L1) |
| Orbit period | 1 year |
| Launch date | 2 December 1995 |
| Launch vehicle | Atlas IIAS |
| Deorbit date | (on going) |
| Mass | 1850 kg (610 kg payload) |
| Webpage | http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ |
| Instruments | |
| GOLF | core oscillations (Doppler-sensitive photometer) |
| VIRGO | core oscillations (photometric imager) |
| MDI | oscillations and magnetic fields (Doppler imager) |
| SUMER | coronal physics (UV spectrograph) |
| CDS | corona and chromosphere physics (UV spectrograph) |
| EIT | low corona (UV telescope) |
| UVCS | solar wind acceleration (UV spectrograph) |
| LASCO | mid to outer corona (visible light camera) |
| SWAN | solar wind density (UV camera) |
| CELIAS | solar wind ions (material sampler) |
| COSTEP | solar wind ions (material sampler) |
| ERNE | solar wind ions (material sampler) |
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a spacecraft that was launched on 2 December 1995 to study the Sun, and began normal operations in May 1996. It is a joint project of international cooperation between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. Originally planned as a two-year mission, SOHO currently continues to operate after over ten years in space. In addition to its scientific mission, it is currently the main source of near-real time solar data for space weather prediction. Along with the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), SOHO is one of two spacecraft currently in the vicinity of the Earth-Sun L1 point, a point of gravitational balance located approximately 0.99 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun and 0.01 AU from the Earth. In addition to its scientific contributions, SOHO is distinguished by being the first three-axis-stabilized spacecraft to use its reaction wheels as a kind of virtual gyroscope; the technique was adopted after an on-board emergency in 1998 that nearly resulted in the loss of the spacecraft.
The spacecraft was launched on an Atlas IIAS launch vehicle.
Contents |
[edit] Orbit
The 610 kg SOHO spacecraft is in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point, the point between the Earth and the Sun where the balance of the (larger) Sun's gravity and the (smaller) Earth's gravity is equal to the centripetal force needed for an object to have the same orbital period in its orbit around the Sun as the Earth, with the result that the object will stay in that relative position. It is about 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth. Gravity from the Sun is 2% (118 µm/s²) more than at the Earth (5.9 mm/s²), while the reduction of required centripetal force is half of this (59 µm/s²). The sum of both effects is balanced by the gravity of the Earth, which is here also 177 µm/s².
Although sometimes described as being at L1, the SOHO satellite is not exactly at L1 as this would make communication difficult due to radio interference generated by the Sun, and because this would not be a stable orbit. Rather it lies in the (constantly moving) plane which passes through L1 and is perpendicular to the line connecting the sun and the Earth. It stays in this plane, tracing out an elliptical orbit centered about L1. It orbits L1 once every six months, while L1 itself orbits the sun every 12 months as it is coupled with the motion of the Earth. This keeps SOHO at a good position for communication with Earth at all times.
[edit] Communication with Earth
In normal operation the spacecraft transmits a continuous 200 kbit/s data stream of photographs and other measurements via the NASA Deep Space Network of ground stations. SOHO's data about solar activity are used to predict solar flares, so electrical grids and satellites can be protected from their damaging effects.
In 2003 ESA reported the failure of the antenna Y-axis stepper motor, necessary for pointing the high gain antenna and allowing the downlink of high rate data. At the time, it was thought that the antenna anomaly might cause two to three week data-blackouts every three months.<ref>Antenna anomaly may affect SOHO scientific data transmission. ESA news. Retrieved on March 14, 2005.</ref> However, ESA and NASA engineers managed to use SOHO's low gain antennas together with the larger 34 and 70 meter DSN ground stations and judicious use of SOHO's Solid State Recorder (SSR) to prevent total data loss, with only a slightly reduced data flow every three months.<ref>SOHO's antenna anomaly: things are much better than expected. ESA news. Retrieved on March 14, 2005.</ref>
[edit] Scientific Objectives
The three main scientific objectives of SOHO are:
- Investigation of the outer layer of the Sun, which consists of the chromosphere, transition region, and the corona. CDS, EIT, LASCO, SUMER, SWAN, and UVCS are used for this solar atmosphere remote sensing.
- Making observations of solar wind and associated phenomena in the vicinty of L1. CELIAS and CEPAC are used for "in situ" solar wind observations.
- Probing the interior structure of the Sun. GOLF, MDI, and VIRGO are used for helioseismology.
[edit] Instruments
The SOHO Payload Module (PLM) consists of twelve instruments, each capable of independent or coordinated observation of the Sun or parts of the Sun, and some spacecraft components. The instruments are:
- Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) which measures density, temperature and flows in the corona.
- Charge ELement and Isotope Analysis System (CELIAS) which studies the ion composition of the solar wind.
- Comprehensive SupraThermal and Energetic Particle analyser collaboration (COSTEP) which studies the ion and electron composition of the solar wind. (COSTEP and ENRE are sometimes referred to together as the COSTEP-ENRE Particle Analyzer Collaboration (CEPAC).
- Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) which studies the low coronial structure and activity.
- Energetic and Relative Nuclei and Electron experiment (ERNE) which studies the ion and electron composition of the solar wind. (See note above in COSTEP entry.)
- Global Oscillations at Low Frequencies (GOLF) which measures velocity variations of the whole solar disk to explore the core of the sun.
- Large Angle and Spectrometric COronagraph experiment (LASCO) which studies the structure and evolution of the corona
- Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) which measures velocity and magnetic fields in the photosphere to learn about the convection zone which forms the outer layer of the interior of the sun and about the magnetic fields which control the structure of the corona. The MDI is the biggest producer of data by far on SOHO. In fact, two of SOHO's virtual channels are named after MDI, VC2 (MDI-M) carries MDI magnetogram data, and VC3 (MDI-H) carries MDI Helioseismology data.
- Solar Ultraviolet Measurement of Emitted Radiation (SUMER) which measures plasma flows, temperature and density in the corona.
- Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) which uses telescopes sensitive to a characteristic wavelength of hydrogen to measure the solar wind mass flux, map the density of the heliosphere, and observe the large-scale structure of the solar wind streams.
- UltraViolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) which measures density and temperature in the corona.
- Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations (VIRGO) which measures oscillations and solar constant both of the whole solar disk and at low resolution, again exploring the core of the sun.
Observations from some of the instruments can be formatted as images, most of which are also readily available on the internet for either public or research use (see the official website). Others such as spectra and measurements of particles in the solar wind do not lend themselves so readily to this. These images range in wavelength or frequency from optical (Hα) to extreme ultraviolet (UV). Images taken partly or exclusively with non-visible wavelengths are shown on the SOHO page and elsewhere in false color. Unlike many space-based and ground telescopes, there is no time formally allocated by the SOHO program for observing proposals on individual instruments: interested parties can contact the instrument teams directly via e-mail and the SOHO web site to request time via that instrument team's internal processes (some of which are quite informal, provided that the ongoing reference observations are not disturbed). A formal process (the "JOP" program) does exist for using multiple SOHO instruments collaboratively on a single observation. JOP proposals are reviewed at the quarterly Science Working Team ("SWT") meetings, and JOP time is allocated at monthly meetings of the Science Planning Working Group.
As a consequence of its observing the Sun, SOHO (specifically the LASCO instrument) has inadvertently discovered comets by blocking out the Sun's glare. Approximately one-half of all known comets have been discovered by SOHO. Recently, it discovered its 1000th comet.<ref>History's Greatest Comet Hunter Discovers 1,000th Comet. NASA news. Retrieved on August 17, 2005.</ref>
[edit] Instrument contributors
The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research contributed to SUMMER, LASCO and CELIAS instruments .
[edit] References
<references />
[edit] External links
- ESA SOHO webpage
- A Description of the SOHO Mission. NASA's SOHO website. Retrieved on October 24, 2005.
- Latest SOHO Images. NASA's SOHO website. Retrieved on October 24, 2005., free to use for educational and non-commercial purposes.
- Space Weather Now. National Weather Service - Space Environment Center. Retrieved on October 24, 2005.
- The SOHO Mission L1 Halo Orbit Recovery From the Attitude Control Anomalies of 1998. Retrieved on October 24, 2005. - PDF
| Orbiters: Pioneer 6, 7, 8 and 9 | Helios probes | Ulysses probe | Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) | Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager | Hinode | STEREO | TRACE | ACE | |
| Sample return: Genesis (spacecraft) | |
| Future: Solar Dynamics Observatory | Solar Orbiter | |
| See also: Sun | Exploration of the Sun | |
de:Solar and Heliospheric Observatory es:SOHO fr:SoHO ko:소호 태양 관측 위성 hr:SOHO it:Solar and Heliospheric Observatory he:Soho hu:Solar and Heliospheric Observatory ja:SOHO (探査機) pl:SOHO (sonda kosmiczna) pt:Sonda Soho sk:SOHO fi:SOHO zh:SOHO衛星
