Sun  ID: 3988

The Active Sun from SDO: HMI Intensity

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observes the Sun with many different instruments, in many different wavelengths of light. Many of these capabilities are not possible for ground-based observatories - hence the need for a space-based observing platform.

The Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory takes a series of images every 45 seconds in a very narrow range of wavelengths in visible light of the solar photosphere. The wavelengths correspond to a region around the 6173 Ångstroms (617.3 nanometers) spectral line of neutral iron (Fe I). From this series of images, it constructs a set of images which extract other characteristics of the photosphere. For this dataset, it shows the solar photosphere in visible light.

This visualization is one of a set of visualizations (others linked below) covering the same time span of 17 hours over the full wavelength range of the mission. They are setup to play synchronously on a Hyperwall, or can be run individually.

The images are sampled every 36 seconds, 1/3 of the standard time-cadence for SDO. This visualization is useful for illustrating how different solar phenomena, such as sunspots and active regions, look very different in different wavelengths of light. These differences enable scientists to study them more completely, with an eventual goal of improving Space Weather forecasting.

 

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Visualization Credits

Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Animator
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Producer
Genna Duberstein (USRA): Producer
Phil Chamberlin (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, the SDO Science Team, and the Virtual Solar Observatory.

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3988

Mission:
SDO

Data Used:
SDO/HMI/Continuum also referred to as: SDO Continuum
2011-09-25T08:00 - 2011-09-26T01:00
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This item is part of this series:
SDO Jewelbox

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> SDO
SVS >> Solar Dynamics Observatory
SVS >> Heliophysics
NASA Science >> Sun
SVS >> Visible Light Imaging