The Technology The Technology Monitoring Space Monitoring Space

WeatherWeather

Information is Information is gathered from many gathered from many sources to predict the sources to predict the current and future current and future condition of the condition of the sun/earth sun/earth environmentenvironment

Conditions on the Conditions on the sun, within the solar sun, within the solar wind, and within the wind, and within the earths ionosphere earths ionosphere have an impact on have an impact on many of today’s many of today’s technologiestechnologies

Image courtesy of the Alder Planetarium

How Do We Study the Sun?How Do We Study the Sun?

Satellites, such as Satellites, such as SOHO, ACE, and SOHO, ACE, and STEREO, monitor the STEREO, monitor the sun and the sun and the properties of the solar properties of the solar wind wind

Image courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

SOHO SatelliteSOHO Satellite

Maintains a position in Maintains a position in the earththe earth--sun line at sun line at the LaGrange Point the LaGrange Point (L1 point)(L1 point)At this location the At this location the satellite maintains a satellite maintains a period of revolution period of revolution equal to the earth equal to the earth

Image courtesy of The Worlds of David Darling

SOHOSOHO

Provides various Provides various images of the sun images of the sun helping scientists helping scientists

Predict space weatherPredict space weatherStudy the sun’s Study the sun’s atmosphereatmosphereStudy sun spotsStudy sun spotsStudy the interior of Study the interior of the sunthe sun

UV Image from EIT

MDI Image Flare

Images courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

SOHO CoronagraphsSOHO Coronagraphs

A coronagraph A coronagraph produces an produces an artificial solar artificial solar eclipseeclipseAllows scientists Allows scientists to block the light to block the light of the sun and of the sun and view the coronaview the corona

Courtesy of SOHO/LASCO consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA

ACE SatelliteACE Satellite

ACE is also ACE is also positioned at positioned at the L1 pointthe L1 pointProvides data Provides data on the on the velocity and velocity and composition composition of the solar of the solar windwind

Image courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Image courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

STEREO SatellitesSTEREO Satellites

Two satellites orbiting Two satellites orbiting the sun at 1 AU, the sun at 1 AU, ahead and behind the ahead and behind the earthearthProvide 3Provide 3--D images of D images of the sunthe sunData will greatly Data will greatly enhance enhance understanding of understanding of CME’s and solar wind CME’s and solar wind

Image courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

STEREOSTEREO

STEREO can see STEREO can see the sun in several the sun in several different different wavelengths and wavelengths and temperaturestemperaturesEach wavelength Each wavelength allows scientists to allows scientists to see different see different features on the features on the sunsun

Put on your 3D glasses!!

171 Angstrom wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light

Image courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Studying the IonosphereStudying the Ionosphere

Conditions within the Conditions within the earth’s ionosphere earth’s ionosphere have a direct impact have a direct impact on technologies such on technologies such as;as;

cell phones cell phones radio transmissionradio transmissionsatellite satellite communication communication GPSGPS

Image courtesy of Sergei Maurits, Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks

How Do We Monitor Earth How Do We Monitor Earth Conditions?Conditions?

GPS satellites provide GPS satellites provide data to evaluate the data to evaluate the condition of the condition of the ionosphereionosphereIncoherent Scatter Incoherent Scatter Radar takes ground Radar takes ground based measurements based measurements of the ionosphereof the ionosphere

Image courtesy of MIT Haystack Observatory

Image courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

GPS (Global Positioning System) GPS (Global Positioning System) SatellitesSatellites

Orbit the earth every Orbit the earth every 12 hours12 hoursEmit continuous Emit continuous navigation signals navigation signals At any given time At any given time there are at least 4 there are at least 4 satellites overhead satellites overhead

Image courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Ionosphere MappingIonosphere Mapping

By using GPS By using GPS data, a map of the data, a map of the variations in the variations in the makeup of the makeup of the ionosphere can be ionosphere can be constructedconstructedChanges in the Changes in the ionosphere affect ionosphere affect technologies such technologies such as satellite as satellite communicationscommunications

Incoherent Scatter Radar ISRIncoherent Scatter Radar ISRTargets the Targets the electrons in the electrons in the ionosphereionosphereProvides data Provides data on electron on electron density, density, temperature temperature and movementand movement