The Hinode (Solar-B) is a highly sophisticated observational satellite equipped with three advanced solar telescopes. It was launched on 22 September 2006 UT (23 September in Japan time). Its solar optical telescope (SOT) has an unprecedented 0.2 arcsec resolution for the observation of solar magnetic fields. It would resolve a feature with the size of 50cm, if it observed the Earth. The X-ray telescope (XRT) has a resolution of three times as high as Yohkoh, and the EUV imaging spectrometer (EIS) has sensitivity ten times as high as the ESA SOHO instrument. These X-ray and EUV telescopes would reveal the heating mechanism and dynamics of the active solar corona.

©NAOJ

Launch	Date	06:36, September 23, 2006 (JST)
	Location	Uchinoura Space Center (USC/JAXA)
	Launch Vehicle	M-V-7
Configuration	Weight	Approx. 900 kg
	Dimension	Approx. 1.6m x 1.6m x 4m 10m long from end to end of solar array paddles
Orbit	Altitude	Approx. 680 km
	Inclination	98 deg.
	Type of Orbit	Circular (Sun-synchronous polar)
	Period	98 min.

©JAXA/ISAS