Press release of XRT/Hinode initial results
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS/JAXA)
Naional Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ/NINS)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC)
In the press conference held on 20 December 2006, latest data and movie from X-Ray Telescope (XRT) had been released. XRT observes corona of million degrees. It is still a mystery how the corona is heated to that high temperature. Coronal heating is one of the primary subject of Hinode.
Full Sun movie
These movie show activity of solar corona for 12 days. An active region goes behind the west limb while another one comes from east limb. Ubiquitous small brightenings suggest magnetic activity is taking place all around the Sun.
Active region movie
Closeup movie of an active region. Bright thread of loops outlines magnetic structure in the corona, because plasma is frozen in the magnetic field. Study of these frequent brightening and eruptions are crucial for understanding coronal heating.
- Image in pseudo-color
- Movie in pseudo-color (long duration)
Marching of active region
An intense active region was tracked for a week. Although its kernel is saturated, occasional explosion causes brightening of the loop and change of connectivity. This example shows activity at one particular point can effect large scale structure of the corona.
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