Announcing Far Side Imaging Services

Click on the images for annotated, larger versions.
MDI Images		SWAN Images
		SWAN image of far and near side of sky. See also a GIF animation of 6 subsequent scans.
Movies: MPEG, QuickTime. Print media: High-res TIFF.		SWAN observations projected onto solar map. See also a GIF animation of 6 subsequent scans.

Caption: After streamlining routines for data gathering and analysis, two SOHO science teams feel they can launch a new regular service to the community: A glance of what is happening on the far side of the Sun!

The SWAN instrument first announced their ability to keep tabs on the Sun's far side on 21 June 1999, while MDI announced their breakthrough on 9 March 2000. The announcement of a regularly updated service coincides with SOHO's 5th Anniversary and the Sun-Earth Day celebrated throughout Europe and North America.

The services and descriptions can be found on two separate web pages:

Other Links:

• ESA Info note
• NASA Press Release
• The Transparent Sun from NASA Science News.
• ESA Science Release
• ESA Sun-Earth Day page.
• SOHO spies the far side of the Sun from NASA Science News.
• Helioseismic Holography - Mapping the Far Side of the Sun, from SpaceWeather.com

Instruments: Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN); Michelson-Doppler Imager (MDI);
Taken: 1 March 2001 - 24 April 2001
Picture credit: SOHO/SWAN and SOHO/MDI (ESA & NASA)