PICK OF THE WEEK
Pick of The Week
Front Row Seat (April 3, 2003)
Movies
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By zooming in on a pair of active regions and following them closely
for three days (March 29 - 31, 2003) as they rotate with the Sun, we
can closely observe the dynamic magnetic movement that is typically
found near intense areas of activity. Although no major solar storms
were generated by the activity, magnetic field lines can be seen
swirling and coiling as they struggle above the Sun's surface. Of
course, we do not actually see the field lines themselves: what we do
see is electrically charged gas, that emits extreme ultraviolet
light, confined within tubes of magnetic flux. The charged gas (or
plasma) has great difficulty moving across magnetic field lines, so
the flux tubes act like bottles, confining the gas. In white light
or filtered images of the solar surface, these areas would appear as
sunspots.
SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display. If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov. |
