PICK OF THE WEEK
Pick of The Week
What Lies Beneath (November 8, 2002)
IMAGES MOVIES
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A comparison of the Sun on 6 November 2002, in extreme ultraviolet
light and as an image of its magnetic activity, is revealing. The
ultraviolet image (left) of the inner corona --- the Sun's tenuous,
outer atmosphere --- shows regions of intense magnetic activity as
whiter areas. You can pick out at least eight of them. The magnetic
image (right), which was taken almost simultaneously, shows the
surface of the Sun and reveals these same clusters of activity, with
the black and white areas indicating north and south magnetic
polarity. In visible light these same areas would be seen as
sunspots. These active regions are often the sources of solar storms.
The comparison helps underscore the important role of magnetic energy
in controlling the structure and activity of the Sun's outer
atmosphere. This is best seen in the movies offered here.
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. |
