Magnetic Underpinnings (February 11, 2011)

Hi-res TIF image (1.5M)

Quicktime Movie: Large (9.8M), Small ( 16M)
MPEG Large ( 16M), Small (6.3M)

By overlaying and fading from an SDO image of the Sun in extreme UV light (false color gold) to a SOHO magnetic image (taken at almost the same time), we can reveal the magnetic nature of active regions (Feb. 9, 2011). The initial still image shows several active regions that appear white. Then, we fade to a SOHO magnetic image (black and white) of the Sun's surface, in which the same active regions appear as patches of black and white. These represent the north and south polarities of the region. The still shows about half transparency of each image. Active regions, if strong enough, would appear as sunspots if the image were projected onto a flat surface.

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.