PICK OF THE WEEK
Pick of The Week
The Magnetic Sun (July 17, 2003)
Hi-res TIF image (1.2M)
MPEG: (2.6M)
Quicktime: Large (1.3M), small (382K)
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The brighter active regions in the extreme ultraviolet images of the
Sun's lower corona correspond to intense magnetic activity as seen in
magnetic images of the Sun (called magnetograms, in which the black
and white areas indicate north and south polarity). To illustrate
this visually we have made a still of the overlay as well as a video
of five days this week of activity that moves back and forth between
the ultraviolet and the magnetic video frames of the Sun. Note how
well the areas of magnetic activity line up with the active regions.
Active regions are, in fact, areas of intense magnetic activity that
are often the source of solar storms. The "take home" message
underlined here is that magnetic activity is the key force that
drives changes at all levels and scales in the Sun. Please visit our Newsroom for press releases and media coverage.
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. |
