Hinode
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hinode | |
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Artist's impression of the Hinode spacecraft (then known as Solar-B) in orbit
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| General information | |
| Alternative names | Solar-B |
| Organization | JAXA / NASA / PPARC |
| Launch date | September 22, 2006 at 21:36 GMT |
| Launched from | Uchinoura Space Center |
| Launch vehicle | M-V rocket |
| Type of orbit | sun-synchronous orbit |
| Wavelength | optical, X ray, EUV |
| Instruments | |
| SOT | Solar Optical Telescope |
| XRT | X-ray Telescope |
| EIS | Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer |
| Website JAXA overview of mission |
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Hinode (ひので, Japanese: "Sunrise"), formerly known as Solar-B, is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Solar mission with United States and United Kingdom collaboration. It is the follow-up to the Yohkoh ("Solar-A") mission and it was launched on the final flight of the M-V rocket from Uchinoura Space Center, Japan on September 22, 2006 at 21:36 GMT (September 23, 06:36 JST). Initial orbit was perigee height 280 km, apogee height 686 km, inclination 98.3 degrees. Then the satellite maneuvered to the quasi-circular sun-synchronous orbit over the day/night terminator, which allows near-continuous observation of the Sun. On October 28, the probe's instruments captured their first images.
[edit] Mission
Hinode is planned as a three-year mission is to explore the magnetic fields of the Sun. It consists of a coordinated set of optical, extreme ultraviolet (EUV), and x-ray instruments to investigate the interaction between the Sun's magnetic field and its corona. The result will be an improved understanding of the mechanisms that power the solar atmosphere and drive solar eruptions. NASA, the space agency of the United States, developed three science instrument components: the Focal Plane Package (FPP), the X-Ray Telescope (XRT), and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) and shares operations support for science planning and instrument command generation.[1]
[edit] Instruments
Hinode carries three main instruments to study the Sun:
- SOT (Solar Optical Telescope)
- A 0.5 meter optical telescope with an angular resolution of about 0.2 arcsec over the field of view of about 400 x 400 arcsec. At the focal plane of the telescope there are two instruments: a filter vector magnetograph and a spectro-polarimeter. The SOT feeds both a spectropolarimeter and a pair of filtergraphs that can be used as a vector magnetograph. The SOT's spatial resolution is a factor-of-5 improvement over preceding space-based Solar telescopes (the MDI on SOHO).
- XRT (X-ray Telescope)
- A Wolter telescope design that uses grazing incidence optics to image the solar corona's hottest components (0.5 to 10 Million K) with an angular resolution of approximately 1 arcsec.
- EIS (Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer)
- A normal incidence extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometer that obtains spatially resolved spectra in two wavelength bands: 17.0-21.2 and 24.6-29.2 nm. Spatial resolution is around 2 arcsec, and the field of view is up to 560 x 512 arcsec^2. The emission lines in the EIS wavelength bands are emitted at temperatures ranging from 50,000 K to 20 million K. EIS is used to identify the physical processes involved in heating the solar corona.
[edit] External links
- JAXA overview of mission
- Mission overview Quicktime Windows Media, preparation for launch Quicktime Windows Media, launch Quicktime Windows Media, press conference Quicktime Window Media (in Japanese)
- Solar-B Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- Solar-B project page of National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
- Solar-B project page of Mullard Space Science Laboratory
- Solar-B project page of PPARC
- Solar-B project page of NASA MSFC
- HINODE (SOLAR-B) SOT-FPP Education/Public Outreach at Chabot Space and Science Center
- Solar-B brochure
- Amos, Jonathan. "Probe to study mighty explosions", BBC News, 2006-09-09. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
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