HINODE satellite observed the fine structure of magnetic field producing the gigantic solar flare

HOMEPicture of the Month › HINODE satellite observed the fine structure of magnetic field producing the gigantic solar flare

[2017-09-26]

sp_20170906_00_mag.png

 Japanese solar observing satellite HINODE successfully observed the fine structure of magnetic field on the solar active region where the solar flare largest in the current solar cycle occurred on September 6, 2017. This image was observed about 10 hours prior to the onset of the flare, and white/black indicates the outward/inward magnetic polarity on the solar surface. The gigantic flare started from the polarity inversion line located in the left-lower of image. Because solar flare is a phenomenon in which the energy stored in solar magnetic field is suddenly released, the high-resolution observation of solar magnetic field by HINODE plays an important role not only to understand the mechanism of solar flare but also to predict when, where and how a geo-effective large solar flare occurs.

 Institute for Space–Earth Environmental Research operates the Hinode Science Center at Nagoya (HSC@Nagoya) cooperating with Solar Science Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. We also lead the nation-wide project of space weather prediction “Project for Solar-Terrestrial Environment Prediction (PSTEP)” to improve the predictability of such big solar flare and its influence onto the human society.

 

References

・Solar Science Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan  http://hinode.nao.ac.jp/en/

・Hinode Science Center at Nagoya (HSC@Nagoya) https://hinode.isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/

・Project for Solar-Terrestrial Environment Prediction (PSTEP) http://www.pstep.jp/

Return to Index

Pagetop▲