Heliopolis

Shaun Barrett · 2004-01-27 18:43:00

Hmmm.
I posted here just lately but the post has vanished. I hope there's nothing wrong with this thread.

Anyhow, what I said was that the picture of the 'magnetic filament' on the Sun was about the best and most detailed image of old Sol I've ever seen.
Thanks Cindy!

Shaun Barrett · 2004-01-27 19:42:51

Thanks, BGD!
At least I know now it's not my computer that's playing up.
???

Palomar · 2004-01-29 15:05:48

Anyhow, what I said was that the picture of the 'magnetic filament' on the Sun was about the best and most detailed image of old Sol I've ever seen.
Thanks Cindy!

*You're quite welcome, kind sir. And thanks for reposting; I didn't catch your first try (thread seems stable otherwise). Thanks also to Byron, Rik, and BGD for their comments.

I've noticed that the sunspot count at spaceweather.com for today and yesterday is zero. Wow.

I've mentioned before that sunspot numbers can fluctuate a bit dramatically within 24 hours (which I didn't know until keeping track via the internet).

On 27 January Sol had 38 sunspots; on 28 and 29 January Sol is devoid of spots.

Interesting. I'm wondering if the zero count will hold for 3 days. It's like keeping tabs on a pulse. IIRC correctly, the wildest fluctation up was from 54 one day to nearly 110 the next.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-02-07 18:17:25

*My husband and I just returned from a trip to Sunspot, NM to see the National Solar Observatory (below), 98 miles from our home; 31 of those miles were winding mountain passages. Click on "Visitor Information, Directions and Maps" to see photos and additional information.

[http://nsosp.nso.edu/]http://nsosp.nso.edu/

Three inches of snow on the ground, surrounded by lovely pines. It took us about 1/2 hour to walk through the exhibits, which were modest but very informative and nice.

One exhibit of Sol shared a tidbit of info new to me: It is classified as a variable star. I've seen catalogues of such stars, etc.; I didn't know Sol was one! Perhaps I forgot, but I doubt it.

Exhibits also displayed information about the Solar System and deep space. A huge screen (perhaps 10 x 8 feet) displayed a colored composite image of the Twin Peaks on Mars (Pathfinder) and the boulder-strewn panorama in the foreground.

An additional "nice touch" was a portion of the museum devoted to ancient astronomy, including Northern American "Medicine Wheels" (predominant in Canada), Mayan observatories, etc.

Of course, I totally avoided the gift shop...I didn't spend a chunk of money in there, nooooooo. :;):

Apache Point Observatory is just down the road (closed to public of course). A video in a small adjacent room showed the viewer the basics of how both observatories function. A model of APO is housed behind glass...it includes a miniature trash can, dust mop, broom, and dust pan within it. I'd say that's getting "life-like." :laugh:

A very rewarding day.

Now back to Sol:

[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030624.html]The Sun's Surface in 3D

Found this at Astropix...lovely. Reminds me of how light-colored corn syrup looks during the soft ball boiling stage during candy making, as it begins caramelizing...

--Cindy

P.S.: We dined afterwards in Cloudcroft, at the Cook Shack Cafe which features a floor covered entirely in wood chips, rifles over the windows, kerosene lanterns, small old-fashioned blow-torches (don't ask me...), horse harnesses, spurs, wooden tables and chairs (some chairs are merely sanded and varnished tree stumps with vinyl cushions on top). Above my head (noticed it -after- my meal, thank god) was a dried rattlesnake skin (complete with intact rattlers) nailed to an old weathered saloon sign. How much more Western can you get than that? We had buffalo burgers...Yee-Haw!

Palomar · 2004-02-08 21:58:59

(Check out the information accompanying the 2nd and 3rd links...which is why I didn't display them via "Image")

*I would post this via "Image," but it's too big. Wow!:

[http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/sw … ole600.jpg]Frosty Sunshine

It was taken at the South Pole on February 2 by a guy named Jacob Kooi at Scott Station (can read further descriptive at [http://www.spaceweather.com,]http://www.spaceweather.com, for 7 February 2004 -- the web page is archived daily).

---

*SPIRAL sunspot?!

[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990204.html]Observed by National Solar Observatory astronomers, no less (nice coincidence...see my previous post regarding NSO)!

Photographed in 1982...I guess I missed it from back then (or forgot maybe).

---

*I posted this previously, a long time ago in original "New Discoveries" thread; I -very rarely- repost anything, but this awesome image is worth it and I want to add it to this thread. Check out the dimensions. Lovely...molten gold:

[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021114.html]Golden Feathers

--Cindy

::EDIT:: I love the good folks at Astropix...I just found this gem in the archives:

[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000223.html]Sunspot Seething: Time-Lapse Movie

Wow!!

Palomar · 2004-02-11 10:17:51

*"Light Bridges" on the Sun:

[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000522.html]http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000522.html

Another really spectacular link (close-up shot of the light bridges) -and- link to a short movie clip in the lower left-hand corner. Do the peripheral areas remind you of waterfall movement?:

[http://www.astro.su.se/~rouppe/ao/mov2.html]http://www.astro.su.se/~rouppe/ao/mov2.html

Thank you, Astropix.

--Cindy

P.S.: Beneath the link to the movie clip is another link, which is a tremendously enlarged image.

Palomar · 2004-02-17 08:40:45

*Terrific pic (and orange is my favorite color anyway!) which I would post with "Image" feature, except it's too big and bloats out the screen. It was taken by Ginger Mayfield of CO. Spaceweather.com says Hyder flares are possible in the upcoming days, because of these prominences:

[http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/sw … field1.jpg]Magnetic Prominences

---

*Sol looks particularly stormy in this photo (also bloats out the screen when I try to post it via "Image," so have just provided a link)...but is likely a filter factor. I really would like to pursue solar astrophotography myself...I am in awe of the amateur astronomers who get results like this:

[http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/sw … ewton1.JPG]Pic by Jack Newton

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-02-23 12:03:24

*Watch sunspots grow!

From spaceweather.com 23 February 2004:

"SUNSPOT WATCH: Sunspot 564, pictured above, is growing remarkably fast.
--->Yesterday it was nearly invisible; today it is wider than five planet Earths<---. If the rapidly developing magnetic field of this sunspot becomes unstable, it could unleash a strong solar flare. Stay tuned for updates."

---
[http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/sw … erman1.jpg]A pic of Sunspot 564 from February 22

*Stunning! Mmmmmm, I love the oranges and yellows!

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-02-25 14:15:37

*A really fantastic image. Sunspot 564 continues to grow (I love the internet!!!):

---

[http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/S … cture.html]Also: A look inside the Sun

--Cindy

internet · 2004-02-25 15:39:07

I love the internet!!!

And i love you too! :;):

Palomar · 2004-02-27 11:07:11

I love the internet!!!
And i love you too! :;):

(LOL..."internet")

*Awesome fiery plume. Interesting how the edge of Sol looks in this pic (what seems to be a shadow area beneath a thin line of fire). Pic by Jeff Pettitt:

----

*Dazzling image...can almost feel the heat. Awesome detail:

[http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/sw … ewton1.JPG]Pic by Jack Newton

----

[http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/sw … atman1.jpg]Pic by Andrew Chatman

*I had to link to the 2nd and 3rd pics; originally tried to submit them via Image but they were too large.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-02-27 11:26:02

[=http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000403.html]Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence -- (time lapse movement)

*From Astropix. Amazing:

"A huge eruptive prominence is seen moving out from our Sun in this condensed half-hour time-lapse sequence. Ten Earths could easily fit in the "claw" of this seemingly solar monster..."

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-02-29 23:28:17

http://astronomy.com/photogallery/galle … E%7D]Solar Analemma

--Cindy

::EDIT::

Check out the animation of a sequence of sketches made by Galileo of the Sun/sunspots. His sketchings were so precise; the sketch sequence moves just like the digital image of the Sun at spaceweather.com:

[http://www.thursdaysclassroom.com/index_03feb00.html]Galileo's Sun

I generally don't check children's pages; I'm glad I did this time.

[http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Th … spots.html]Galileo's Sunspot Drawings (additional info)

I wonder if it occurred to Galileo to stack the sketches and fan through them, to see the progression/movement himself ala animation. He was a genius; I'd be surprised if that didn't occur to him.

Byron · 2004-03-01 05:45:08

The Solar Analemma pic is pretty cool...first time I've seen a composite photo like that. This reminds me of a visit to Longwood Gardens in southeastern PA, where there was a series of markers on the ground that marked the sun's shadow throughout every day of the year...it took them *8* years to get all the measurements, due to cloudy days, etc. It's interesting that there is that "wobble"...this is the apparent cause of the "shifting noon" (the sun's highest point in the sky each day) throughout the year, and it also explains why the earliest sunset occurs in early Dec, the latest sunrise in early Jan, that sort of thing.

Maybe I'll get a chance construct my own solar analemma like the one in Longwood Gardens one of these days...hopefully it wouldn't take eight years, though...lol...

B

Palomar · 2004-03-12 07:21:08

[http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/ima … 20NASA/JPL]Sail On, Little Potato Moon

*Phobos crosses the Sun (animated link).

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-03-13 06:31:10

*So -that's- where the Monolith went...and it had a baby!

Anyway, about the ejecta in the upper right-hand corner (amazing, huh?):

"Magnetic fields near the sun's northwestern limb became unstable and exploded on March 12th (0119 UT). NASA/ESA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this image of the blast:

"The glowing hot cloud hurled into space by the explosion is huge. Hundreds of planet Earths could fit inside it with room to spare. Unfortunately for sky watchers, who would like to see some auroras, the blast was not Earth directed, and so it will not trigger a geomagnetic storm."

Pic and information courtesy spaceweather.com.

It's so cool how different filters and etc. make the Sun's surface look so different. So tempestuous in this shot.

--Cindy

P.S.: An explanation for the presence of the markers in the pic isn't given.

Palomar · 2004-03-16 14:34:13

[http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=13844]Biggest Recorded Solar Flare...

*...was even bigger than originally estimated. A real whopper!

Yipes. MESSENGER might get charbroiled before it gets to Mercury, if this keeps up.

Funny; IIRC around mid-2003 scientists were predicting ol' Sol was actually quieting down substantially.

--Cindy

::EDIT::

"...revise(d) the flare's size from a merely huge X28 to a 'whopping' X45...X-class flares are major events that can trigger radio blackouts around the world and long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere that can damage or destroy satellites.

The biggest previous solar flares on record were rated X20, on 2 April 2001 and 16 August 1989.

'This makes it more than twice as large as any previously recorded flare, and if the accompanying particle and magnetic storm had been aimed at the Earth, the damage to some satellites and electrical networks could have been considerable,' says Thomson..."

::EDIT 2::

This was originally one huge sunspot (#570)...it split in two a few days ago (pic originally posted at spaceweather.com).

Palomar · 2004-03-24 09:20:53

[http://www.space.com/businesstechnology … 324-1.html]SDO to replace SOHO

*Looks like SOHO's getting on in years. The Solar Dynamics Observatory is being built in its place, by Goddard. The article says SDO is the first of NASA's "Living With a Star" (LWS) missions. Its mission will be 5 years in duration, beginning in April 2008.

"The goal of the LWS missions is to understand how the Sun affects our climate, communication systems, as well as space and atmospheric craft...SDO will provide nearly continuous observations of changes in the Sun’s magnetic field, its interior, and ever-changing energy outputs, with an ambition of improving the timeliness and accuracy of space weather forecasts."

*Cool! Or, should I say, caliente!

Includes images, to the right of the article...check 'em out.

--Cindy

SBird · 2004-03-24 11:53:34

*Looks like SOHO's getting on in years.

Saying that SOHO's getting on in the years is a bit of an understatement. :;):

It's been held together with duct tape and bailing wire for the last 4 years. Mir looked like a pristine paragon of smoothly functioning equipment compared to SOHO which is limping along on 1 or 2 gyroscopes these days. I'm just amazed at how well they've been able to keep SOHO working despite the fact that it was about to die years ago.

Palomar · 2004-03-25 07:03:34

*Looks like SOHO's getting on in years.
Saying that SOHO's getting on in the years is a bit of an understatement. :;):
It's been held together with duct tape and bailing wire for the last 4 years. Mir looked like a pristine paragon of smoothly functioning equipment compared to SOHO which is limping along on 1 or 2 gyroscopes these days. I'm just amazed at how well they've been able to keep SOHO working despite the fact that it was about to die years ago.

*My goodness. The folks at the SOHO web site and etc. certainly don't "let on" that it's in such bad shape (although I'm -not- doubting you). I guess we have to expect SOHO to continue limping along until SDO replaces it?

When I think of all the gov't $$ being wasted on frivilous stuff, or war, and we've got important scientific instruments barely holding together...grrrrrr!

Well, thanks for that bit of info.

--Cindy

SBird · 2004-03-25 12:12:13

I'm really suprised tha the SOHO website doesn'ttalk about the near-death experiences it's had. That satellite's been declared dead at least twice that I can remember. It's a true testament to the engineers at NASA that it's still operational - it's YEARS past its operational design and a whole slew of 'critical' subsystems broke down years ago. I'd argue it's the single most impressive peice of remote engineeringthat NASA has ever accomplished.

Palomar · 2004-03-30 07:10:56

*SBird, that's amazing. Thanks for posting.

A pic I've not seen before:

[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030707.html]At the Edge of the Sun

I saw this book at Barnes & Noble; yes, I do intend to purchase it:

[http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0 … 15-5588061]Sunquakes: Probing the Interior of the Sun

*--*

I have a question. I'm recalling articles I've read about "Vulcanoids," i.e. a possible ring of asteroids between the orbit of Mercury and the Sun. They've not yet been proven to exist, but I am wondering: What is the closest an object can get to the Sun without being pulled into it?

I think it's amazing a tiny planet like Mercury can be so close...and then to imagine objects closer yet! So, again, I'm wondering how close an object could get to the Sun before getting tugged in and disintegrated.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-03-30 16:13:35

[http://www.space.com/soho/]SOHO Special

*I was checking space.com again (end of the day), when I noticed a new ticker going across it. Very interesting stuff in here, of course, much of it "dated" (though recent).

The SOHO multimedia feature includes a "View Gallery"; I especially liked #15 (comets -very- close to the Sun); #17 (largest solar flare yet recorded, occured on Nov 4 '03); and #6 (sound waves trapped inside the Sun make ripples on its surface). A rather nifty resource (even if the accompanying paragraphs are very short).

Also, there's the Top 10 images from SOHO and a video ("Warning! Solar Storm in Progress") but I couldn't get the video to play. Oh well; will try again tomorrow.

Also includes an archive of former "Top Stories."

--Cindy

SBird · 2004-03-30 17:35:35

Technically speaking, you could have an orbit that actually skimmed the surface of the Sun. As long as you just keep moving fast enough, your orbit will be stable. There's a planned solar probe next decade that will actually do an orbital flyby of the sun, dipping to within <3 solar radii! (<2,000,000 km or 1/75 of an AU or 1/30th the average distance of Mercury to the Sun) The practical limit to orbiting the sun is, of course, the heat and the drag from passing through the progressively denser gas around the sun. (that solar probe has a truly ridiculous heat shield) A planet probably has to be further from the Sun or be ripped apart by the tidal forces and slowly evaporated by the heat.

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#26 2004-01-27 18:43:00

Re: Heliopolis

#27 2004-01-27 19:42:51

Re: Heliopolis

#28 2004-01-29 15:05:48

Re: Heliopolis

#29 2004-02-07 18:17:25

Re: Heliopolis

#30 2004-02-08 21:58:59

Re: Heliopolis

#31 2004-02-11 10:17:51

Re: Heliopolis

#32 2004-02-17 08:40:45

Re: Heliopolis

#33 2004-02-23 12:03:24

Re: Heliopolis

#34 2004-02-25 14:15:37

Re: Heliopolis

#35 2004-02-25 15:39:07

Re: Heliopolis

#36 2004-02-27 11:07:11

Re: Heliopolis

#37 2004-02-27 11:26:02

Re: Heliopolis

#38 2004-02-29 23:28:17

Re: Heliopolis

#39 2004-03-01 05:45:08

Re: Heliopolis

#40 2004-03-12 07:21:08

Re: Heliopolis

#41 2004-03-13 06:31:10

Re: Heliopolis

#42 2004-03-16 14:34:13

Re: Heliopolis

#43 2004-03-24 09:20:53

Re: Heliopolis

#44 2004-03-24 11:53:34

Re: Heliopolis

#45 2004-03-25 07:03:34

Re: Heliopolis

#46 2004-03-25 12:12:13

Re: Heliopolis

#47 2004-03-30 07:10:56

Re: Heliopolis

#48 2004-03-30 16:13:35

Re: Heliopolis

#49 2004-03-30 17:35:35

Re: Heliopolis

Board footer