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Discover the fascinating world of solar activity and its impact through STEREO's mission. Learn about the Sun's cycle, components of solar activity, and how STEREO's S/WAVES instrument tracks radio waves emitted during solar events. Explore the technology behind radio receivers and how data is displayed. Create your own STEREO model for a deeper understanding.
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Why the Sun? • The sun provides energy for the development of life on our planet. • Our orbit looks calm and peaceful, but there is nothing peaceful about the Sun...
The Sun’s Cycle Solar Minimum Solar Maximum
Components of Solar Activity • Solar Wind • Sunspots • Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) • Magnetic Loops
Consequences of Solar Activity When Solar storms occur, they can: Produce the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)
STEREO MISSION The STEREO Mission with two satellites, has the ability to produce 3D images of solar events. However, STEREO has other instruments to measure and gather different types of data about the Sun.
S/WAVES Data: Beyond 3D Images The instrument S/WAVES has the ability to track and probe radio waves emitted by CME and solar flare events • What are radio waves? • They are electromagnetic waves with the longestwavelength in the spectrum. • Just like radio stations and TV satellites; stars, planets and gases in space also emit radio waves. • STEREO collects radio waves data emitted during coronal mass ejections and solar flare events .
3 2 1 S/WAVES Data: Beyond 3D Images • With this data, STEREO scientists will be able to: • track CME’s and Solar flare electrons from their formation to their arrival at the magnetosphere. • Just like cellphones and AM/FM radios use antennas for better reception of radio waves, each STEREO uses 3 6m long antennas to track and measure radio waves emitted from CMEs and Solar flare electrons.
The S/WAVES Receivers • These are the main components of the S/WAVES instrument 1 1. Radio receivers (HFR & LFRhi)- measures radio intensity in a frequency range of 16MHz to 40 MHz. 2. Low frequency receivers (LFRlo)- measures radio and plasma waves near the electron plasma frequency at 1AU (10-40KHz). 3. Fixed frequency receiver (FFR)- measures radio emissions at 33 MHz at high time resolution. 4. Time Domain Samplers (TDS)- makes wideband waveform measurements at one of several sample rates and bandwidths.