When it comes to tools, the more they are used, the less reliable they become.
And of course, by the way Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) device at NASA and European Space Agency‘S SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) The spacecraft did an excellent job providing us with images. recent strong geomagnetic solar stormsis getting old.
A. coronagraph It is a special device designed to block light. Sun Thus, researchers can see the hot, thin and outermost layer of the burning star, called the corona. space weather therefore forecasters can use it to detect coronagraphs sunlight comes from and accompanies sunspots coronal mass breakthroughs (CMEs). But right now LASCO is on its own space Because scientists do not have a spare coronagraph device that can track the sun’s activities.
“Coronagraph images are vital to detecting CME, measuring it, putting the information into a model, and predicting whether it will be affected by the model. Soil,” Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) told Space.com: “The coronagraph we rely on (LASCO) is not available most of the time because it is a research instrument. It is a single point of failure, so if it were lost tomorrow, we would be in a bad situation.”
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The only other technology to study the Sun’s CMEs is NASA’s. Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)However, only one of the twin spacecraft involved in this mission remains operational and rarely passes between the earth and the sun.
SOHO It was launched into space in December 1995 and became operational in April 1996. It has the LASCO device, which contains three coronagraphs that take pictures of the solar corona. The primary purpose of the mission was not to conduct experimental research and provide real-time updates on the sun’s activities. So incoming data is not continuous and the aging device can see when an activity is occurring but cannot characterize exactly what happened.
Downlinks to data from LASCO NASA’s Deep Space Network To be fair, it also creates gaps in telling the sun’s story because there can be gaps in the data of up to eight or more hours at a time. time. This delay can cause problems in predicting the arrival times of CMEs and can alert forecasters if there are multiple CMEs following the initial flare. The device has taken a hit, especially when it comes to solar panels, as it has been in operation for the last 20 years thanks to solar activity from the sun. Energetic particles continue to disrupt these panels, and scientists say a recent check of the devices shows they only have enough power to last through 2026.
Given LASCO’s age and limited lifespan, whether LASCO is permanently or temporarily offline, scientists remain concerned about its reliability.
“Imagine if this occurred during solar storms, we would be blind to what was coming toward us. The coronagraph is our early warning detection system,” said Elsayed Talaat, NOAA’s Director of Research. Office of Space Weather Observations at the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)he told Space.com. “When we see these storms coming from the sun, [coronagraphs] “You tell us something big is coming towards us, and we input the properties of that coronal mass ejection into our models and project those to see if there might be an impact there.”
Next month, NOAA’s GOES-U satellite launched into spacewill be on board Naval Research Laboratory Compact Coronagraph-1 (CCOR-1). This will be the first operational coronagraph operated by the United States. NASA Funded and operated by NOAA; It is also expected to return data much faster with more detailed information about CMEs, including how large they are, the speed at which they are traveling, and their intensity. This information is important for forecasters to keep watch for at least one day before possible geomagnetic storm conditions.
“These observations are critical to the Space Weather Prediction Center’s (SWPC) ability to warn and forecast. Without these space observations, we would not be able to see where the activity is happening.” sunspots “…we need to make those measurements in space,” said Talaat, and continued: “Since we look at the sun at ultraviolet and x-ray frequencies, which we cannot see from the ground, space allows us to see it 24/24. 7. We also need to make measurements of coronal mass ejections in space to get an unobstructed view of these massive explosions on the Sun.”
By the way to a NOAA versionThanks to this, scientists will be able to deliver images in just 30 minutes after acquisition, as opposed to eight hours for LASCO. Images will come through the device much cleaner because it is designed to reduce effects that may be associated with larger solar storms, such as white spots or “snow” on the detector. This was a problem scientists encountered recently when energetic particles came from a solar storm. Crashed into Curiosity rover’s navigation camera on Marsmakes the image blurry.
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“For the first time, we will have the ability to get an artificial eclipse, a total solar eclipse, every 30 minutes. That will give us a really good capability right now,” Talaat said. said. “It will be a better detector, so we will get higher resolution in coronal mass ejections, and the device is designed to be more durable.”
LASCO’s research was important in helping scientists better understand the sun’s atmosphere and its effects on space weather; But now that its chapter is nearing its end, CCOR-1 is ready to begin a new chapter. And what better way to end this series of GOES satellites with the beginning of a new era for studying and predicting weather in the great unknown?