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XRT
(SAO, NASA, JAXA, NAOJ)
Hinode (was Solar-B) was launched at 6:36 a.m. on September 23, 2006 (Japan Standard Time).
2013-May-20
New XRT paper:
The paper "Indeterminacy and instability in Petschek reconnection" by Forbes,
Priest, Seaton, and Litvinenko has been accepted for publication in Physics
of Plasmas.
In this paper, two puzzling aspects of Petschek's model for fast reconnection
are explained. One is its failure to occur in plasma simulations with uniform
resistivity. The other is its inability to provide anything more than an upper
limit for the reconnection rate. The authors found that previously published
analytical solutions based on Petschek's model are structurally unstable if the
electrical resistivity is uniform. The structural instability is associated
with the presence of an essential singularity at the X-line that is unphysical.
By requiring that such a singularity not exist, the authors obtain a formula
that predicts a specific rate of reconnection. For uniform resistivity,
reconnection can only occur at the slow, Sweet-Parker rate. For nonuniform
resistivity, reconnection can occur at a much faster rate provided that the
resistivity profile is not too flat near the X-line. If this condition is
satisfied, then the scale length of the nonuniformity determines the
reconnection rate.
2013-May-15
New XPOW:
Three X-Flares in 24 Hours!
2013-May-10
New XPOW:
Solar Eclipse of May 10th, 2013 Update: Our eclipse movie has been
shared by PopSci!
2013-April-11
New XPOW:
Sigmoid Eruption on March 15th, 2013
See the XRT News page for older XRT news items.
The Hinode X-Ray Telescope (XRT) is a high-resolution grazing-incidence telescope, which is a successor to the highly successful Yohkoh Soft X-Ray Telescope (SXT). A primary purpose of the Hinode XRT is to observe the generation, transport, and emergence of solar magnetic fields, as well as the ultimate dissipation of magnetic energy in forms such as flares and pico-flares, coronal heating, and coronal mass ejections. The XRT aboard Hinode observes the dissipation part of the life-cycle story of solar magnetic fields. High-resolution soft X-ray images reveal magnetic field configuration and its evolution, allowing us to observe the energy buildup, storage and release process in the corona for any transient event. One of the unique features of XRT is its wide temperature coverage to see all the coronal features that are not seen with any normal incidence telescope.
The XRT consists of the X-ray and visible light optics, focal plane mechanisms (filters and shutter), and the 2k x 2k CCD camera. The Mission Data Processor (MDP) also plays a vital role for XRT.
The XRT was designed and developed by the Japan-US collaboration between Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), NASA MSFC, JAXA, and NAOJ. The XRT telescope was tested and calibrated at the XRCF at MSFC, and the CCD camera was tested and calibrated in X-rays at the ATC of the NAOJ with JAXA.
If XRT data is used in a published article or report, please give a proper Acknowledgement:
"Hinode is a Japanese mission developed and launched by ISAS/JAXA, with NAOJ as domestic partner and NASA and STFC (UK) as international partners. It is operated by these agencies in co-operation with ESA and the NSC (Norway)."
If an XRT image is displayed in a popular article, on a website, et cetera, then please acknowledge the contributing institutions:
"(SAO, NASA, JAXA, NAOJ)"
You may find a list of the XRT instrument papers and other important references that should be considered for inclusion in your XRT science paper HERE.
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