XRT was prominently featured with a two-page spread in the New Year's edition of
JAXA's,
a magazine published by Hinode's lead institution, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The
image text translates to:
Hinode Captures Solar Activity Cycle
From quiescent to highly dynamic‑The X-Ray Telescope (XRT) aboard the Hinode
on-orbit solar observatory has captured yearly variations in the activity of the Sun's corona.
A series of images of the solar corona for each year from 2008 to 2014 is shown above. The Sun's activity
varies following its 11-year activity cycle. The present cycle 24 began in 2008, during which
the Sun's activity was at its lowest level in this cycle.
While the solar activity reached a maximum in 2013,
the Sun continued to maintain its activity in 2014.
The two panels shown in the lower part of the two facing pages
show the Sun in 2008 and 2014, dramatically illustrating the difference in the Sun's activity.
XRT is an instrument that observes high temperature plasmas in the solar atmosphere (corona).
Temperatures in the corona reach as high as, or even beyond, 1-million ºC. In the images, bright regions
are richer in activity, with loop-like threads tracing the magnetic field lines of the Sun.
Image credit: JAXA/NAOJ/NASA
A PDF of the full magazine can be
downloaded here, and the original image is
posted here.
Keywords: Full Disk, Solar Cycle
Filters: Al_mesh
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JAXA's cover for Jan 1st, 2015
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