Solar Dynamics Observatory detects superfast solar waves moving at 2,000 km/sec
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists using the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument on board NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), have detected quasi-periodic waves in the low solar corona that travel at speeds as high as 2,000 kilometers per second (4.5 million miles per hour). These observations provide, for the first time, unambiguous evidence of propagating fast mode magnetosonic waves at such high speeds in the Suns low atmosphere. Dr. Wei Liu, a Stanford University Research Associate at the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL) at the companys Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto, presented the findings today at the annual meeting of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society, in Las Cruces, N.M. A paper detailing the discovery has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.