Solar Dynamics Observatory helps measure magnetic fields on the sun's surface
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 21:30
in Astronomy & Space
A subset of data that helps map out the sun's magnetic fields was recently released from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Observations that measure the strength and direction of magnetic fields on the solar surface -- known as vector magnetograms -- play a crucial role in understanding how those fields change over time and trigger giant eruptions off the surface of the sun such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).