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Sunspots are phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. Sunspots appear within active regions, usually in pairs of opposite magnetic polarity. Their number varies according to the approximately 11-year solar cycle.
A solar flare is an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and other solar phenomena. The occurrence of solar flares varies with the 11-year solar cycle.
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Historically, observatories were as simple as containing an astronomical sextant or Stonehenge.
Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the time varying conditions within the Solar System, including the solar wind, emphasizing the space surrounding the Earth, including conditions in the magnetosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. Space weather is distinct from, but conceptually related to, the terrestrial weather of the atmosphere of Earth. The term "space weather" was first used in the 1950s and came into common usage in the 1990s. Later, it was generalized to a "space climate" research discipline, which focuses on general behaviors of longer and larger-scale variabilities and effects.
The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is a United States public research institute to advance the knowledge of the physics of the Sun. NSO studies the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth. NSO is headquartered in Boulder and operates facilities at two locations - at the 4-meter Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in the Haleakala Observatory on the island of Maui, and at Sacramento Peak near Sunspot in New Mexico.
The United States Space Surveillance Network (SSN) detects, tracks, catalogs and identifies artificial objects orbiting Earth, e.g. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris. The system is the responsibility of United States Space Command and operated by the United States Space Force.
The Haleakalā Observatory, also known as the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, is Hawaii's first astronomical research observatory. It is located on the island of Maui and is owned by the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawai'i, which operates some of the facilities on the site and leases portions to other organizations. Tenants include the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGTN). At over 3,050 meters (10,010 ft) in altitude, the summit of Haleakalā is above one third of the Earths's troposphere and has excellent astronomical seeing conditions.
Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that specializes in the study of the Sun. It deals with detailed measurements that are possible only for our closest star. It intersects with many disciplines of pure physics, astrophysics, and computer science, including fluid dynamics, plasma physics including magnetohydrodynamics, seismology, particle physics, atomic physics, nuclear physics, stellar evolution, space physics, spectroscopy, radiative transfer, applied optics, signal processing, computer vision, computational physics, stellar physics and solar astronomy.
The Dunn Solar Telescope is a unique vertical-axis solar telescope, in Sunspot, New Mexico located at Sacramento Peak, New Mexico. It is the main telescope at the Sunspot Solar Observatory, operated by New Mexico State University in partnership with the National Solar Observatory through funding by the National Science Foundation, the state of New Mexico and private funds from other partners. The Dunn Solar Telescope specializes in high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy to help astrophysicists worldwide obtain a better understanding of how the Sun affects the Earth. Completed in 1969, it was upgraded with high-order adaptive optics in 2004 and remains a highly versatile astrophysical observatory which serves as an important test platform for developing new instrumentation and technologies.
This is an index to articles about terms used in discussion of radio propagation.
The 2nd Weather Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit assigned to the 2nd Weather Group of the 557th Weather Wing and is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron's mission is broad and includes the preparation of weather analysis for the intelligence community, observation of space weather, monitoring of volcanic ash, cloud analysis, production of weather broadcasts for the American Forces Network, as well as other tasks. The squadron's personnel is located at seven different sites worldwide.
An active region is a temporary region in the Sun's atmosphere characterized by a strong and complex magnetic field. They are often associated with sunspots and are commonly the source of violent eruptions such as coronal mass ejections and solar flares. The number and location of active regions on the solar disk at any given time is dependent on the solar cycle.
The Sagamore Hill Solar Radio Observatory is a solar radio observatory located in Hamilton, Massachusetts, that operates on a daily basis to obtain scientific observations of the Sun. It is a functional component of the Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN).
The Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN) is a network of solar observatories maintained and operated by the 557th Weather Wing, ACC. The RSTN consists of ground-based observatories in Australia, Italy, Massachusetts, and Hawaii.
The Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences is a scientific institute headquartered at the Ondřejov Observatory, roughly 35 km southeast of Prague, Czech Republic.
The Stonyhurst Observatory is a functioning observatory and weather station at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England. Built in 1866, it replaced a nearby earlier building, built in 1838, which is now used as the Typographia Collegii.
An X-ray astronomy satellite studies X-ray emissions from celestial objects, as part of a branch of space science known as X-ray astronomy. Satellites are needed because X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets, and satellites.
Solar observation is the scientific endeavor of studying the Sun and its behavior and relation to the Earth and the remainder of the Solar System. Deliberate solar observation began thousands of years ago. That initial era of direct observation gave way to telescopes in the 1600s followed by satellites in the twentieth century.
Solar phenomena are natural phenomena which occur within the atmosphere of the Sun. These phenomena take many forms, including solar wind, radio wave flux, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, coronal heating and sunspots.
The Sunspot Solar Observatory (SSO) is an astronomical observatory designed for the study of the Sun. The observatory is operated by New Mexico State University (NMSU) and the National Solar Observatory (NSO). It is split between operations at the telescope facility at Sunspot, New Mexico and data and management at the Department of Astronomy at New Mexico State University. The Sunspot telescope facility is in the Sacramento Mountains, approximately 18 miles (29 km) south of Cloudcroft. Access to the facility telescopes and grounds are open for to the public for guided tours. It is funded by the National Science Foundation in partnership with the state of New Mexico
References
- 1 2 "Factsheets: 2nd Weather Squadron, Solar Observing Optical Network". United States Air Force Weather Agency. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
- ↑ "Solar Brightness and Magnetic Discontinuities Collected by the Solar Observing Optical Network (SOON)". National Geophysical Data Center. Retrieved 2011-10-14.[ dead link ]
- ↑ "Improved Solar Observing Optical Network". National Solar Observatory. Retrieved 2013-02-27.