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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.
A nanoflare is a very small episodic heating event which happens in the corona, the external atmosphere of the Sun.
Kenneth John Frost was a pioneer in the early space program, designing and flying instruments to detect and measure X-rays and gamma-rays in space, primarily from the Sun. He was the first to suggest the use of an active scintillation shield operated in electronic anticoincidence with the primary detector to reduce the background from cosmic ray interactions, an innovation that made sensitive hard X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy possible. He was an American astrophysicist at Goddard Space Flight Center working as a civil servant for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. During his career, he was the project scientist of the Solar Maximum Mission, principal investigator of six science instruments, the head of the Solar Physics Branch, and the associate director of Space Sciences.
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References
- ↑ JAXA, "Catalogue of ISAS Missions" Archived 2014-12-31 at the Wayback Machine ; retrieved 2014-12-23.
- ↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Trajectory Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- ↑ Gunter's Space Page, "Astro A (Hinotori)"; retrieved 2014-12-23.
- ↑ ISAS, "Solar Observation HINOTORI (ASTRO-A)"; retrieved 2014-12-23.
