EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
INTERNET EXERCISE #3 - The Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Finally, we are ready to begin our exploration of Earth systems. This week, we will investigate the web site of the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) which is the repository of data and information acquired by a NASA-European Space Agency (ESA) satellite that stares at the sun. Observations from SOHO are used to better understand dynamics of the star at the center of our Solar System and to monitor the phenomenon of "Space Weather" - the stream of high-energy particles, photons, and radiation collectively forming the "solar wind". Why do we bother to monitor the solar wind? Outbursts from the Sun and variations in the intensity of the solar wind can wreak havoc with Earth observing satellites, telecommunications and weather forecasting satellites, can pose extreme danger to human orbiting Earth in the International Space Station, and can even have adverse impacts on Earth's surface and the infrastructure of electric power distribution created by human societies.
As will always be the case, I want you to have fun as you learn about our dynamic Sun and those mad-cap scientists who study it! So, spend enough time on this site to really learn what SOHO does and what it sees. It is a remarkable observatory that provides us with images and data about our Sun that could not be gathered any other way.
Click on the link below to see some cool stuff!
| Solar Heliospheric Observatory |  |