1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,840 You know, Dan, just like meteorologists use satellites to predict weather here on Earth, 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,120 NASA uses satellites to predict solar storms. 3 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:14,520 Wait a minute, you're saying that in the future we'll talk about solar storms like we talk 4 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:15,760 about storms here on Earth? 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:17,000 We sure will. 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:18,000 Hmm. 7 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,600 Predicting the storms of the future. 8 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:26,000 This just in America, things are brewing up inside sunspots. 9 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,320 There'll be a high-energy burst of X-rays flowing from the sun. 10 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:33,600 For you people on the moon, SPF 3000 will come in handy as the pulse should be hitting 11 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:39,360 moon-based Norbert right now. 12 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,720 Solar storms have caused disruptions in our communications and power supplies. 13 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:49,040 For instance, in 1989, a solar storm knocked out electric power in Quebec, Canada. 14 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:55,080 Six million homes were without power for nine hours as a result of magnetic solar storms. 15 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,040 Preventing solar storms has huge benefits to us here on Earth. 16 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:02,440 If power companies could receive earlier storm alerts, they could minimize damage and power 17 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:03,440 outages. 18 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:07,760 So what is NASA doing to warn us about these solar storms? 19 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:12,080 To learn more about the sun-Earth connection and how it affects us, I'll show you a really 20 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,840 cool website you can do at home or at school. 21 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,560 In the meantime, I'm going to head to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, 22 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,480 Maryland, to talk with astronomer Dr. Sten Odenwald. 23 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:29,080 He runs Ask the Space Scientist with NASA's Image Satellite Program. 24 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,560 What are some forms of electromagnetic radiation? 25 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,320 How can satellites help researchers monitor the sun? 26 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:41,120 Why is it important to track solar storms as they approach the Earth? 27 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,360 If you want to get a clear view of what the sun is doing, you have to get above the Earth's 28 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,120 distorting atmosphere. 29 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:50,680 So we use satellites to gather the data that we need to understand how the sun works. 30 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,320 The sun radiates at all energy levels. 31 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,360 Radiation is energy that travels and spreads out as it goes. 32 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:58,040 There are different types of radiation. 33 00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,280 Let me show you. 34 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,960 Visible light that comes from a lamp in your house or radio waves that come from a radio 35 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:08,240 station are two types of radiation. 36 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:15,000 Other examples of radiation are microwaves that cook popcorn in a few minutes, infrared 37 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,320 light, which restaurants use to keep food warm, ultraviolet light, which causes our 38 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:29,320 skin to burn, x-rays, which help doctors look at your bones, and gamma rays, which are emitted 39 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:34,600 from radioactive materials. 40 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,800 So Jennifer, let's apply this information to the sun. 41 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:42,920 As Eric stated earlier, the photosphere emits energy primarily in visible light, while the 42 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:48,640 lower corona emits energy in extreme ultraviolet light and the upper corona in x-rays. 43 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:53,000 By zeroing in on one particular light energy, we can study the various parts of the sun 44 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:54,000 and how they interact. 45 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:59,280 Okay, Dr. Odenwald, how can satellites help us to monitor and observe the sun? 46 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,900 With satellite technology, you can look at the sun 24 hours a day. 47 00:03:02,900 --> 00:03:07,080 We can put satellites outside of the Earth's atmosphere to collect valuable data from the 48 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:11,760 sun and to act as early warning devices against solar storms. 49 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:16,440 Three important satellites that monitor the sun and provide us with real-time data are 50 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,560 the SOHO, ACE, and IMAGE satellites. 51 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:25,000 If you'd like to learn more about the SOHO satellite, Dr. Terry Kuchera, one of our researchers 52 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,200 at NASA Goddard, has all the information. 53 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:28,200 Great, great. 54 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:29,200 Hey, Terry. 55 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:30,200 Hi, Jennifer. 56 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:35,200 SOHO, or the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, has a dozen different instruments which observe 57 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:39,520 the sun 24 hours a day without interference from the Earth's atmosphere. 58 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:43,320 These instruments record the activity of a solar corona, the photosphere, and even 59 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,640 study the sun's deep interior. 60 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:50,280 SOHO has telescopes on board that take pictures of the sun in ultraviolet light. 61 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:54,520 Also, SOHO can give us a two- to three-day early warning of coming solar storms that 62 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:56,560 can affect the Earth's magnetic field. 63 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:57,560 That's really cool. 64 00:03:57,560 --> 00:03:58,560 Thanks, Terry. 65 00:03:58,560 --> 00:03:59,560 Oh, you're welcome. 66 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:00,960 So, what's next, Dan? 67 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,560 The second satellite is ACE, the Advanced Composition Explorer. 68 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:09,240 ACE operates like an ocean buoy that measures the density, temperature, magnetism, and speed 69 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,000 of the solar wind as it passes by. 70 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:18,000 If a solar storm is headed our way, ACE will detect it and give us 30 to 45 minutes warning 71 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,000 that a storm is about to hit the Earth. 72 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:22,000 Cool. 73 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,600 So, how do NASA researchers then analyze and interpret the data? 74 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,480 One way we can analyze and interpret data is by graphing them. 75 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:33,040 The graph shows the speed of the solar wind changing as it blows by the ACE satellite. 76 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,600 The title of this graph is Solar Wind Speed. 77 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:42,240 The horizontal axis, or x-axis, represents the number of days in September of 2000. 78 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:47,640 And the vertical axis, or y-axis, represents the speed of the wind in kilometers per second. 79 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:53,640 Okay, Stan, it looks like the speed of the solar wind ranged from 350 kilometers per 80 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,400 second to 800 kilometers per second during the month of September. 81 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,080 You're right, Jennifer. 82 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:04,040 On September the 18th, the solar wind reached speeds of 800 kilometers per second, or about 83 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,360 1.7 million miles an hour. 84 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:11,600 But most of the time, the solar wind averaged around 450 kilometers per second. 85 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,640 From the analysis of this graph, we can determine how long it took the solar wind to reach the 86 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:16,640 Earth's atmosphere. 87 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:18,040 That's amazing, Stan. 88 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,840 Now, besides SOHO and ACE, you mentioned a third satellite. 89 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:22,840 IMAGE? 90 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:23,840 Is that the one you're working with? 91 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:25,160 That's right, Jennifer. 92 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:29,680 IMAGE, which means Imager for Magnetosphere to Aurora Global Exploration. 93 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,480 And it's a satellite that orbits the Earth and measures the locations and changes in 94 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,240 the invisible clouds of particles that surround the Earth in space. 95 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:42,280 You probably already know one of these cloud systems, the Van Allen belts. 96 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:46,040 Astronauts and satellites avoid these belts because of their radiation hazard. 97 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,960 There is also a separate collection of particles called the ring current, which appears and 98 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,880 disappears whenever the Earth gets whacked by a solar storm. 99 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,680 Another one of these clouds, called the plasmasphere, is actually a part of our own atmosphere. 100 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:02,000 It extends over 10,000 miles above the Earth. 101 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,280 The IMAGE satellite lets us watch these different families of clouds change. 102 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:11,720 IMAGE helps us understand how solar storms can cause problems for our technology in space 103 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,560 and the health of our astronauts working there, too. 104 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:19,000 More importantly, it helps scientists improve our ability to forecast space weather. 105 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:24,200 Wow, I realized the sun was critical to sustain life here on Earth, but I guess I never realized 106 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,640 the devastating effects the sun could have on us. 107 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:27,800 It's amazing, Jennifer. 108 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:33,440 Solar storms have caused billions of dollars worth of satellite damage in the last 20 years. 109 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:40,160 They have caused blackouts and will always be a hazard for astronauts working in space. 110 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:46,180 Satellites, like SOHO, ACE, and IMAGE, and their replacements, will be our only means 111 00:06:46,180 --> 00:06:49,920 of keeping track of when the next storm hits Earth's magnetic field. 112 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:54,680 If students would like to learn more about how the sun works and about solar storms, 113 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,520 they can visit the Sun-Earth Day website, which was developed by the Sun-Earth Connection 114 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:02,520 Education Forum, in collaboration with the NASA Office of Space Science. 115 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:04,680 Thank you so much, Dr. Odenwald. 116 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,760 You know, Dan has been working on some websites about the sun. 117 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,080 Let's go see what he's up to.