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Click
on image for larger view
This
plot shows that the measurements from the SORCE SOLSTICE (black
line) have much better resolution than the UARS SOLSTICE (red
line) measurements. At a first look you might conclude that the
measurements are very different, but they are actually very similar
when the SORCE SOLSTICE measurements are smoothed to the UARS
resolution. Resolution in the MUV is doubled on SORCE SOLSTICE.
SORCE
Science Meeting Planned for December 4-6 in Sonoma, California
–
The next SORCE Science Meeting – Physical Processes Linking
Solar Variability with Global Change – is scheduled for
December 4 – 6, 2003 in Sonoma, California. The SORCE meeting
dates have been selected to accommodate people wanting to attend
the AGU meeting, which is the following week in San Francisco.
The meeting will be devoted to our understanding of the physical
processes that connect the Sun’s radiation and its variability
to our terrestrial environment, including the processes that cause
this solar forcing and the mechanisms that cause solar variations.
The agenda will consist of both invited and contributed oral presentations
and posters. We encourage
your attendance and hope that you will share this announcement
with colleagues. It is available with additional information on
the SORCE website at http://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/Dec03ScienceMeeting.html.
Final meeting information will be available in early August and
will include an agenda, abstract forms, registration forms, and
meeting logistics. If you are interested in receiving additional
information on this meeting, please e-mail Vanessa George (vanessa.george@lasp.colorado.edu),
so we can keep you informed. |
Solar
Storm Occurred End of May –
On May 26 a series of solar storms began which lasted 5 days,
peaking on May 27th, SORCE’s 148th day in orbit. These storms
produced a few X-class flares and halo coronal mass ejections
(CMEs) sending significant energy to Earth. SORCE’s XPS
instrument is very valuable in measuring the short wavelength
disturbances caused by these flares. Solar flares are classed
as extreme (X), moderate (M), or smaller (A-C) where each class
is an order of magnitude for the 0.1-0.8 nm irradiance. These
particular flares were significantly larger than what has been
seen in the past few years, measuring X3.6 on May 28. These large
X-class flares occur only every few years. The last storm producing
flares this large was on July 15, 2000. Solar storms and flares
can ultimately affect our daily lives with disturbances to communication
and navigation systems that rely on satellites and Earth’s
ionosphere for operation.
While most flares are only observed in the X-rays, there are some
large flares that affect many UV emissions and are even observable
in the visible. The XPS instrument detects the solar X-ray flares
easily and serves as an indicator for when the other SORCE measurements
might include flare information. 
Click
on image for larger view
The Sun
was especially active between days 146 and 151 (May 26-31, 2003)
when several large flares occurred on the Sun. This figure shows
that the solar X-ray radiation (0.1-7 nm) changed by more than
a factor of 10 for a couple of these flares. The data include
SORCE XPS 0.1-7 nm irradiance, TIMED SEE 0.1-7 nm irradiance,
and GOES 0.1-0.8 nm irradiance. Most of this flare energy is absorbed
in the atmosphere below 100 km, so the photochemistry affected
by these flares include NO and H2O, which in turn affect the O3
chemistry in the mesosphere.
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