National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Marshall Space Flight Center

Hinode (Solar-B)

In the News - 2014

2014 Dec 30:

XPOW: 2015 Hinode XRT Wall Calendar

2014 Dec 23:

XPOW: 56 Flares in 28 Seconds

2014 Dec 15:

XRT Software Update: The XRT Analysis Guide has been updated to include a section on coaligning XRT data using xrt_read_coaldb.pro, which improves pointing keywords in the FITS image headers using coalignment files stored in the SolarSoft Database (SSWDB). The pointing updates may also be applied using the /COALIGN keyword that has been added to xrt_prep.pro.

2014 Dec 16:

XPOW: An M3.2 flare and XRT's New Co-alignment Database

2014 Dec 9:

XPOW: Field Line Shrinkage

2014 Dec 2:

XPOW: First Light

2014 Dec:

EIS Nugget: Emission measure distribution for diffuse regions in solar active regions

2014 Nov 25:

XPOW: The Life of an Active Region

2014 Nov 13:

XPOW: Sleepy Active Region Wakes Up

2014 Oct 28:

Eclipse News Article Releases:
RedOrbit: Hinode Satellite Captures X-ray Footage Of Solar Eclipse
Maine News Online: Hinode captures magnificent images displaying 'Ring of fire' during Annual Solar Eclipse

2014 Oct 27:

Eclipse News Article Releases:
Science World Report: Hinode Captures 'Ring of Fire' during Spectacular Solar Eclipse
Universe Today: Orbiting Solar Observatory Sees It Burn, Burn, Burn: The Ring of Fire

2014 Oct 25:

Eclipse News Article Releases:
Science Daily: Hinode satellite captures X-ray footage of solar eclipse

2014 Oct 24:

Eclipse News Article Releases:
Smithsonian Science: Polar-orbiting satellite captures amazing X-ray footage of solar eclipse
Phys.org: Hinode satellite captures X-ray footage of solar eclipse
Space Fellowship: Hinode Captures Images of Partial Solar Eclipse

2014 Oct 24:

XPOW: Annular Solar Eclipse of October 23rd, 2014

2014 Oct 15:

XPOW: Supra-Arcade Downflowing Loops

2014 Oct 8:

Congratulations! to Dr. Louise Harra on receiving the Sir Arthur Clarke award for Space Achievement in Academic Study/Research as she has been an exemplary leading figure for the Hinode EIS team in the UK.

2014 Oct 8:

XPOW: The classic jet

2014 Oct 8:

SOT POD: NOAA AR 12177 Ca II H and CH

2014 Oct:

EIS Nugget: Measurement of outflow velocities in on-disk plumes from EIS/Hinode observations

2014 Sep 17:

XPOW: Possible Signs of Energy Storage in the Corona

2014 Sep 5:

XPOW: Adorable Cusp Loop

2014 Sept:

EIS Nugget: Tracking Solar Active Region Outflow Plasma from its Source to the near-Earth Environment

2014 Aug 27:

XPOW: X-Ray Jets in AR 12149

2014 Aug 20:

XPOW: A Pretty Cool Flare

2014 Aug 13:

XPOW: Beautiful Coronal Loop Expansion

2014 Aug 1:

XRT News: XRT Solar Cycle composite featured on Slate Bad Astronomy site!

2014 Jul 25:

XPOW: Solar Cycle 24

2014 Jul 14:

XPOW: Coronal Mass Ejection on April 4th, 2014

2014 Jun 26:

XPOW: Current Sheet Structure on the Limb

2014 Jun 19:

XPOW: Dark Spike Amid Flaring Loops

2014 Jun 4:

SOT POD: Solar Eruption

2014 May 22:

The XRT DVDs are Back in Stock!
We have received a new supply of Space Science Careers: Building Hinode XRT, A Space X-Ray Telescope. When students think of NASA, they're likely to imagine astronauts and engineers without appreciating the much wider spectrum of careers that make spaceflight possible. This DVD tells the stories of many people involved in the making of XRT, along with providing some information on the telescope and its science. It's a great resource for high school students, guidance counselors, or anyone looking to increase career awareness. Click here to request a (free) copy.

2014 May 20:

XPOW: Emerging Active Regions

2014 May 12:

XPOW: X1.3 Flare with Interesting Structure on April 25th, 2014

2014 May 8:

Mission News: NASA Hangout: All Eyes on the Sun

2014 May 7:

Mission News: NASA Telescopes Coordinate Best-Ever Flare Observations

2014 May 5:

XPOW: Beautiful Candle Flame Cusp on the Disk

2014 Apr 30:

Big News for XRT! XRT-CO Adam Kobelski (MSU) successfully defended his PhD thesis!
Adam successfully defended his thesis on April 29, 2014: "Empirical Studies on the Initiation of Impulsive Heating in Coronal Loops." He will be starting a postdoc job in May at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank. Congratulations from the Hinode / XRT Team, Dr. Kobelski!

2014 Apr 30:

XPOW: Solar Eclipse of April 29th, 2014

2014 Apr 22:

XPOW: Flares and Flowers

2014 Apr 10:

XPOW: X-Flare & EUV Wave on March 29th, 2014

2014 Apr 22:

SOT POD: AR 12036

2014 Apr 9:

SOT POD: AR 12027

2014 Apr 8:

SOT POD: AR 12027

2014 Apr 1:

XPOW: Coronal Rain Extinguishes Active Region

2014 Mar 24:

XPOW: Lovely Eruption & M-Flare from November, 2011

2014 Mar 19:

SOT POD: Mar. 14, 2014 spicules

2014 Mar 18:

SOT POD: Partial solar eclipse

2014 Mar 12:

SOT POD: AR 12002

2014 Mar 12:

Important Calibration Software Update: Significant improvements have been made to the XRT_PREP code, which includes several new features in addition to minor bug fixes. Users should ensure that their SSW IDL libraries are up-to-date.

The UNCERT_MAP keyword has been added to provide an array of photometric errors due to calibration uncertainties (e.g., uncertainty in the dark subtraction, Fourier filtering, vignetting correction, exposure time, etc.). For details, see Kobelski et al. 2014, Solar Physics, in press; arXiv:1312.4850. The error array provides a basal estimate of uncertainty in the XRT data. Note that photon noise errors are not included, as these depend on the detailed thermal structure of the target, since XRT is a broadband detector.

The DESPIKE_DESPOT keyword has also been introduced to provide a cosmetic correction for contamination spots and dust on the CCD (using the XRT_SPOTCOR subroutine), in addition to particle hits. The spot correction uses thin plate splines (in most cases) to smoothly interpolate between boundary pixels outside of the given spot/dust area. It is highly recommended that the user employ this in conjunction with the GRADE_MAP keyword, which generates a pixel grade map so that the location of spots and dust can be identified. Note that this correction is purely cosmetic; pixels affected by dust and/or spots should not be used for quantitative analysis. A new despiking code (XRT_DESPIKE2), which better avoids over-correcting the data, has also been introduced.

The dust on the CCD has been growing between CCD bakeouts and shrinking after bakeouts since May of 2012, suggesting that contamination is starting to adhere to the dust temporarily. The cosmetic correction code also adjusts (approximately) for the time-dependent dust size. A new catagory of pixel grade, dust growth pixels, has been added to the output of XRT_PIXEL_GRADE.

Usage notes can be found in the XRT_PREP program header (and the headers of related routines). Detailed information is also provided in an updated version of the XRT Analysis Guide.

2014 Mar 11:

XPOW: Filament Eruption with Unusual Twisting Motions

2014 Feb 14:

SOT POD: AR 11974

2014 Feb 14:

SOT POD: Partial solar eclipse

2014 Feb 14:

SOT POD: Sunspot in AR 11967

2014 Feb 14:

XPOW: 112 Hours of Full-Sun X-Ray Images

2014 Feb 10:

XPOW: Mysterious Flare-Ribbon-Like Structure

2014 Feb 6:

SOT POD: AR 11967

2014 Feb 4:

SOT POD: Flare AR 11967

2014 Feb 4:

SOT POD: AR 11967 flares

2014 Feb 4:

SOT POD: 2013 active regions

2014 Jan 30:

XPOW Archive Upgrade: The XPOW Archive has been upraded to be more easily searched. Each XPOW entry now also includes "keywords" that can be used to find related posts by querying the archive.

2014 Jan 24:

XPOW: Sigmoids on Parade!

2014 Jan 20:

SOT POD: Flare AR 11944

2014 Jan 17:

XPOW: Polar Aurora

2014 Jan 15:

SOT POD: AR 11936

2014 Jan 14:

SOT POD: AR 11890 (II) Flare

2014 Jan 14:

SOT POD: AR 11890 Flare