Hinode

Infobox Space telescope
name = Hinode


caption = Artist's impression of the Hinode spacecraft (then known as Solar-B) in orbit
organization = JAXA / NASA / PPARC
alt_names = Solar-B
nssdc_id =
location =
orbit_type = sun-synchronous orbit
height =
period =
velocity =
accel_gravity =
launch_date = nowrap|September 22, 2006 at 21:36 GMT
launch_location = Uchinoura Space Center
launch_vehicle = M-V rocket
mission_length =
deorbit_date =
wavelength = optical, X ray, EUV
mass =
style =
diameter =
area =
focal_length =
coolant =
instrument_1_name = SOT
instrument_1_characteristics = Solar Optical Telescope
instrument_2_name = XRT
instrument_2_characteristics = X-ray Telescope
instrument_3_name = EIS
instrument_3_characteristics = nowrap|Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer
website = [http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/enterp/missions/hinode/ JAXA overview of mission]

Hinode (ひので, Japanese: "Sunrise"), formerly known as Solar-B, is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Solar mission with United States and United Kingdom collaboration. It is the follow-up to the Yohkoh ("Solar-A") mission and it was launched on the final flight of the M-V rocket from Uchinoura Space Center, Japan on September 22, 2006 at 21:36 GMT (September 23, 06:36 JST). Initial orbit was perigee height 280 km, apogee height 686 km, inclination 98.3 degrees. Then the satellite maneuvered to the quasi-circular sun-synchronous orbit over the day/night terminator, which allows near-continuous observation of the Sun. On October 28, the probe's instruments captured their first images.

Mission

Hinode is planned as a three-year mission to explore the magnetic fields of the Sun. It consists of a coordinated set of optical, extreme ultraviolet (EUV), and x-ray instruments to investigate the interaction between the Sun's magnetic field and its corona. The result will be an improved understanding of the mechanisms that power the solar atmosphere and drive solar eruptions. NASA, the space agency of the United States, developed three science instrument components: the Focal Plane Package (FPP), the X-Ray Telescope (XRT), and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) and shares operations support for science planning and instrument command generation. [cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/210019main_NASA_FY09_Budget_Estimates.pdf |title=NASA FY 2009 Budget Request |pages=p. Sci-281 |publisher=NASA]

Instruments

Hinode carries three main instruments to study the Sun:;SOT (Solar Optical Telescope):A 0.5 meter optical telescope with an angular resolution of about 0.2 arcsec over the field of view of about 400 x 400 arcsec. At the focal plane of the telescope there are two instruments: a filter vector magnetograph and a spectro-polarimeter. The SOT feeds both a spectropolarimeter and a pair of filtergraphs that can be used as a vector magnetograph. The SOT's spatial resolution is a factor-of-5 improvement over preceding space-based Solar telescopes (the MDI on SOHO).

;XRT (X-ray Telescope):A Wolter telescope design that uses grazing incidence optics to image the solar corona's hottest components (0.5 to 10 Million K) with an angular resolution of approximately 1 arcsec.

;EIS ( [http://msslxr.mssl.ucl.ac.uk:8080/SolarB/ Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer] ):A normal incidence extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometer that obtains spatially resolved spectra in two wavelength bands: 17.0-21.2 and 24.6-29.2 nm. Spatial resolution is around 2 arcsec, and the field of view is up to 560 x 512 arcsec^2. The emission lines in the EIS wavelength bands are emitted at temperatures ranging from 50,000 K to 20 million K. EIS is used to identify the physical processes involved in heating the solar corona.

References

External links

* [http://www.nasa.gov/hinode NASA Mission Site for Hinode]
* [http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/enterp/missions/hinode/index.shtml JAXA overview of mission]
*Mission overview [http://isas.tv/moviehtml/solar_b.html Quicktime] [http://isas.tv/moviehtml/solar_b_wmp.html Windows Media] , preparation for launch [http://isas.tv/moviehtml/MV7cyoku.html Quicktime] [http://isas.tv/moviehtml/MV7cyoku_wmp.html Windows Media] , launch [http://isas.tv/moviehtml/MV7re.html Quicktime] [http://isas.tv/moviehtml/MV7re_wmp.html Windows Media] , press conference [http://jaxa.tv/hinode_qt.html Quicktime] [http://jaxa.tv/hinode_wmp.html Window Media] (in Japanese)
* [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=SOLAR-B Solar-B Mission Profile] by [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov NASA's Solar System Exploration]
* [http://solar-b.nao.ac.jp/index_e.shtml Solar-B project page] of National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
* [http://msslxr.mssl.ucl.ac.uk:8080/SolarB/ Solar-B project page] of Mullard Space Science Laboratory
* [http://www.pparc.ac.uk/roadmap/rmProject.aspx?q=94 Solar-B project page] of PPARC
* [http://solarb.msfc.nasa.gov/ Solar-B project page] of NASA MSFC
* [http://www.chabotspace.org/vsc/solar/solarb/default.asp HINODE (SOLAR-B) SOT-FPP Education/Public Outreach] at Chabot Space and Science Center
* [http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/solar-b_brochure.stm Solar-B brochure]
*cite news|last=Amos|first=Jonathan|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5330526.stm|title=Probe to study mighty explosions|publisher=BBC News|date=2006-09-09|accessdate=2006-09-09