Right this moment within the historical past of astronomy, a mission to higher perceive photo voltaic flares begins.
In 16 years, RHESSI noticed over 100,000 photo voltaic occasions. Credit score: NASA
Commissioned with observing high-energy occasions, notably photo voltaic flares, the High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (later renamed the Reuven Ramaty Excessive-Power Photo voltaic Spectroscopic Imager; RHESSI) launched Feb. 5, 2002. RHESSI performed simultaneous observations in X-ray and gamma ray with its solitary instrument – an imaging spectrometer – and returned the primary photos of photo voltaic flares in these wavelengths.
RHESSI additionally typically labored in tandem with missions like NOAA’s GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite tv for pc) and photo voltaic observatory TRACE (Transition Area and Coronal Explorer). All through its 16-year life, the spacecraft noticed greater than 100,000 occasions, permitting scientists to create new fashions and refine present understandings of photo voltaic flares and coronal mass ejections. It additionally helped enhance measurements of the Solar’s form.
RHESSI was a part of NASA’s Small Explorer Program, specializing in frequent flights that had been comparatively cheap and really centered. It was decommissioned in 2018, and in 2023 reentered Earth’s environment over the Sahara Desert.
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