Speaker
Dr
Claudia Albers
(WITS university)
Description
The Solar Dynamics Observatory is a geosynchronous satellite with an orbital tilt, with detectors aimed at the Sun. It provides images of the Sun in various wavelengths, from x-ray to visible light. The satellite is supposed to see the Sun being eclipsed by the Earth for about an hour a day, for 24 days, twice a year. However, examination of the images it detects, since 2011, at the beginning of each eclipse season, reveals that different percentages of the Sun are visible at different wavelengths, in images with the same time stamp. In addition, the Sun’s corona in the 19.3 and 21.1 nm wavelengths shrinks, as the less of the Sun is visible in the images. This is not consistent with what is to be expected from an eclipse.
Primary author
Dr
Claudia Albers
(WITS university)
