Watch the sun erupt in the first images from NOAA's revolutionary new satellite

The first images from a new space telescope launched into Earth orbit to monitor the sun have captured a striking solar storm outburst.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has shared the first images taken by the Compact Coronagraph (CCOR-1), the world’s first operational coronagraph. CCOR-1 is mounted on NOAA’s newest geostationary satellite, GOES-19, which was launched into orbit above Earth on June 25.

CCOR-1 began its mission to observe the Sun’s corona — the thin outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere — on September 19. The powerful solar telescope uses an occultation disk, visible as a dark blue circle in the images, to block light from the sun. This instrument, called a coronagraph, allows the telescope to observe the sun’s corona, which would otherwise be masked by the bright light of the sun’s surface.

CCOR-1 marks a significant advance in space weather monitoring. Compared to instruments on the ground, space coronagraphs do not have to cope Earth’s atmospherewhich can scatter light and affect the clarity of observations. This means that CCOR-1 has an uninterrupted view of the solar corona.

CCOR-1 is built to capture new images of the solar corona every 15 minutes, providing early warnings of coronary mass ejections (CMEs) – large ejections of plasma and magnetic fields thrown into space from the sun – which can trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth. While other space coronagraphs have been used in the past, NOAA says those previous instruments were used for scientific research, while CCOR-1 “will be used operationally for regular, real-time monitoring and activities.”

white bursts of light erupt from a dark blue circle against a light blue background

(Image credit: NOAA/NASA)

Using the new instrument, CCOR-1 recently caught a CME outburst on September 29. Video images from the coronagraph show a “sharply defined” CME emerging from the sun’s eastern limb (left side) at 8:15 am EDT (1200). GMT), according to a statement from NOAA.

“The Sun also dazzles with its small and large streamers, bright radial structures along which solar plasma is constantly traveling outward,” NOAA officials said in the statement. “CME explosions bend and sometimes disrupt the plasma flow, whizzing past at speeds of hundreds to thousands of miles per second.”

Fortunately, this CME was pointed away from our planet. When a solar storm is headed towards Earthit can disrupt the planet’s magnetic field, leading to power outages, communications and radio outages, and poses a greater risk to astronauts on the space station. Therefore, improved monitoring of the solar corona will allow scientists to better predict the impact of CMEs.

LASCO is technically a research instrument that was designed for experimental purposes. CCOR-1 will be used operationally for regular activities and real-time monitoring. Of course, LASCO was used operationally, but it is now being replaced by a modern, dedicated…October 22, 2024

The GOES-19 satellite was launched on June 25, 2024 on top of a SpaceX The Falcon Heavy rocket. It was the tenth launch of SpaceX’s heavy lift vehicle.

GOES-19 is still undergoing post-launch testing to ensure that its instruments and systems are working as expected. Although the recent CCOR-1 observations are preliminary, they show how the instrument will help space weather forecasting and preparation once the space telescope is fully operational in the spring of 2025.

NOAA plans to launch additional chorographs to monitor the sun from space as part of the organization’s Weather Follow-On and Space Weather Next initiatives.

Originally posted on Space.com.

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Watch the sun erupt in the first images from NOAA’s revolutionary new satellite

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