P_thin_ext_cor.png (The version of this image to the left has been stylized using a non-linear color table.)
PTHNWIDE.png
PTHNWIDE_WaveletsGamma.png
PTHNWIDE_WaveletsGamma_LVGamp16Contp8.png
PTHNWIDE_WaveletsGamma_LVGamp16Contp8Cropped.png

For further information contact Dr. Vic Pizzo (Vic.Pizzo@noaa.gov) with NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.

The first image from the GOES-13 SXI was taken  July 6, 2006 15:11:18 UTC.

This data visualization prototype was created as a possible means of browsing large volume data sets. The real-time data ingest model for GOES-N will permit this product to be tested in a real-time environment. The movie linked here combines SXI data with the classic XRS ( whole disk X-ray sensor) data. The search for innovative data products is supported in part by the GOES-R Risk Reduction program.

SXI_PROTOTYPE_20031031_000222_BB_G12_CS1_04D.MPG (10.3 MB MPEG-1, 29 seconds)
SXI_PROTOTYPE_20031031_000222_BB_G12_CS1_04D_JPG.ZIP (105 MB zip archive of 989 JPEG source images)
SXI_PROTOTYPE_20031031_000222_BB_G12_CS1_04D.JPG (Sample single image.)

This movie contains images and footage of GOES-12 and SXI from launch to operations. It has been shown at the NOAA booth at many conferences.

SXI_KIOSK_V1.MP2 (104 MB MPEG-2, 2 min 30 sec.)

Note, if you save an MPEG-2 file to disk, your browser may try to add a .mp3 extension.

Solar active region 0720 rotated onto the east limb on January 10th and put on a pyrotechnic display uncharacteristic for this phase of the solar cycle before disappearing beyond the west limb on January 23rd. On January 15th this region released the first of five X-class solar flares. The last of those flares, January 20th, was associated with an extraordinary ion storm whose effect reached Earth's surface.

The movies below perfectly illustrate the cause-and-effect relationship between intense solar activity and satellite disruptions. The flares on January 17th and 20th are closely followed by noise in the SXI telescope resulting from energetic ions penetrating SXI. Ions with sufficient energy and atomic number can penetrate satellite components and deposit charge along their path. Sufficient charge deposition can introduce erroneous information into solid state memory devices. The common term for this is Single Event Upset (SEU), and the classic example of their occurrence comes from the operational history of TDRS-1.

An overview plot of this solar storm can be seen in a specially prepared GOES Space Environment Monitor plot (GOES-200501_special.pdf) which includes a guest appearance by McMurdo Neutron Monitor data. Compare this Ground Level Enhancement (GLE) to the largest in the GOES era: GOES-198909_special.pdf & GOES-198910_special.pdf.

GLEs are enhancements in ground based neutron monitor counts that occur when solar ions with sufficient energy (>400 MeV/nucleon), strike the upper atmosphere and initiate a nuclear cascade that reaches Earth's surface.

X-rays from the January 20th X7.1 flare began to arrive at 0636 UT, enhanced energetic ion levels began at 0650 UT. Therefore, the fastest ions traveled the Earth-Sun distance (150 million km or 93 million miles) in approximately 22 minutes, indicating a speed approximately 40% that of light.

Mo Dy Begin Max End Reg# Lat CMD X-class
Jan 15 0022 0043 0102 0720 N14 E08 X 1.2 Ion Storm
Jan 15 1947 2007 2028 0720 N15 W05 X 2.6 Ion Storm
Jan 17 0659 0952 1007 0720 N15 W25 X 3.8 Ion Storm
Jan 19 0803 0822 0840 0720 N15 W51 X 1.3 Ion Storm
Jan 20 0227 0636 0701 0726 N14 W61 X 7.1 Ion Storm, Ground Level Enhancement

SXI_20050114_000000_BB_G12_AR2_08D.MPG (13 MB MPEG-1, 27 sec.)
SXI_20050114_000000_BB_G12_AR2_08D.MP2 (13 MB MPEG-2, 27 sec.)
SXI_20050114_000000_BB_G12_AR2_08D_JPG.ZIP (52.9 MB zip archive of 803 JPEG source images)

This high cadence sequence covers only January 20th. These X-ray images show both the eruption of the flare and the resultant relativistic ions smashing into SXI & GOES-12 like bugs on a windshield.
SXI_20050120_000000_BB_G12_AR2_01D.MPG (11 MB MPEG-1, 23 sec.)
SXI_20050120_000000_BB_G12_AR2_01D.MP2 (11 MB MPEG-2, 23 sec.)
SXI_20050120_000000_BB_G12_AR2_01D_JPG.ZIP (45 MB zip archive of 703 JPEG source images)

Note, if you save an MPEG-2 file to disk, your browser may try to add a .mp3 extension.

This transit of Venus is the first in 122 years. In SXI images, Venus appears as a dark disk about 1/30th the Sun’s apparent diameter. Since the Sun’s corona extends well above the disk, Venus was visible in silhouette for approximately 9 hours, versus the 6 hours seen from Earth. The path across the disk is from the southeast to the southwest.

These movies were created from a special image set generated by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.
SXI_SPECIAL_20040608_VENUS_09H.MPG (1.9 MB MPEG-1, 0.7 sec.)
SXI_SPECIAL_20040608_VENUS_09H.MP2 (3.8 MB MPEG-2, 0.7 sec.)
SXI_SPECIAL_20040608_VENUS_09H_JPG.ZIP (53.4 MB zip archive of JPEG source images)

Note, if you save an MPEG-2 file, your browser may try to rename it with a .mp3 extension.

A series of solar active regions unleashed an extraordinary display of solar activity in October and November of 2003. You can view the affects in the near-Space Environment in plots of the GOES Space Environment Monitor data (October, November, PDF, ~.5 MB each). These plots show the series of significant flare events from October 19th through November 5th which included 17 flares of class M5 or above, 11 of these were X-class flares. The X28 flare on November 4th is the largest ever recorded.

Mo Dy Begin Max End Reg# Lat CMD X-class
Oct 19 1629 1650 1704 0484 N08 E58 X 1.1
Oct 22 1947 2007 2028 0486 M 9.9
Oct 23 0819 0835 0849 0486 S21 E88 X 5.4
Oct 23 1950 2004 2014 0486 S17 E84 X 1.1
Oct 24 0227 0254 0314 0486 S19 E72 M 7.6
Oct 26 0557 0654 0733 0486 S15 E44 X 1.2
Oct 26 1721 1819 1921 0484 N02 W38 X 1.2 Ion Storm
Oct 26 2134 2140 2148 0484 M 7.6 
Oct 27 0921 0927 0932 0486 S16 E26 M 5.0
Oct 27 1227 1243 1252 0486 S17 E25 M 6.7
Oct 28 0951 1110 1124 0486 S16 E08 X17.2 Ion Storm, Ground Level Enhancement
Oct 29 2037 2049 2101 0486 S15 W02 X10.0 Ion Storm, Ground Level Enhancement
Nov 02 1703 1725 1739 0486 S14 W56 X 8.3 Ion Storm, Ground Level Enhancement
Nov 03 0109 0130 0145 0488 N10 W83 X 2.7 
Nov 03 0943 0955 1019 0488 N08 W77 X 3.9 
Nov 04 1929 1953 2006 0486 S19 W83 X28.0 Ion Storm
Nov 05 1046 1052 1056 0486 S16 W90 M 5.3

The GOES-12 SXI was not operational during the first of these large events, due to the ongoing diagnosis of a power system anomaly. However, on October 28th SXI was reactivated at 1633 UT. The noise in the images at the beginning of this movie are due to energetic particles from the October 28th and 29th solar ion storms.
SXI_SPECIAL_20031028_163326_BB_G12_CS1_09D.MPG (17.5 MB MPEG-1, 27 sec.)
SXI_SPECIAL_20031028_163326_BB_G12_CS1_09D.MP2 (13.2 MB MPEG-2, 27 sec.)
SXI_SPECIAL_20031028_163326_BB_G12_CS1_09D_JPG.ZIP (58.9 MB zip archive of JPEG source images)

Note, if you save a MPEG-2 file, your browser may try to rename it with a .mp3 extension.

This movie uses a high cadence of images over a two day interval, October 28-29, to highlight the exchange of solar material between region #0486 (southern hemisphere) and region #0488 (northern hemisphere).
SXI_SPECIAL_20031028_163326_BB_G12_CS1_02D.MPG (16.8MB MPEG-1, 15 sec.)
SXI_SPECIAL_20031028_163326_BB_G12_CS1_02D.MP2 (10.5MB MPEG-2, 15 sec.)
SXI_SPECIAL_20031028_163326_BB_G12_CS1_02D_JPG.ZIP (62.5 MB zip archive of JPEG source images)

This movie starts on October 31st, and highlights the final six days of this active interval.
SXI_SPECIAL_20031031_000222_BB_G12_CS1_06D.MPG (11.4 MB MPEG-1, 21 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20031031_000222_BB_G12_CS1_06D.MP2 (13.8 MB MPEG-1, 21 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20031031_000222_BB_G12_CS1_06D_JPG.ZIP (50.5 MB zip archive of JPEG source images.)

This is a 27 day movie that begins August 3, 2003 and shows one complete rotation of the sun -- Carrington Rotation #2006.
SXI_SPECIAL_20030803_181324_BB_G12_CS1_27D.MPG (16.3 MB MPEG-1, 31 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20030803_181324_BB_G12_CS1_27D.MP2 (23.2 MB MPEG-1, 31 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20030803_181324_BB_G12_CS1_27D_JPG.ZIP (56.5 MB zip archive of JPEG source images.)

This is a 27 day movie that shows two complete rotations of the sun side-by-side -- Carrington Rotation #2003-2004.
SXI_SPECIAL_CR2003_CR2004_BB_G12_CS1_27D.MPG (15.4 MB MPEG-1, 21 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_CR2003_CR2004_BB_G12_CS1_27D.MP2 (18.4 MB MPEG-1, 21 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_CR2003_CR2004_BB_G12_CS1_27D_JPG.ZIP (83.3 MB zip archive of JPEG source images.)

This is a 24 day movie that begins May 25, 2003.
SXI_SPECIAL_20030525_000000_BB_G12_CS1_24D.MPG (10.7 MB MPEG-1, 38 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20030525_000000_BB_G12_CS1_24D.MP2 (13.8 MB MPEG-1, 38 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20030525_000000_BB_G12_CS1_24D_JPG.ZIP (70.3 MB zip archive of JPEG source images.)

This is a 10 day movie that begins May 25, 2003.
SXI_SPECIAL_20030523_000000_BB_G12_CS1_10D.MPG (7.6 MB MPEG-1, 12 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20030523_000000_BB_G12_CS1_10D.MP2 (10.7 MB MPEG-2, 12 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20030523_000000_BB_G12_CS1_10D_JPG.ZIP (23.9 MB zip archive of JPEG source images.)

This is a 6 day movie that begins December 11, 2001.
SXI_SPECIAL_20011211_000000_BB_G12_CS1_06D.MPG (11.4 MB MPEG-1, 15 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20011211_000000_BB_G12_CS1_06D.MP2 (13.8 MB MPEG-2, 15 seconds)
SXI_SPECIAL_20011211_000000_BB_G12_CS1_06D_JPG.ZIP (60.4 MB zip archive of JPEG source images.)

This movie was created from images taken with SXI in the OPEN (unfiltered) configuration. The images were deconvoluted, as described in the example above. The sequence spans approximately two solar rotations -- 2001-10-19 00:03:44 to 2001-12-05 22:13:09. Coronal holes appear dark.

This movie was produced by Dr. Steven Hill, the SXI project manager at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.

View the movie. (3.6 MB MPEG, 15 seconds)

This sequence spans one day (2001-10-22). The SXI images are displayed in tandem with the coronagraph images from the LASCO C2 instrument onboard SOHO. The movie shows the relationship between X-ray flares viewed by SXI and the resultant effect on the extended corona.

This movie was produced by Dr. Steven Hill, the SXI project manager at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.

View the movie. (3.5 MB MPEG, 6 seconds)

Begin Max End Region Lat CMD X-class
 0022 0040 0048 9658 N17 W57 M1.0
 0344 0359 0423 9669 N14 W12 C6.8 
 1136 1141 1145 9672 S18 E19 C5.6
 1205 1217 1230 9669 N11 W19 C7.5
 1427 1508 1531 9672 S21 E18 M6.7
 1744 1759 1814 9672 S18 E16 X1.2
 2057 2106 2114 C7.9

This sequence spans approximately four hours (2001-11-21 13:18 to 2001-11-21 16:53). The SXI images are displayed in tandem with images from the SXT instrument onboard Yohkoh. The movie shows a zoomed view of region 9704 as it produces a small (C4.7) flare.

This movie was produced by Dr. Steven Hill, the SXI project manager at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.

View the movie. (.2 MB MPEG, 2 seconds)

Begin Max End Region Lat CMD X-class
 1207 1458 1650 9704 S14 W19 C4.7

To address the wide dynamic range of features on the sun, it is sometimes necessary to combine two images, one short exposure and one long exposure, into what is known as a composite image. The overexposed regions from the long exposure are replaced with those properly exposed from the shorter exposure. In addition, all optical instruments have a natural 'blurring' or point-spread function. A composite image is particularly amenable to removal of the point-spread function of the instrument. This is done by a mathematical process called deconvolution.

This prototype was produced by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, and may become a standard SXI data product.

View a "before and after" pair of images. (2001-19-19 23:11:46)

This X-ray image of the Sun was taken by the SXI instrument onboard GOES-12 on September 7, 2001 at 21:04:25 Universal Time.

• View the full scale version of the first image.