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Article Images

Hinode: new insights on the origin of solar wind

7 December 2007

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This image clearly shows an x-ray jet launching plasma out into the solar system from the Sun’s north polar coronal hole. This image was taken 10 January 2007 by Hinode’s X-ray telescope.

Credits: Hinode/ SAO/ NASA/ JAXA/ NAOJ

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This movie shows observations from Hinode’s X-Ray Telescope of the north pole of the Sun from 17 January 2007. It shows record numbers of x-ray jets, which are fountains of rapidly moving hot plasma. The jets are widely distributed through the polar coronal hole with a frequency that was previously unknown. Past research detected only a few jets daily.

Credits: SAO/NASA/JAXA/NAOJ

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This sped-up movie shows an observation taken with Hinode’s X-ray Telescope over 40 minutes on January 17, 2007. It is a close-up of a series of false colour images of the solar corona. During the evolution of the jet, the transverse waving left to right motions are visual evidence of an Alfvén wave traveling along the magnetic field which extends out into the solar system.

Credits: Hinode/SAO/NASA/JAXA/ NAOJ

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HI-RES MOV (Size: 28 100 Kb)

This movie shows observations from Hinode’s Solar Optical Telescope of a region at the south pole of the Sun on 19 March 2007. The region shown is as large as three times the diameter of Earth. The thin fountains of gas at the limb of the Sun are seen to form rapidly propelling matter upward, while moving transversely to their own long axis during their short lifetimes. These transverse motions are caused by Alfvén waves that have enough power to drive the solar wind. The movie is sped up by a factor of 100 compared to what happens on the Sun.

Credits: LMSAL/NASA/JAXA/NAOJ

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This is a computer simulation of the Sun's atmosphere. The red lines are magnetic field lines that are shaken by Alfvén waves as they propagate upwards from the surface of the Sun. The colouring of the gas in the lower part of the box shows the photosphere (green at bottom), chromosphere (chromosphere) and transition region (green and blue). Simulations such as these indicate that jostling of magnetic field lines by convective motions and sound waves at the surface and lower atmosphere of the Sun generates Alfvén waves with properties similar to those we observe with Hinode.

Credits: Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo

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