Latest Hinode Stories

Observations from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Japanese satellite Hinode show that some gas in the giant, fountain-like jets in the sun's atmosphere known as spicules can reach temperatures of millions of degrees. The finding offers a possible new framework for how the sun's high atmosphere gets so much hotter than the surface of the sun.What makes the high atmosphere, or corona, so hot "“ over a million degrees, compared to the sun surface's 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit --...

WOODLAND, Calif., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- SunFoods, LLC announced today that Matt Alonso has been named Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. operation as it continues its expansion under the HINODE brand name. Matt will report directly to current CEO, Thomas Atkinson II, and oversee the operations based in Woodland, CA. Matt comes to SunFoods, LLC after 14 years with Pacific International Rice Mills, LLC (PIRMI) and Busch Agricultural Resources Inc. Over the last five years, Matt has...

The sun is the largest and most important object in our solar system, containing 99.8% of the solar system's mass, or quantity of matter. Among that remaining 0.2% are hot planets, icy moons, asteroid belts, chunks of rock, rings of ice, and over 100 worlds -- including our Earth. The "space" in between is a mesmerizing mix of the push-and-pull of gravity, solar winds, particle radiation, and magnetospheres. Not bad for a mere 0.2%!On Thursday, July 1, scientist Jonathan Cirtain...

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) instrument aboard the NOAA GOES-15 spacecraft has seen "first light." SXI was designed and built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), at its Space Systems Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto, for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100614/SF20376) (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100614/SF20376) GOES-15 launched on March 4, 2010...

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The immense volume of data generated by the suite of instruments on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) requires new tools for efficient identifying and accessing data that is most relevant to research investigations. Scientists at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto have developed the Heliophysics Events Knowledgebase (HEK) to fill this need. The HEK system...

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Spectacular "first light" images and data from the three state-of-the art instruments on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) were unveiled yesterday morning by NASA. The SDO spacecraft was launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on February 11, 2010. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100422/SF91131) Two of the SDO instruments were built at the Solar and Astrophysics...

Over the last century, astronomers have become very aware of how just dynamic the Sun really is. One of the most dramatic manifestations of this is a coronal mass ejection (CME) where billions of tons of matter is thrown into space. If a CME reaches the Earth it creates inclement "˜space weather' that can disrupt communications, power grids and the delicate systems on orbiting satellites. This potential damage means there is a keen interest in understanding exactly what triggers a CME...

New satellite imagery of the sun is providing scientists with clues to understanding the long-standing mystery of what is heating up the solar coronaThe 2006 launch of the multinational Hinode satellite changed the picture of the sun for astrophysicists. For two astrophysicists in particular, the resulting imagery offered a voyage of discovery and the thrill of unraveling a long-held solar mystery. The Earth's atmosphere can obscure the view of unaided ground-based telescopes, but, unimpeded...

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Alan M. Title, physicist at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto, was inducted last evening into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame. The Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame Award recognizes engineers/technologists/scientists in the region who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and have made significant contributions to Silicon Valley and the Greater Bay Area...

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Two state-of-the art solar instruments built at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto, were launched this morning at 10:23 a.m. EST aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), a suite of four telescopes, will provide an unprecedented view of the solar corona, taking images that span at least 1.3 solar diameters in multiple...