Solar X-ray Imager

Solar X-ray Imager is a full-disc X-ray telescope for the Sun. It was the first of its kind and allows the United States NOAA to help predict the weather.

Operation

The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) aboard the GOES 12, GOES 13, GOES 14, and GOES 15 United States NOAA weather satellites is used for early detection of solar flares, coronal mass ejections(CME), and space phenomena that impact human spaceflight and military and commercial satellite communications.^[1] The Solar X-ray Imager was the first x-ray telescope to take a "full-disk" image of the Sun, providing forecasters with the ability to detect solar storms and real-time solar forecasting by the Space Weather Prediction Center.^[2]

Imagery

First Image from Goes 12, September 7, 2001

The SXI aboard GOES 12 weather satellite is a Wolter Type I(Wolter telescope) grazing incidence X-ray telescope designed to record coronal x-ray images in continuous sequence at 1-minute intervals. The Solar X-ray Imager obtains images at multiple wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum from 6 to 60 angstrom units(Å).^[3] The imagery obtained by the XSI and XRS on GOES 12 allowed forecasters to see space phenomena such as coronal holes, whose geomagnetic storms impact power grid systems on earth as well as radio communications and satellite communications systems. ^[3][2]

Failure and Termination of the GOES 12 Instrument

The XSI and XRS sensors on GOES 12 failed due to a problem with the electrical system which controls the north-south motion functionality of the instruments on April 12, 2007. The SXI and XRS currently have the ability to capture and record images. Due to limited field of view of the x-ray instrumentation, the XSI and XRS and been permanently deactivated. ^[4]

Related Topics

• 2001 in spaceflight
• List of GOES satellites
• Geomagnetism

References

v t e Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites SMS GOES 1 GOES 2 GOES 3 1st Generation GOES 4 GOES 5 GOES 6 GOES-G GOES 7 2nd Generation GOES 8 GOES 9 GOES 10 GOES 11 GOES 12 3rd Generation GOES 13 GOES 14 GOES 15 4th Generation GOES-R GOES-S GOES-T GOES-U

v t e Solar space missions Current ACE GGS WIND Hinode (Solar-B) IRIS PICARD RHESSI SOHO SDO SOLAR STEREO Past Apollo Telescope Mount ESRO 2B Genesis GOES 13 Helios Hinotori IMP-8 Intercosmos 26 ISEE 1–3 Koronas-Foton Orbiting Solar Observatory OSO 1 OSO 2 OSO 3 OSO 4 OSO 5 OSO 6 OSO 7 OSO 8 Solwind Pioneer 5 Pioneer 6, 7, and 8 Prognoz 6 SolarMax Spartan 201 Taiyo TRACE Ulysses Yohkoh (Solar-A) Planned Aditya-1 SOLAR-C SOLAR-D Solar Orbiter Solar Probe Plus Solar Sentinels Cancelled Pioneer H OSO J Sun-Earth SORCE SXI ACRIMSAT