Imaging sensors capture the sun

Paul Boughton
NASA has released the first images taken with e2v Charge Coupled Device (CCD) imaging sensors onboard NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).

The SDO spacecraft has been designed to examine the evolution of solar activity and to refine our understanding of space weather by studying the Sun on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously. 

e2v CCD imaging sensors were supplied for the HMI and AIA instruments which were both built by the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL).

The four AIA telescopes observe the Sun in multiple wavelengths to study the energetics of the solar atmosphere and it’s interaction with the surface magnetic fields, and the HMI measures both solar surface magnetic fields and the Sun’s surface motion as a probe of the solar interior.

e2v’s specialises in components and sub-systems that enable the world’s leading systems companies to deliver innovative solutions for medical and science, aerospace and defence, and commercial and industrial markets. 
 
For more information, visit  www.e2v.com