The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute secured images containing temperature and velocity information of the corona emitted from the sun, developed in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
CODEX was launched on Nov. 5 last year from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, and has been installed on the International Space Station (ISS). It began full-scale observations on Feb. 17 this year.
CODEX is a device that observes the faint corona, the outer atmospheric layer, after blocking the bright light of the sun’s photosphere with a遮罩 disk. The corona refers to the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere. While the surface temperature of the sun is around 6,000 degrees Celsius, the temperature of the corona reaches millions of degrees, attracting the interest of astronomers. When the heat energy generated in the core of the sun is transferred sequentially, the surface should be hotter than the corona. However, the reason why the corona temperature is higher has not yet been found.
CODEX can obtain temperature and velocity information from the faint corona within a range of about 3 to 8 times the sun's radius using narrowband filters. The temperature and velocity distribution of the corona and its changes over time provide information on the materials and energy flowing into the solar wind. It is expected to enhance understanding of the corona and solar wind and contribute to improvements in models predicting the impact of the sun on Earth.
John Lee, head of the space agency's mission headquarters, noted, “This is a good outcome of international cooperation becoming active in the field of space exploration,” and emphasized, “We will do our best to leap forward as a strong nation in the fields of solar research and space environment prediction.”