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Mahesh

20/04/23 07:01 AM IST

Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft

In News
  • NASA’s retired Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere in April, almost 21 years after launch.
About RHESSI
  • RHESSI was launched by NASA in 2002 to study solar flares and their associated coronal mass ejections.
  • The spacecraft weighs approximately 660 pounds, and it has been orbiting the Earth for almost 21 years.
  • RHESSI was equipped with an imaging spectrometer, which served the main purpose of recording the sun’s X-rays and gamma rays.
  • One of RHESSI’s significant achievements was capturing images of high-energy electrons that carry a large part of the energy released in solar flares, providing valuable data for scientists to understand these phenomena.
  • RHESSI documented the huge range in solar flare size, from tiny nanoflares to massive superflares that were tens of thousands of times bigger and more explosive.
RHESSI Contribution
  • RHESSI’s data has provided vital clues to scientists about solar flares and their associated coronal mass ejections.
  • Before RHESSI, no gamma-ray images or high-energy X-ray images had been taken of solar flares.
  • RHESSI’s imaging spectrometer enabled scientists to study the high-energy electrons and the energy released during solar flares, helping them better understand the underlying mechanisms and dynamics of these phenomena.
Source- Indian Express

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