Yeah, but we've been doing this from L1 for years with SOHO. Great science investment. No doubt it is time we got a replacement up there, but I'm just surprised it is a legacy instrument. All the news coverage on this bird has been on the ability to view the full disk of the sun, which they illustrate with videos anybody can make on Helioviewer.org using images from existing solar observatories.JonP wrote:Another use is supposed to be a bit of heads up time on incoming Solar weather... not sure how much useful time it can give, but maybe like the earthquake early warning system, it might be worth 15-60min notice on "yes, this incoming wave of particles will be as bad as expected" to be able to shut down sats and power grids, etc...Tom Ligon wrote:Much as I like to hear that the launch was a success, the purpose of this particular payload is not so clear to me.
I suppose, if it is equipped like a smart phone and can simultaneously do Earth selfies, there is some benefit in that. But visible light images would not be where the science is. Any measurements need to be very broadband, and include radiation at very long wavelengths. And if the probe is at L1, that means it is unable to measure radiation back to space at night, which is, after all, the crux of the whole greenhouse issue.