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Solar Maximum

About the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory

The Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) occupies part of the NOAA Mauna Loa research site located on the flank of Mauna Loa at an elevation of 3440 meters on the island of Hawaii. It is operated by the High Altitude Observatory, a division of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is located in Boulder, Colorado.

Thermal Properties of Coronal Cavities

Graph depicting temperature of cavities and surrounding streamers
Tuesday, March 31, 2020

We have analyzed 33 cavities observed between 2012 and 2018, from solar activity maximum to minimum. For each cavity we applied a differential emission measure method to obtain both a temperature distribution and a value of the average temperature.

Development and Validation of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with Thermosphere and Ionosphere Extension (WACCM-X)

WACCM-X simulations image
Wednesday, February 14, 2018

H.Liu et al. have improved a comprehensive numerical model, the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension (WACCM-X).

Solar Maximum Mission Information and Data on the MLSO website

Submitted by kolinski on December 22, 2014 - 12:41pm

The Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite was launched in 1980 aboard a NASA Delta rocket. Among SMM's primary science objectives was the study of the dynamics of solar flares and the study of solar magnetic fields associated with the flare phenomenon. Towards this end, the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) provided a white-light coronagraph/polarimeter (C/P) to study the relationship of the corona to the flare process.

Solar Maximum Mission Coronagraph

This will be the SMM instrument page.

COMING SOON!

Observing the Quiet Sun: A Weak Cycle Offers Opportunity for Expanding Solar Understanding

Observing the Quiet Sun

Since the dawn of the Space Age in the 1950s, solar maxima have coincided with strong upticks in sunspot activity but the current cycle, Cycle 24, which was expected to peak in Spring of 2013, has been unusually quiet.

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The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.