Transition Region and Coronal Explorer
Description & Facts
sunspot
Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), U.S. satellite designed to study the solar corona. It was launched on April 2, 1998, from a Pegasus launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. TRACE carried a 30-cm (12-inch) telescope and observed the Sun in ultraviolet wavelengths. It circled Earth in a polar orbit that kept TRACE always in sunlight. TRACE was designed to work in conjunction with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), TRACE providing high-resolution images and SOHO providing lower-resolution but wide-area images.
Venus orbiting the Sun
TRACE revealed a much more dynamic solar corona than had previously been known. Structures in the corona were seen to change over a period of minutes. TRACE also showed that the coronal loops were heated at their base rather than uniformly throughout their height. The TRACE mission ended on June 21, 2010.
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