Learmonth Solar Observatory (Australia)


Learmonth Solar Observatory in Australia (Image courtesy of the GONG Project, National Solar Observatory [funded by the National Science Foundation])
Observatory Contributions
  • Provide information on the Sun's outer atmospheric layers.
  • Study the physical processes operating on the Sun and their variability.
How Will It Do This?
  • Provides, among other science products, a daily image of the Sun in Hydrogen alpha emissions.
  • Signs of solar activity such as flares, plages and prominances are clearly visible in these images. They are used widely as a tool for the prediction of solar events that will affect the space environment around the Earth.
  • One of the sites in the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) set up to observe the oscillations of the Sun using helioseismology.
Observatory Description
  • Located at the Exmouth Gulf on the North West Cape of Australia at an elevation of only 10 m.
  • Co-administered by the IPS Radio and Space Services, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and the U. S. Air Force.
  • The station became operational in April 1995.

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