NASA Logo, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Skip Navigation (press 2)
Student Observation Network Header

MAGNETOSPHERE

Live Data

IMAGE Satellite (real-time)

A complete list of real-time data links is located in the Space Weather Resources section.

From Satellites: IMAGE Satellite

On December 18, 2005 stopped responding to ground commands after 5.8 years of successful operation. Only archive images are available.

The HENA instrument on the IMAGE satellite provides you with a different way of determining how much the magnetic field is disturbed. This instrument gives an idea of how strong the ring current is. The ring current is a flow of charged particles around the Earth between altitudes of 1,000 to 30,000 kilometers. The ring current is especially strong whenever the magnetic field is disturbed. When you open the IMAGE Satellite Live Data link, you will see a page like the one below.

HENA Instrument Website screenshot

To use this archive, you first need to know the day-of-year (DOY). The day-of-year is simply the count of days since January 1. Jan. 1 is #1 and Dec. 31 is 365 (or 366 on leap year). Use a calendar to calculate this. Many calendars have a running tally of the days since January 1 written on them.

On the left-hand menu bar, click the 'Browse Daily Image' spot so that the black dot appears. Go to the bottom of this menu and enter the year and DOY you wish. For example, for May 7, 2003 enter '2003' and '127'. Click the 'Update' button and this image will appear:

HENA Instrument Website with Graph visible

You can use the left or right arrowsbuttons to see if there is any more data after this DOY. Usually the HENA archive is 1-2 days behind the current DOY.

To interpret the HENA images use the following numerical scale for activity. The scale goes from blue to red. The greatest storm activity occurs when reds dominate.

Typical of Level 5

contains red and orangeHENA Level 5 graph, contains orange and red

Typical of Level 4

contains yellows and greensHENA Level 5 graph, contains orange and red

Typical of Level 3

contains blue and light blueHENA Level 5 graph, contains orange and red

Typical of Level 2

mostly blue or blackHENA Level 5 graph, contains orange and red

Typical of Level 1

very little colorHENA Level 5 graph, contains orange and red

When you submit your data to the Student Observation Network, you can use the following scale.

Low Storm - Level 1 or 2

Medium Storm - Level 3

High Storm - Level 4

Extreme Storm - Level 5 and above

NASA Logo - nasa.gov