Today’s Sun
This profile shows the Sun’s magnetic field using outputs from the WSA (Wang-Sheeley-Arge) simulation model. All simulation data in this profile is downloaded dynamically during runtime. The visuals will be tied to the in-game time in OpenSpace, so you can jump or scrub time to a previous timestamp within the sequence interval and see historic outputs visualized without needing to download all the data in between or the whole sequence. The field lines visualize the Sun’s magnetic field. Some loop back into the Sun (closed, shown in yellow), while others stream into space (open). The simulation data throughout this visualization is colored red for positive values and blue for negative values. On the Sun’s surface, white and black indicate areas of positive and negative magnetic polarity, respectively. Understanding these fields is critical, as solar activity like Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can disrupt satellites, power grids, and pose risks to astronauts and spacecraft throughout the solar system.
This page focuses on the content in the profile and how to use it. For more information on the back-end, data, and underlying features see Space Weather. The visualizations highlighted in this profile comes from simulation outputs from the model WSA. Read more about it here: WSA
Tour
The main visuals are solar surfaces and magnetic field lines. There are also a handful of different guiding lines that help us get oriented better in space. The simulation data throughout this visualization is colored red for positive values and blue for negative.
Solar Surfaces
In total, there are six assets with time-varying textures on spheres. There are two different input data sources for the WSA simulation model, for three spheres each. The input sources are from GONG-Z and GONG ADAPT. The data for this profile is visualized mainly by the two renderables: RenderableTimeVaryingFitsSphere and RenderableFieldLinesSequence. They use data in the data formats .fits and .osfls, respectively. They both download these data sets dynamically during run-time from the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and their Integrated Space Weather Analysis (ISWA) system, using the Dynamic File Sequence Downloader.
Field Lines
For the field lines RenderableFieldLinesSequence is used to visualize them. There are four different sets of field lines in this profile. The main difference is where the start points are for tracing the magnetic vector field. The field lines can either be closed, meaning they loop back onto the surface of the Sun, or they are open, meaning only one end of the line is at the surface. Red field lines indicate that the direction of the field is pointing away from the Sun and blue that it is pointing inward toward the Sun.
One set of field lines is the Corona SCS, out-to-in tracing. These are field lines traced from the outer boundary at 21.5 Solar Radii (Rs), to the source surface at 2.5 Rs using GONG-Z as input. These are open field lines per definition in the model.
Then, there is Corona PFSS, in-to-out tracing and also out-to-in tracing. The in-to-out tracing are field lines traced from the solar surface outwards. This set of lines have both closed and open lines. The out-to-in tracing are field lines traced from the source surface at 2.5 Rs to the solar surface. They both use GONG-Z as input.
Lastly, there is the tracing from Earth. These are field line trace from the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, using GONG-Z as input. These lines are composed with sets of three lines close to each other to be able to find divergent areas in the field.
Guiding Lines
The profile also includes a few guiding lines to help navigate around the Sun and get a better sense of orientation. There is a white line that connects the Sun and Earth, as well as an arc that goes from pole to pole and intersects the Sun-Earth line, which shows the longitude on the Sun that is facing Earth. Additionally, the Carrington prime meridian longitude line is visualized in red, and also a grid with 10 degrees (by default) between each segment.
Keyboard Shortcuts
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Data Sets
The data for this profile is visualized mainly by the two renderables: RenderableTimeVaryingFitsSphere and RenderableFieldLinesSequence. They use data in the data formats .fits and .osfls, respectively. They both download these data sets dynamically during run-time from the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and their Integrated Space Weather Analysis (ISWA) system, using the Dynamic File Sequence Downloader.
The profile is exclusivly using simulation outputs from the space weather simulation model called WSA (Wang-Sheeley-Arge) version 5.4.