Introduction

Space technology has come a long way in recent years, and with that, we've been able to enhance our understanding of the sun and its behavior. Two prominent satellites that have helped advance our knowledge of the sun are the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). While both explore the sun and its influence on the solar system, they have distinct differences in their purpose and capabilities.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SDO launched in 2010 is to study the sun and its magnetic fields in detail. The satellite orbits Earth at an altitude of 22,000 miles and captures high-resolution images of the sun at various wavelengths of light. SDO conducts research on he activity in the sun's atmosphere, including solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and sunspots.

SOHO, launched in 1995, examines the sun and the solar wind's behavior and how they interact with the Earth. It orbits the sun at a distance of 0.99 astronomical units and studies the sun's interior and outer corona. SOHO is credited with identifying more than 3,000 comets to date.

Capabilities

The SDO has advanced imaging technology that can capture the sun's images ten times better than HDTV. It takes a picture of the sun every ten seconds, thus creating high-quality time-lapse images. SDO is the first satellite to offer images of the sun in extreme Ultraviolet and enables researchers to develop a better understanding of the sun's magnetic field dynamics.

SOHO has three primary scientific instruments; the LASCO, EIT, and CELIAS. LASCO, the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment, captures images of the corona and the solar wind. EIT, the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, captures images of the sun's outer atmosphere, and CELIAS, Cost-Efficient Light Aircraft System, measures particles emitted by the sun.

Comparison

To sum up, the main difference between SDO and SOHO is the purpose it serves. While SDO is focused on observing the sun's atmosphere, SOHO's is to study the sun and the solar wind's effects on space weather. The SDO is more advanced in terms of imaging technology and can capture the sun's images ten times better than HDTV. SOHO has a broader purpose and uses specific instruments for different purposes.

References

• NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
• ESA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)