TRACE

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Illustration of TRACE
Illustration of TRACE


TRACE, or the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer is a NASA space telescope designed to investigate the connections between fine-scale magnetic fields and the associated plasma structures on the Sun by providing high resolution images and observation of the solar photosphere and transition region to the corona. A main focus of the TRACE instrument is the fine structure of coronal loops low in the solar atmosphere.

TRACE image of some typical million Kelvin loops
TRACE image of some typical million Kelvin loops
Image of a sunspot taken by TRACE
Image of a sunspot taken by TRACE

The satellite was built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Its telecope was constructed by a consortium lead by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Center. TRACE was launched in April 1998 on a Pegasus rocket, has a 30 cm aperture and 1024 x 1024 CCD detector giving an 8.5 arc minute field of view. The telescope is designed to take correlated images in a range of wavelengths from visible light, through the Lyman alpha line to far ultraviolet. The different wavelength passbands correspond to plasma emission temperatures from 4,000 to 4,000,000 K.

TRACE mosaic of the full-disk Sun
TRACE mosaic of the full-disk Sun

TRACE is a SMEX or Small Explorer mission.






 v • d • e Sun Spacecraft Missions
Orbiters: Pioneer 6, 7, 8 and 9 | Helios probes | Ulysses probe | Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) | Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager | Hinode | STEREO | TRACE | ACE
Sample return: Genesis
Future: Solar Dynamics Observatory | Solar Orbiter
Cancelled: Pioneer H
(Bold: Active missions)


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