About the project
The Laboratory of X-Ray Astronomy of the Sun is a subdivision of the Spectroscopy department in the Lebedev Institute of the Russian Academy of Science. The laboratory was founded during the end of the 1970s, with the aim of studying the Sun and other space objects from rockets and spacecrafts.
Research of the Sun was started in the institute in 1947th onboard rockets R1a and, with the beginning of the space era, were continued using the artificial Earth satellites. In 1957, the scientist of Lebedev Institute for the first time observed short wavelength emission of the Sun from onboard of the second Russian satellite ("Sputnik-2"). In 1963, the first X-ray image of the Sun was obtained. At the end of the 1960s, the first X-ray spectra with the wavelength shorter than 10 angstrom were registered.
Today the laboratory is the leading Russian center to design and construct space telescopes for solar researches. The instruments created in the laboratory operated onboard several "Intercosmos" satellites, onboard interplanetary Fobos stations, and onboard three spacecrafts launched in the frameworks of the CORONAS space program. Now the laboratory is working on developing four scientific instruments intended for the Russian space mission "Interhelioprobe." The laboratory team is also responsible for the "ARKA" project - unique solar telescopes that will provide for the first time the images of solar corona with a spatial resolution of about 100 km. The laboratory also participates in several other projects.
The laboratory has approximately 30 staff members.
project diary
Astronomy news
Space weather
Magnetic storms in the last 24 hours:
No geomagnetic storms were observed
Magnetic stormsMagnetic storms in the next 24 hours:
are not expected
Magnetic storm forecastCurrent activity of the Sun:
Solar radio flux (10.7 cm) | = | 185 |
---|---|---|
Mean planetary A index | = | 6 |
Mean planetary Kp index | = | 3 (30 nT) |
The Sun today
Solar photosphere
(Sun in the visible rays)Transition region
The Solar corona
click image to view
View all Solar imagesSunspot groups
Sunspot groups
The following regions with sunspots can be now observed on the Sun's surface:- NOAA 3905 - coordinates S09 W72
- NOAA 3906 - coordinates S16 W63
- NOAA 3910 - coordinates N16 W14
- NOAA 3912 - coordinates S05 E27
- NOAA 3913 - coordinates S06 E10
- NOAA 3914 - coordinates N07 W13
- NOAA 3915 - coordinates N13 E67
Solar flocculi
The following H-alpha plages without spots can be currently observed on the Sun's surface:- NOAA 3902 - coordinates S16 W85
- NOAA 3908 - coordinates N13 W42