Visualizing the Morphology of Solar Flares in the AIA 131A Channel

Abstract

This project represents a small part of the general study by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center into how the cameras aboard sounding rockets can be optimized for capturing the evolution of high temperature plasma in the Sun. Data for this analysis was provided by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a NASA satellite launched in 2011 as part of the Living With a Star initiative. The SDO carries an instrument called the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) which uses Fe V, XX, and XXIII to focus on flaring regions of the Sun. This presentation will detail the process of filtering usable satellite data using SunPy, modeling different parameters of solar flares, and mapping images of flares to create movies.