Cette image peut avoir des imperfections car il s’agit d’une image historique ou de reportage.
The prime objective of The Advanced Composition Explorer is to measure and compare the composition of several samples of matter, including the solar corona, the solar wind, and other interplanetary particle populations, the local interstellar medium, and galactic matter. The Earth is constantly bombarded with a stream of accelerated particles arriving not only from the Sun, but also from interstellar and galactic sources. Study of these energetic particles will contribute to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system as well as the astrophysical processes involved. The ACE spacecraft carrying six high-resolution sensors and three monitoring instruments samples low-energy particles of solar origin and high-energy galactic particles with a collecting power 10 to 1000 times greater than past or planned experiments. When reporting space weather ACE can provide an advance warning of geomagnetic storms that can overload power grids, disrupt communications on Earth, and present a hazard to astronauts.
