The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) is a NASA Small Explorer mission launched in April 1998. It provides high angular and temporal resolution images of the solar corona and transition region using a 30 cm aperture telescope with EUV and UV coatings. Data is maintained under an Open Data Policy and is available from the LMASL archives and mirror sites in England and Germany.
Use Cases
- Analyze magnetic flux emergence from the Sun's interior to the corona based on high-resolution EUV/UV imagery.
- Study coronal mass ejections and other solar activity based on coordinated observations with the SOHO mission.
- Model solar atmospheric layers (photosphere, chromosphere, transition region) based on multi-wavelength imaging.
- Conduct time-series analysis of solar phenomena based on the high temporal resolution data collection.
Strengths
- Data is available under an Open Data Policy from NASA.
- Imagery is captured at high angular and temporal resolution.
- Mission was coordinated with SOHO for joint observations during the solar cycle.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission, data archived by LMASL.
- Collection Method
- Collected by the TRACE satellite using a 30 cm aperture telescope with EUV/UV coatings.
- Time Range
- Observations began after launch in April 1998, targeting the rising phase of the solar cycle to sunspot maximum.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- null